Month: October 2023

Drug Cartel Strikes Back

By now most of America knows the pitfalls of fentanyl…..and there are some that have concerns that this drug is coming across the border with the influx of migrants on our Southern border.

There has even been some calls from the more radical quarters that has called for a US invasion of Mexico to stem the flow of this deadly drug.

Now at least one cartel is taking matters to hand….the Sinaloa Cartel….

When banners went up announcing that the Sinaloa drug cartel had given up the sale and production of fentanyl, authorities were understandably wary. But members of the cartel, the leading exporter of fentanyl to the US, say cartel leaders are serious—deadly serious. A “midlevel Sinaloa cartel operative” who ran a fentanyl lab before closing up shop to comply with the cartel’s stated ban tells the Wall Street Journal that he knows of five people who were killed for defying the ban. Human rights activist Miguel Angel Murillo of the Sinaloa Civic Front adds that most of the dozen people who’ve disappeared or been kidnapped in the past 10 days are thought to be “linked to the ban on fentanyl.”

You have been warned,” concluded the banners announcing the fentanyl ban, signed by the sons of imprisoned drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. They appeared following a series of blows to the cartel. In January, one of El Chapo’s sons, Ovidio Guzman, was captured by Mexican security forces in a deadly gun battle. Then in April, the US indicted all four Guzman brothers and dozens of their associates, with the Drug Enforcement Administration claiming to have infiltrated the highest level of the cartel. A Mexican security consultant tells the Journal that cartel leaders now fear getting arrested and extradited to the US, as Ovidio Guzman was last month, per Reuters. They may believe that moving away from fentanyl will get authorities off their backs.

The midlevel operative says the cartel intends to let the rival Jalisco New Generation Cartel, another leading fentanyl producer, take the fall for the drug while it focuses its attention elsewhere. “Although the core business of the Sinaloa cartel traditionally centers on illegal narcotics, say US officials, the criminal group has diversified into other illicit activities such as widespread extortion,” the Journal reports. The operative also discussed trafficking in guns from the US. Still, US authorities remain doubtful that Sinaloa’s fentanyl production will be stopped, given that so many people make a living from the opioid. They liken the cartel’s claims to a public relations ploy, adding they’ve seen no sign of any real change.

Fascinating turn of events.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Yes We Have No Speaker Today

The circus has continued….Jordan is attempting to win the Speakership….he is not having an easy job to do so…..

The second round of voting came yesterday….Jordan did not win…..

To become speaker, Jordan will need the votes of at least 217 House Republicans, meaning he can only afford to lose four votes from the 221-strong conference. The AP reports Rep. Anthony D’Esposito was one of the 20 who voted against him Tuesday, and while walking into Wednesday’s vote he said he still didn’t intend to vote for Jordan. Another member of that group told the AP he expected the number of lawmakers voting against Jordan to climb. Jordan ally Rep. Scott Perry said much the same ahead of the second vote on X: “Jordan will likely have FEWER votes today than yesterday—as I expected. This is the fight—which Jim Jordan represents—to end the status quo, and it ain’t easy.”

The Hill reports Jordan acknowledged on Wednesday that additional Republicans could vote against him on the second ballot, but he voiced a note of optimism, saying, “I know we’re gaining. We’ve got one member who switched, we got another member coming back. We may have some who, you know, switch the other direction, but we’ll see.” Asked whether he can get to 221 votes, he replied, “I think so. I do.”

As Jim Jordan and some of his allies predicted, things got worse for the would-be House speaker in the second round of voting. He could only afford to lose four Republican votes but lost 22 on Wednesday, up from 20 in Tuesday’s vote; that gave him a total of 199 votes, or 18 short of a majority. Two Republicans who voted against Jordan on Tuesday flipped their votes, and one Jordan supporter who was absent yesterday voted for him today, but four Republicans shifted their votes away from Jordan, the Washington Post reports. Most of the non-Jordan GOP votes went to Kevin McCarthy or Steve Scalise. NBC News reports that there was laughter and applause from Democrats when Rep. Mike Kelly voted for John Boehner, who resigned as speaker in 2015.

Onto the third round and it looks even worse for the wannabe….

Predictions that the second House vote to elected a speaker would be worse for Jim Jordan than the first one turned out to be correct—and some House Republicans say his chances in the third round don’t look great.

