SUPREME COURT RULING: PROPERTY RIGHTS

I did not realize this case was still being tried in the courts!  I thought it was settled way back when, in the early teens or so.  But apparently I was wrong.

The question is - if you buy land, does the EPA have the right to determine the definition of "wetlands" to be ANY water upon the land?

Well in this case, the water was not a stream ... it was not a pond ... it was not the lake ... it was a DRAINAGE DITCH.

EPA said that since the ditch ran into a stream which ran into a river that ran into a lake, it was a "wetland" ...

So the owners sued the EPA ...

The EPA said they could NOT be sued by individuals .... which would have meant they had NO checks & balances ...

The Supreme  Court said "No" that they COULD be sued by individuals

This put the case back into the court system ...

Yup ... 16 years ago, now .... it has fanally come up with a 9-0 decision ... yeah, this QUIETLY went through the system without showing up in ANY news reports.

Yes EVERY JUSTICE voted the same way.

Now you need to understand that the EPA had gotten to the point where ANY water on a lond could be seen as a "wetland" from a drainage ditch to a puddle after a big rain .... I'm actually surprised they didn't forbid the use of sandbags during floods!

Here is the episode of Facts Matter (YouTube) which discusses the ruling and the NEW definitions as defined BY THE COURT ...

Kind of interesting ... I'm not sure that they can define the term "water way" or "wetland" via the court system ....

It smacks too much of legislating from the bench - they can not make laws from the bench, but they are allowed to interprete the laws as they are written.

But ... here's the video

WHOA! SOMEONE ISN'T REPORTING THE TRUTH ... OR THEY'RE PICKING AND SHOSING ...

 So, I had a rough night (pizza didn't sit well at all) so if this gets testy, let me apologize now ...

Hush Money Trial .... David Pecker, the former publisher of The National Enquirer ... you ever get the feeling he's only there for publicity reasons??... and they gave their account of what transpired during his second day of testimony yesterday ...

And they are saying he claimed to be summoned to Trump Towers ... where he met with Mr. Trump and Cohen, and was asked what could be done.

ABC (Good Morning America) is reporting this .... and here is the quote they put onto their placard:
"... asked me why can I doand what my magazines could do to help the campaign."
Yeah ... okay ... first off, the REPORTER was the one who said that both Trump and Cohen asked this ...

I just can't see them talking in unison ... like the bobsy twins ...that would be rude ... that would be childish ... can't see it happening.

One or the other had to ask that ... the OTHER STATIONS (CBs, FNC, bloggers, etc) have all said it was Cohen ... and none of them ever said Mr. Trump was even there ...

Again - this reporter puts Mr. Trump right into the middle of things ... the other networks don't ever mention him having any direct knowledge of what was going on ...

Guess we will have to see when the transcript gets released .... maybe. 

The "reporter" (because I've lost confidence in this guy) went on to say, the 3 of them entered into a confidential agreement  
In which the Enquirer would publish positive stories about Mr. Trump ... and negative stories about his opponent.
(Did anyone ever quesion this? Its not illegal)

Pecker went on to say that Cohen would
"... send me information about Ted Cruz or Ben Carson or Marco Rubio and that was the basis for our story and we would embellish"
Only person I'm seeing breaking the law here is HIM!

But I'm going to go off on a ttangent if I don't knuckle down ...

He even brought up a phone call of Mr. Trump questioning Ted Cruz's father to the Kennedy Assassination ... 
Okay - I gotta break in here ... everyone knows Trump loves a good conspiracy story ... and most people who believe in these things are more than willing to repear them and get their beliefs out there -- but this is NOT against the law ... nor was the the first to mention it

The "reporter" then went on to say Pecker said
"I will be your eyes and ears ..."
Saying he agreed to buy damaging stories so 
"... they would not get published."

The "reporter" then goes on to list some of the ways the Enquirer chose to prevent these stories
$30,000 payment to a Trump World Tower Doorman who was shopping and unfounded claim that Mr. Trump fathered a child out of wedlock - which Trump denied - 
This particular doorman did talk to Good Morning America in 2018 ... apparently, according to this interview, he thought they were going to publish the story, but it dawned on him later that it was to "quiet me down" (his words) ... he does a LOT of blinking in this clip (they didn't show very much of the interview, just this one clip so I'm not sure if the blinking can be seen as a "tell" or not)

Even more telling was when they came back from the "reporter" to the desk/set the head of the lead political reporter ... he's there all the time, but I can not remember his name ... made sure he stepped back from the way this was reported ...
He didn't mention WHO was in any meeting ... in fact he even said that Pecker kept saying that COHEN was the one orchestrating it all.

I'm sure having a former Clinton press secretary on staffmakes it less likely that Mr. Trump will get accurate coverage ...

but .... C'MON ...

At least be FAIR

TRIAL UPDATES: NYC HUSH MONEY

Okay- so I'm finally getting around to watching Special Report (FNC) and they had a couple updates on the "Hush Money" case in Mahattan, NY

Today Pecker took the stand again to give more "testimony" ... only thing is ... what he said doesn't imply Mr. Trump at all.