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balar, who voted for House Majority Leader Steve Scalise in both rounds, tells CNN that he’ll never support Jordan for speaker, predicting that he’ll lose a “bigger chunk” of the conference in the third vote. Rep. Don Bacon, who supports ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy, said Jordan should withdraw because he “doesn’t have any path forward to 217.” Rep. Steve Womack, another Jordan opponent, predicted that the third vote would be the “final straw,” Politico reports.

Some of Jordan’s opponents said they had faced pressure from Jordan and his allies to change their vote, making them even more determined to oppose him, the Washington Post reports. “Intimidation and threats will not change my position,” said Rep. Kay Granger. Some lawmakers have discussed boosting the powers of Rep. Patrick McHenry, the interim speaker, an idea former GOP Speakers Newt Gingrich and John Boehner expressed support for on Wednesday, the AP reports.

And the Sh*t Show continues.

How long will Jordan hang on to his dwindling chances of winning the speakership?

I love this Clown Show.

Stay Tuned!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Biden Goes To Israel (Right On Cue)

The news tells us that Biden is making a campaign stop in Israel….he will spend hours on the ground and if you think he is there to seek an end to this devastation I do believe you would be mistaken.

His visit is more about the support and aid that Isr4ael can expect from its benefactor.

My skepticism about a ceasefire plan was reinforced by something I read.

As Israel on Friday bombarded civilians in Gaza and prepared for a ground invasion in response to Hamas’ recent attack, U.S. State Department leadership reportedly instructed officials not to publicly use some terms that would advocate for less violence.

According to HuffPost, which reviewed official emails, “State Department staff wrote that high-level officials do not want press materials to include three specific phrases: ‘de-escalation/cease-fire,’ ‘end to violence/bloodshed,’ and ‘restoring calm.'”

HuffPost noted that “when reached for comment on the directive, a State Department official said they would not comment on internal communications.” However, others were quick to blast the policy as “disgusting,” “maddening,” and “pretty shocking.”

Guardian columnist Moira Donegan called it “a horror and a moral abdication that we, Americans, can never atone for.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/us-state-department-israel

More disturbing news….this time it is about journalist and the reporting of factual information.

Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi confirmed Sunday that he is drafting regulations that will empower him to order police to arrest journalists for factual reporting and target anyone he believes has damaged national morale during Israel’s ongoing war against Gaza.

Haaretzreports that Karhi—a member of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud Party—is preparing draft emergency regulations titled “Limiting Aid to the Enemy through Communication” which would allow him to direct police to arrest any civilian, remove them from their home, and seize their property if he believes they have disseminated information that might harm national morale or be used as “enemy propaganda.”

The new regulations will apply to the general public as well as local and foreign media professionals—and will be applicable to both truthful and inaccurate reporting.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/shlomo-kahri

Truth as an excuse is silly and smells of 1930.

A ‘democracy’ my ass!

I am sure there will be more that is lacking from your nightly news….I will be watching and reading.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Here Come The ‘Independents’

College of Political Knowledge

2024 Election Series

It is that time again….yet another election for the leader of the free world….or so we are told.

Time for ‘independents’ to shine.

I am talking about true independents not those people that delude themselves that they are independent because the vote for one party or the other….that is not an independent in my book.

Yes it is early but we have two candidates that have forsaken the two party system to go it as a true independent…..these are RFK, jr and Cornell West

Let’s start with RFK, Jr…..originally he was going to run against Biden in the Democratic primaries but has since changed his mind….

Longtime environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Monday he will run for president as an independent and drop his Democratic primary bid, reports the AP. The move adds another wrinkle to a 2024 race heading toward a likely rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Kennedy, a member of one of the most famous Democratic families in politics, was running a longshot primary bid and has better favorability ratings among Republicans than Democrats. It’s unclear whether GOP support would translate to a general election when Kennedy would also be running against Trump. Both Biden and Trump allies have at times questioned whether Kennedy would be a spoiler against their candidate.

Biden’s allies so far have dismissed Kennedy’s primary campaign as unserious. Asked for comment on his potential independent run ahead of the announcement, a Democratic National Committee spokesman responded with an eye roll emoji. Monday’s announcement comes less than a week after the progressive activist Cornel West abandoned his Green Party bid in favor of an independent White House run. Meanwhile, the centrist group No Labels is actively securing ballot access for a yet-to-be-named candidate. Kennedy has spent weeks accusing the DNC of “rigging” the party’s primary against him and threatening that he might need to consider alternatives.

Awaiting Kennedy’s remarks Monday, hundreds of supporters gathered at Philadelphia’s Independence Mall, an apt location for the expected launch. Campaign signs teased a potential new slogan: “Declare your independence.” Among Kennedy’s fans in the crowd were several voters who said they don’t identify as Democratic or Republican and view Kennedy as a truth teller and a breath of fresh air. “He tells it how it is,” said Julia Hill, a 23-year-old student from New Jersey. “He doesn’t sound like a politician.”

I personally like his stand on the environment and antiwar stuff but he is an anti-vaxxer and his views on abortion are not in line with my thinking….so I can rule him out for my vote.

Next is Cornell West….

This candidate has the Dems worried…..

If asked to name candidates who pose the biggest threat to President Biden’s reelection, a lot of people would surely pick Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis. But Cornel West? As it turns out, more top Democrats are getting seriously worried about the prominent Black academic and civil rights activist, reports Mark Leibovich at the Atlantic. It’s all about his potential to be a spoiler. West is running on the Green Party ticket, and Democrats worry he might pull Democratic voters away from Biden, particularly young, progressive voters. Sound familiar? It’s exactly what Democrats say Green Party candidate Jill Stein did to Hillary Clinton in 2016. And as Leibovich points out, Stein is actually West’s campaign manager.

West, for his part, downplays his spoiler potential. He tells the Atlantic that people who vote for him probably wouldn’t vote for Biden anyway—they would just stay home. However, Newsweek points to recent polls that suggest a different story. For example, poll tracker RacetotheWH has Biden leading Trump 44.1 to 42.2 in a one-on-one matchup. Add West to the mix and it’s a different story: Trump has 43, Biden 42, and West 4, according to a poll from Echelon Insights. “We should be concerned,” says Austin Davis, Democratic lieutenant governor in the swing state of Pennsylvania, speaking for Biden supporters.

West has decided to leave the Green Party and go it as an independent.

Cornel West has settled on the third party affiliation of his four-month-old presidential candidacy. The scholar’s campaign announced Thursday that he’s leaving the Green Party to runs as an independent, the Hill reports. “People are hungry for change,” West posted on X, adding that he wants to be president to “end the iron grip of the ruling class and ensure true democracy.” The only reason for the switch given by his campaign was a reference to West wanting to focus on the people, rather than on “the intricacies of internal party dynamics,” per Politico.

West began his campaign with the People’s Party, then moved to the Green Party, which is more mainstream and has a history of third-party candidacies. The progressive’s alliance with Sen. Bernie Sanders has won some support among Democrats, while others warn West could ensure a Republican victory by taking votes from President Biden. West now faces the task of placing his name on state ballots without the support of the Green Party’s infrastructure. He’ll have to collect about 550,000 signatures nationally, said his campaign manager, Peter Daou.

These announced independent have both Biden and Trump camps worried.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced he’s running for president as an independent. Cornel West made the same choice last week. While the politics are murky, the fresh frenzy of outsider candidates threatens to weaken both major parties as Democratic President Biden and Republican former President Donald Trump tighten their grip on their party’s presidential nomination. The parties’ concern isn’t so much that independent or third-party candidates would actually win the presidency, but that they could siphon support from the ultimate Democratic and Republican nominees, the AP reports. Democratic officials, especially, see the outsiders as a dangerous wildcard that harkens to 2016, when Green Party nominee Jill Stein may have enabled Trump’s razor-thin victory by winning a small portion of the vote.

Those associated with third-party efforts make no apologies. “The American people have been hungry for options. So, get ready,” Stein said in an interview. “What we’re seeing is a voter rebellion.” The rise of outsider candidates is a reminder of the volatility that hangs over the 2024 presidential election. Both of the major parties’ likely nominees are extraordinarily unpopular. Biden and Trump are running as the nation grapples with dangerous political divisions, economic anxiety, and a deep desire for a new generation of leadership in Washington. Much more activity is expected soon. Stein said the Green Party will likely make an announcement about its plans this month. No Labels expects to make a decision about its presidential nominee in the spring.