In fact - if anyone is implicated ... it's COHEN ... Mr. Plea Deal himself!

Pecker said that his job was to bury any bad publicity/news stories involving Mr. Trump, but that he did this in coordination with Mr. Cohen - Mr. Trump had NO contact at all!

Then, with the jury out of the room (by the sound of it), the judge of the trial told Mr. Trump's lawyer that he was losing the faith of the Court ... or something like that ...
I hope the jury doesn't catch wind of that.

This goes back to a possible infraction of the GAG ORDER only imposed on Mr. Trump ... meanwhile Cohen can't post everyday about Mr. Trump - but Mr. Trump is unable to post any sort of a "defense" ...
While the lawyer tried to show the court what some of Cohen's posts were, the court refused to pay them any mind.

Geez -- nice to see NY courts are operating par for course.

THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO ...HMMMMM

 So I was working on another post, when it suddenly dawned on me that IF Stormy Daniels was "black mailing" Donald Trump  ...
And she knew he was a MILLIONAIRE ...

Doesn't $130,000 ... during the presidency of Mr Obama, mind you ... seem WAY too LOW??

It does to me!!!

Why not ask for at least $500K or $1Million???

Nor does it make sense, really, for Mr. Trump to actually pay .... that would only lead to further blackmail ....

wow ....

the questions that NEVER get asked by the media!

NUMBERS AREN'T ADDING UP

I whish I had seen this yesterday, but I just didn't have time to watch Special Report (FNC) until today ...

It seems that every month Mr. Trump paid his then lawyer, Mike Cohen, $10,000 a month for what was listed as "retainer fees" ...

I don't know if you've ever worked witha lawyer before, but a Retainer isn't just to keep a lawyer at hand - it's like pre=paying for work which is to be done.

And its not unusual for lawyers working with property, business, or contract law to go through the retainers quite quickly - and it adds up FAST!!!!

So, $10,000 - while high - is not out of the question ... Mr. Trump owns a LOT of properties, and was looking at opening several more places before he became the nominee in 2016.

Cohen claims that Mr. Trump had him pay Stormy Daniels $130,000 as Hush Money ... which while not ethical, it's not illegal.
Daniel Pecker (former publisher of The National Enquirer) repeated this story on the witness stand -- which I'm surprised was allowed to be entered into the testimony, because of Heresay ... all he would have known was that COHEN had paid Stormy Daniels.

Well, the numbers don't add up ..

You see, Cohen is claiming that Mr. Trump paid him BACK for the $130K given to Daniels ....

Only thing is - Cohen was actually paid $420K

Yup, that's MORE THAN 3X as much as the payout!!!!

Now, Mr. Trump may have just signed the checks -- but he's not that bad of a businessman NOT to know where the money is or who it's going to .... 

I just don't see it ... unless Cohen was being paid for OTHER incidences as well ... 

Cohen has got it out for Mr. Trump -- I think because he didn't get a Presidential Pardon before Mr. Trump left office.
But his problem with that is HE TOOK A PLEA DEAL!!

And, unfortunately for Mr. Trump, part of the plea deal is that Cohen has to cooperate with the prosecutors in each and every trial he is called to testify in ... or his deal is mute, and what he confessed to can be used against HIM.

sOo if you are wondering why Cohen keeps getting rolled out in all these cases -- he's plead into being a stooge.

And no ... he's no longer a lawyer.
He was Disbarred after the plea deal as well.

But as Mr. Trump has said ... if anything, this is a BOOK KEEPING ERROR ... a misdermeanor, can be settled by a fine in NY -- and the Manhattan prosecutor is just trying to make a name for themselves by trying it by jury, in Superior court (that is just the way they distinguish between the two levels of the court system) ...

And ... yeah ... I agree - FOR NOW (gota wait to see what they reveal during the trial) - this is being blown out of porportion.

Technically - this should be getting tried in DIVORCE court .... I just can't see Melania putting up with all this crap.

Barron graduates next month - maybe after than ....
But you never know ... $130K isn't very much at all ... in fact, its chump change for what Mr. Trump had at the time.

Things that make you go ... HMMMMM.

HUSH MONEY ... IS IT ILLEGAL, OR DOES IT DEPEND?

Likely you have seen on the news about the NY vs. Trump Trial going on, which is supposed to be looking at how Hush Money had been paid to some gale (I want to say Stormy Daniels, but I'm not really sure)

But it brings up the question of IF hush money can be considered an actual CRIMINAL ACT ...

I truly think it DEPENDS on WHO is involved, and WHAT they are trying to hush up ...

An affair?  I think that should be legal
An oil spill? I think that should be illegal

The difference?

One has to deal with two concenting adults .... very much like the Bill Clinton cases (only she was never exposed to classified infor/meetings she didn't have clearance for) ... it's interesting to see how many people flip on this one.

I'm shocked Melania is still with him, actually ... I would have thought she'd have ran with half his estate -- depending on the pre-nump (You KNOW there was a pre-nup!)