The efforts face obstacles. Simply qualifying for the ballot in every state will be a gargantuan task for outsider candidates without the benefit of existing political networks. Jim Messina, who managed President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign and is now a Biden ally, didn’t play down the possibility that the new candidates could weaken Biden’s coalition. “The threat of a third party needs to be planned for seriously,” Messina said. Noting that no independent or third-party candidate has ever won even a single electoral vote—never mind the 270 needed to claim the presidency—he said Biden’s team still need to be aggressive in warning voters about the threat that long-shot outsider candidates present. “You need to tell people that a vote for a candidate without a path to 270 means they’re lighting their ballot on fire,” Messina said.

Of course these insiders will bad mouth any candidate but theirs….they cannot conceive a world where the parties are not in control and will say and do anything to keep it that way.

Right now my look is for West at least he stands for more issue as I do.

But that can change as the election grows near.

(Any comments about the whole ‘spoiler’ thing will be covered in a later post in this series.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Open Letter To The Voters Of Mississippi

This was originally posted in my other blog, Gulf South Free Press, I post it here for all my visitors that may not be following my other blog.

What are you thinking?

For decades you have voted for Republican candidates and what has that giving the state after all those years in power?

Let’s look at where the state of Mississippi stands in relation to the country.

Total living standards Mississippi ranks 48th

Health care–ranks 48th

Obesity–1st

Teen Pregnancies–#1

Education–#45

Children’s poverty—-28.7%

People living with hunger–15%

Disposable income–$37,834 ranks 50th

Minimum wage at $7.25 per hour which is the lowest possible wage.

Per capita disposable income, also known as disposable personal income (DPI), is the amount of money that a person has available for spending and saving after accounting for income taxes. Disposable income is regarded as a key economic indicator used to gauge the overall state of an economy. Mississippi’s DPI in 2018 was $37,834 which places it 50 out of all 50 US states.

State budget depends on Federal funds for 34.8% of the total which ranks 3rd

Our economic outlook we rank 49th

Our Fiscal stability we are not that good……Mississippi ranks 41 out of 50

The Gross State Product (GSP) does not look promising and has not for the last 5 years…growth rate during that time was 0.8%…..that is less than 1% growth.

Mississippi’s GSP in 2019 reached $104.2bn, with growth of 0.8% over the five years to 2019. Mississippi’s GSP growth ranks 44 out of all 50 US states. GSP is a measurement of a state’s output, or the sum of value added from all industries in the state. It is a common indicator used to track the health of an economy.

Where is that lie of ‘economic development’ we are promised with every election?

So far the only true economic development has been for land speculators, real estate agents and contractors.

Whatever gains anticipated for the year are expected to even out by the start of the new year. The forecast report shows that the number of Mississippi workers on payroll jobs is expected to remain stagnant for the next four years.

(mississippitoday.org)

Sorry for the length but this illustrates what you have got for your vote….very little.

Mississippi to rank at the bottom or near to the bottom of almost every economic sector….and yet the voter continues to believe the lies and vote the purveyors of the lies into office.

Why?

Easy answer…..wedge issues.

The voter is duped by issues like bathrooms and education and other such silliness….none of these moves the people of this state forward.

Please before you vote look around at your neighbors has all the economics of the past actually done anything to make their lives better?

Your vote is sacred….please use if wisely.

Our future does not look bright for the near future…..but you can change all that….your wisely placed vote can make all the difference for your and your family.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

Chuq  (Gulfport)

It’s A Trap!

Sorry I had to get my rendition of Adm. Akbar of Star Wars famous warning….

Okay that out of the way…..has anyone considered that HAMAS is setting trap for Israel?

Could this ‘war’ be masterful plan to lure Israel into committing to a plan that will not end well?

Even the White House is concerned with the impending invasion and subsequent ‘occupation’ of Gaza.

As the world awaits what appears to be an imminent ground invasion of Gaza by Israel, President Biden sought to tread a fine line in regard to the Israeli response in a 60 Minutes interview. He supported Israel’s right to go after Hamas and said the group should be wiped out, but he also warned against an occupation of Gaza and worried about the fate of civilians.

  • Occupation: “I think it’d be a big mistake,” he said of the idea of Israel reoccupying the territory, per the New York Times. “Taking out the extremists … is a necessary requirement,” he added, but “I think that it would be a mistake for Israel to occupy Gaza again.” Meanwhile, Israeli ambassador Michael Herzog told CNN that “we have no desire to occupy or reoccupy Gaza. We have no desire to rule over the lives of more than 2 million Palestinians.”
  • Hamas: Biden agreed when asked whether Hamas should be “eliminated entirely,” saying they had “engaged in barbarism that is as consequential as the Holocaust,” per Newsweek. “Israel has to respond. They have to go after Hamas. Hamas is a bunch of cowards.” Longer term, he said “there needs to be a Palestinian Authority. There needs to be a path to a Palestinian state.”
  • Civilians: The president did not call for a ceasefire when asked about one, and said he was confident Israel would abide by the “rules of war” in regard to protecting civilians. He also backed the idea of creating an evacuation corridor or “safe zone.” Axios offers a quick assessment: The president “has been full-throated in his support for Israel in the wake of the Hamas attack, but his remarks on 60 Minutes signal that he hopes to keep some guardrails on what is likely to be a massive Israeli operation in response.” More than 1 million have fled their Gaza homes in anticipation of the ground assault, per the AP.
  • Border: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters during a visit to Egypt on Sunday that a border crossing between Egypt and Gaza will reopen to allow in the shipments of humanitarian aid for Palestinians, per NPR. He added that the UN is helping Israel and Egypt coordinate the shipments through the Rafah crossing.
  • Militant leader: Israel said one of its missile strikes over the weekend killed a Hamas commander believed to have led one of the massacres on an Israeli kibbutz, per the Telegraph. The military says Billal Al Kedra led the attack on Kibbutz Nirim during the Oct. 7 raid.

A ground invasion and occupation could be just what the plan was the whole time.

The trap could draw in the US as well….

The Pentagon has selected 2,000 troops to prepare for a potential deployment to support Israel, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

Pentagon officials told the paper that the troops would be tasked with missions like advising and medical support and are not intended to serve a combat role. The personnel that have been selected are from across the US armed services, and some are already in the Middle East while others are outside the region.

The Associated Press also reported that the US is preparing for the potential deployment. One official told the AP that they would “not be sent to Israel but could be sent to countries in the region.”

It’s not clear what circumstances would lead to the deployment, but the prepare to deploy notice comes as Israel continues to bombard the Gaza Strip and is expected to launch a ground incursion. An Israeli military spokesman said Sunday that Israeli forces were “in formation” to launch an attack on Gaza City.

(antiwar.com)

Is this a prudent decision?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Just Where Do We Draw The Line?

Everybody here knows that I do not blindly support sending taxpayer dollars to Ukraine or Israel for that matter.

I have no problem with humanitarian aid or intel sharing even training but just to throw money away by paying for their government is wasteful.

Americans , well some Americans, know that we are sending weapons and stuff but how many know that we are paying the officials, propping up small businesses etc?

Ukraine on Wednesday received a $1.15 billion tranche of direct budgetary aid from the US that’s disbursed through the World Bank.

The budgetary aid the US has been providing Ukraine funds government services and salaries, subsidizes small businesses, pays farmers, and provides other types of economic support.

According to Ukraine’s Finance Ministry, the country has received $10.9 billion in direct budget support from the US in 2023. Since Russia invaded in February 2022, the US has provided Ukraine with a total of $22.9 billion in budgetary aid.

Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reported that the US was running out of money to fund the Ukrainian government. The report said after the $1.15 billion tranche was disbursed for the month of October, there would be nothing left.

Congress is expected to authorize more Ukraine aid soon, but if there’s a long delay, it’s not clear how Ukraine will be able to fund its government. The EU is providing significant economic assistance but has acknowledged it cannot fill the gaps that would be left if US aid dried up.

I am sorry but why do we have to support their economy?

In other words we are paying for everything in Ukraine…..the war effort as well as their government and businesses.

Why?

It is time to stop all this silliness and use dollars where they are desperately needed….HERE!

Turn The Page!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

Is He The Anointed One?

This bit dramedy(drama-comedy) took place over the weekend and it is just too juicy to ignore.

Scalise has taken a back seat in the run for Speaker….that leaves Jordan as the the most likely new Speaker….but does he have the clout to get elected?

Ten days after Rep. Kevin McCarthy was ousted as speaker from the House, the chamber’s Republicans appear to still be a long way from choosing a replacement—and they’ve rejected a proposal to avoid a potentially messy vote on the House floor. Politico reports that GOP lawmakers voted against a plan to require 217 members of the conference to agree on a nominee before there is a vote on the full House floor. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise was nominated in a 113-99 vote on Wednesday, but he dropped out Thursday night after it became clear that he had no hope of getting 217 votes, the minimum needed to be elected speaker.

Rep. Jim Jordan was the only declared GOP candidate for speaker after Scalise’s exit, but he was joined before the noon deadline Friday by Rep. Austin Scott. “I have filed to be Speaker of the House,” the Georgia lawmaker said in a post on X. “We are in Washington to legislate, and I want to lead a House that functions in the best interest of the American people.” Republicans are holding more closed-door meetings Friday but a floor vote appears unlikely, NBC News reports. Some lawmakers have already left town for the weekend, leaving only 209 of the 221 Republicans, meaning Democratic nominee Rep. Hakeem Jeffries could be elected if a floor vote happens.

After some late political drama, Republicans have chosen Rep. Jim Jordan as their new nominee to be House speaker. However, it remains very much up in the air whether Jordan, a staunch ally of Donald Trump, will be able to get enough votes in the full House to secure the gavel, reports the Hill. Jordan defeated late entrant Austin Scott of Georgia in the Friday afternoon GOP vote. Politico reports he won with 124 ballots, but he will need 217 to become speaker. All of this comes a day after Steve Scalise withdrew as “speaker designate,” knowing he would not be able to reach the magic number of 217. No word yet on when Republicans might schedule a full House vote.

If you think this is a done deal then think again….someone left the back door unlock and a new candidate came through.

When a surprise new challenger emerged Friday for the House speakership, everyone but the most diehard political junkies could be forgiven for asking, “Austin who?” That would be GOP Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia, for whom the descriptor “little-known” was being applied often in coverage. “We are busily googling Austin Scott right now,” one House Democrat told Axios. Some basics:

  • The 53-year-old Scott is a “mainstream conservative” and an ally of ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy, per the New York Times. Scott has served in Congress since 2011 and sits on the influential Intelligence Committee.
  • He has been openly critical of the hard-right flank in the House that removed McCarthy from his leadership post, per the AP. “It makes us look like a bunch of idiots,” he told CNN earlier this week.
  • After Steve Scalise withdrew from the speaker’s race on Thursday night, Scott made clear that he would not support new front-runner Jim Jordan. The Hill sees him as an “apparent protest” candidate against Jordan, though Scott told reporters Friday, “Jim’s a friend of mine.”
  • The move further complicates Jordan’s path toward receiving the necessary 217 votes to become speaker. “I assume a large block of people that work for Steve will probably start out with Austin,” GOP Rep. Warren Davidson, a Jordan backer, told the Hill.
  • “When I woke up this morning, I had no intention of doing this,” Scott told reporters. “But I believe if we as Republicans are going to make the majority, we have to do the right things the right way. And we’re not doing that right now.”

I told you this would get sillier.

Now we wait for the floor vote to see just how silly this can get.

Then there is a deal being purposed….a bi-partisan deal…..

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the Democrat nominee for speaker, said on NBC News Sunday that some moderate Republicans are considering a bipartisan solution. “There are informal conversations that have been underway. When we get back to Washington tomorrow, it’s important to begin to formalize those discussions,” he said. “We have made clear, publicly and privately, that we are ready, willing, and able to enter into a bipartisan governing coalition that puts the American people first.”

Would that mean a Democrat or a Republican as the potential speaker? As Fox News reports, multiple Republicans have predicted that not even their moderate colleagues would agree to vote for a Democrat as speaker. On NBC, Kristen Welker noted to Jeffries that “you’d effectively need about five Democrats to get on board and support a Republican speaker to have a governing coalition,” asking if Democrats had identified any Republican colleague they could get behind. Jeffries said no.

Why not? “Our focus is not on the individual,” he said. “It’s on the institution of Congress and the best interests of the American people, which is why what we suggested is that we reevaluate the rules that are currently in place to facilitate bipartisan cooperation and to eliminate division.”

Personally I believe that this is nothing but wishful thinking….does anyone truly believe there can be a bi-partisan approach to a speaker?

Any guesses?

One final thought….as usual the Repubs try to blame Biden for all this chaos in the House….

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley was asked about the chaos amongst House Republicans on CNN Sunday. She led off her answer by addressing “chaos” related to the Biden administration, and was promptly cut off by Jake Tapper, the Hill reports. “You can’t blame that on Biden. You can’t blame this on Biden,” Tapper said. “Well, you have to let me finish,” Haley continued before listing several examples of what she considers “chaotic,” including inflation, the border, crime, education, and world affairs. “What I’m saying is you can’t fix Democrat chaos with Republican chaos. They need to get it together,” she said, ultimately conceding that the speaker debacle is “not a good look” for the GOP.

God I love this stuff….aren’t you glad you have the Old Professor to do the hard lift for you?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Are You A Bookworm?

It is another Sunday and I want to give my readers something to think about…..this Sunday it is books.

My daughter has always said that I was a bookworm basically because I have over 500 books and none of them fiction.

I bring this up because you may have a book that could be worth a bunch of cash….

A room without books is like a body without a soul,” Cicero once said, though he might not have known that those books could one day be worth serious cash.

If you look around your house, whether you keep your books on shelves, in stacks or stowed away in the basement, you may find a robust section of literature. A collection compiled over the years or from used bookstores can surprise you with what it’s worth. If a book sounds like a classic and has words such as “first edition” printed inside, you could be holding a small treasure trove in your hands.

The Dairy of Anne Frank

Saila Marcos, a content marketer at Biblio — the largest independent book marketplace for used, rare and out-of-print books — notes that this book can reach prices in the several-thousand-dollar range with certain criteria attached. It must be the Dutch forest edition of Anne Frank’s diary; and it must be the original title: “The Annex: Diary Notes 14 June 1942 – 1 August 1944.”

Buyers will know it when they see it because this book includes “illustrations of the place where Anne’s family was hiding during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands and examples of the handwriting of the author,” according to Marcos.

Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone

“The first edition of ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ typically commands a sale price of up to $20,000, and in some cases, even more, contingent upon the copy’s uniqueness,” Marcos said. With each passing sequel that was published — followed by a franchise of major motion pictures, stage plays and theme parks — the original novel only shot up in value.

“This phenomenon elevates the work to the most expensive in the entire series and positions it as one of the costliest books available on the market,” Marcos added.

There is so much more….check them out….

https://www.gobankingrates.com/money/wealth/check-your-bookshelves-for-these-old-books-they-could-be-worth-thousands/

Most of them are fiction so that pretty much leaves me out of a fabulous payday….but maybe you have something….check out your books you could be sitting on a fat check.

Have a great Sunday and as always….Be well and be safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

IST Saturday News Dump–14Oct23

Another week comes to an end and the news is just as dismal as the week before….the only news is that after 90+ days of no rain we finally got the wet stuff.

On the international front…..war has come to Gaza and as usual the civilians are paying the price….is there still a war in Ukraine?  Biden will get his check from AIPC…..

Onward and upward!

If you are a vegetarian then your choice may not have been voluntary….it could be in your gens.

A love of lentils could be something passed down through the generations, according to researchers who compared the genes of 5,000 vegetarians to those of more than 320,000 others. Their study, published in the journal PLOS Onelast week, found that three genes had a strong link to vegetarianism and another 31 had a potential association, Gizmodo reports. Two of the genes with a strong link were associated with how fats, aka lipids, are metabolized. The researchers suspect there could be a lipid nutrient in meat that some people need more than others.

“Dietary choices involve an interplay between the physiologic effects of dietary items, their metabolism, and taste perception, all of which are strongly influenced by genetics,” wrote the researchers, who used data from the UK Biobank project. The vegetarians in the study were people who said they hadn’t eaten meat or fish in at least a year.

The researchers say more studies are needed to fully explain the genetic factors involved. They say they became interested in the subject because many people find it difficult to follow a strict vegetarian diet, with almost 50% of self-identified vegetarians having consumed meat or fish products in the previous year, according to one study. “A lot of people who want to be vegetarian are perhaps not able to,” lead researcher Dr. Nabeel Yaseen of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine tells NPR. “We wanted to know if genetics is part of the reason.”

Remember that is ‘genes with a ‘G’ not ‘jeans with a “J”.

The world is inching closer to a potable water crisis but there could be an answer…..

Turning seawater into clean, drinkable water is one solution to meeting an ever-growing global demand.

But desalination – essentially stripping seawater of salts and other minerals – is very energy intensive.

Norwegian company Waterise has patented a deep-water solution using an energy-efficient reverse osmosis filtration process.

https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/10/06/turning-saltwater-into-drinking-water-a-low-carbon-tech-solution-to-the-global-water-crisi

What type of intelligence do you have?

Yes there are different types of intelligence…..8 to be exact…..which is you?

The IQ test is not the final answer to that question.

Everyone has heard of IQ, or intelligence quotient, a fixed number that’s supposed to reveal how smart you are. But what if there was another way to look at intelligence—what if instead of an overall number, there were eight distinct types of intelligence that you could change and improve over the course of your lifetime? That’s the idea behind multiple intelligences.

Multiple intelligence theory views human smarts as different categories, with each person having a different level of aptitude in each. In the theory, “a person’s different intelligences are seen as relatively autonomous, meaning each one of us can have different strengths and weaknesses among the different intelligences,” says Robert Yeilding, a licensed clinical psychologist in California.

Let’s look at how the theory of multiple intelligences was developed, what the eight types of intelligence are and which ones you have.

There Are 8 Types of Intelligence: Which One Is Your Strength?

I enjoy a beer ever now and then….but is climate change coming for my beer?

Hold onto your pints! A recent study reveals that climate change might not only make beer scarcer but also take away its signature bite. Climate change is making Europe hotter and drier, and this is meddling with the quality of hops, a key ingredient in brewing. By 2050, we could see a drop in hop yields by 18% and a whopping 31% reduction in their alpha acid content—the very essence that gives beer its bitterness.

This isn’t the first popular product threatened by climate change. A study in 2019 found that the distribution and cultivation of agave, the main ingredient of tequila, could be disrupted. Chocolate could also become a luxury by 2050 according to a 2016 study, which found it will be very difficult to harvest cocoa due to evapotranspiration. Now, it appears that even beer, a summer staple, isn’t safe.

https://www.zmescience.com/science/is-climate-change-coming-for-our-beer-next/

Trying to find a way to travel the universe in the future and a magnetic plasma engine just may be the answer….

Missions to the Moon, missions to Mars, robotic explorers to the outer Solar System, a mission to the nearest star, and maybe even a spacecraft to catch up to interstellar objects passing through our system. If you think this sounds like a description of the coming age of space exploration, then you’d be correct! At this moment, there are multiple plans and proposals for missions that will send astronauts and/or probes to all of these destinations to conduct some of the most lucrative scientific research ever performed. Naturally, these mission profiles raise all kinds of challenges, not the least of which is propulsion.

Simply put, humanity is reaching the limits of what conventional (chemical) propulsion can do. To send missions to Mars and other deep space destinations, advanced propulsion technologies are required that offer high acceleration (delta-v), specific impulse (Isp), and fuel efficiency. In a recent paper, Leiden Professor Florian Neukart proposes how future missions could rely on a novel propulsion concept known as the Magnetic Fusion Plasma Drive (MFPD). This device combines aspects of different propulsion methods to create a system that offers high energy density and fuel efficiency significantly greater than conventional methods.

Florian Neukart is an Assistant Professor with the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS) at Leiden University and a Board Member of the Swiss quantum technology developer Terra Quantum AG. The preprint of his paper recently appeared online and is being reviewed for publication in Elsevier. According to Neukart, technologies that can surmount conventional chemical propulsion (CCP) are paramount in the present era of space exploration. In particular, these technologies must offer greater energy efficiency, thrust, and capability for long-duration missions.

Magnetic Fusion Plasma Engines Could Carry us Across the Solar System and Into Interstellar Space

That is about all I can muster….the weather is cooler and outside for coffee and monkey bread are in order.

I hope everyone has a good Saturday and as always….Be Well and Be Safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”