The other deals with Public Health and Safety ... if there is a cover up about how a prisoner escaped ... yeah = that should be illegal, but I can't see there being any sort of "hush money" paid out for that ...
But say ... let's take the Love Canal - real case ... a LOT of dangerous chemicals were buried underground, and then a neighborhood was built up around it ...

In fact the Love Canal playground for the elementary school was built right over the main burial/dump area!

There were RUMORS of payout of Hush Money going on  ... UNTIL people started comparing notes ... people started goin "oh that's why my kids shoes always melted" ... etc. but by the time this happened --
Most of the ones taking the hush money were gone ... they left town, they died, whatever happened, they couldn't find them (my understanding, likely I'm wrong)

THAT is a CRIMINAL act!!!

I will be keeping an eye on this trial rather closely ...

Why?

Because it sounds as if there are lawyers ON THE JURY

I'm wondering if they are going to re-try the case in the jury room ... we will see.

NOT PUBLISHING, IS IT AGAINST THE LAW? OR "FREE SPEECH"?

So the first prosecution witness took the stand today ... 

The publisher, or former publisher, of the National Enquirer tabloid ... I can't recall his name David Pecker (I found his name)... but apparently some gal (you know I don't remember her name either) contacted the rag saying she had a story to tell ... in 2016 - BEFORE the elcetion ...

The National Equirer sent out a reporter to interview her .... she signed an "exclusivity contract" with the paper - saying she would not give an interview with any other source - and the interview proceeded.

Well - after the interview was done, SHE WAS PAID the fee that both SHE AND THE PAPER AGREED ON ... no one got shorted here.

And the National Enquirer decided NOT to actually publish the story .... for whatever reason.

She made a stink about it AFTER he won the Presidency ... I think he was in office for a couple years before she "broke her silence" ...

I'm going to guess she wanted either more money .... or fame ... or both.

The "burying" of the story hit the news .... big time ... but still the question remains ....

IF a newspaper ... magazine ... media of ANY SORT ... interviews a person - exclusive or not - are they LEGALLY BOUND to actually publish it?

OR did they simply pay for the STORY/INTERVIEW ... and not publising it is a choice and not a part of the contract???

I find it interesting that THIS story has actually been linked as an "and also as" in another trial with questionable legal status .... but more of that in a moment, in a different post.

It will be interesting to see how this gets looked at ...

I think it depends on the LANGUAGE used in the EXCLUSIVITY CONTRACT ...

Because if it is considered illegal to suppress a story - the Royal family ... in fact, most of Hollywood, better watch out!!

This is a case of CONTRACT LAW .... not CRIMINAL law.

WHOA - DID I HEAR THIS CORRECTLY???

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) was on Fox News Sunday (FOX) yesterday - and they were discussing the UKRAINIAN funding which had just passed in the House.

There was a statement from J.D.Vance read which basically said that even with this aid, there's no way America will be able to support Ukraine to the extent that will be needed to beat Russia "even with the draconian conscription" going on over there.

Well, the Senator got his turn to speak when he said this:

" .... under estimates America.  We're tha strangest greatest ountry in the history of the world.  We can produce, you know, the kind of artillery shells , the long range artillery, the attack on internet sites, the defense Patriot systems Iran needs many more of them to protect their cities.  ...."

WAIT - we're protecting IRAN?????

I don't think so, sir!!

Even more interestingly -- both the HOST of the show and the REPUBLICAN counter point on the panel said

NOTHING 

about the comment ... they just went on like it was an every day thing ... didn't even flinch.

I thught Iran was fighting AGAINST us and our allies?  

Just thought I'd mention it.

BY THE NUMBERS: PENNSYVANIA (PA)

Okay - there are some pretty interesting poll numbers which came out on Thursday (at least that was when I saw them) for the state of Pennsyvania ...

Here's a breadk down as to GROUPS who favor one candidate, for the other:

(Group ... then % for Biden or Trump ...bold is for higher number)

Non-White Voters ....... 69%/27%
Rural Voters ................ 35%/60%
Suburban Women ....... 65%/33%
Voters Under 35 Yrs..... 56%/42%
Whites With/Degree ......56%/41%
White men w/o Degree .. 31%/65%
White Evangelicals .........22%/74%
Conservatives .................17%/80%
Independants .................. 38%/46%

I find it interesting how they have split the groups up ... they do not always have a corresponding opposite ...

Such as "Non-Whaite" ... this does two things ...
1)its s ummation of a lot of different groups ... which groups are they including? What about people of mixed racial heritage, do you coulnt them? 
2)It sets up the nation as a "Us against Them" look at things ... and the hope of my generation (the Tweens - not quite Baby Boomers, not quite Gen X) we strived to have a racially neutral society - where people wouldn't be put into these types of boxes.

Degrees .... why are only white people with or without degrees being polled? and for "no Degree" why were only white men mentioned, I'm going to guess there's an awful lott of women who don't have degrees as well?  And are you talking ANY type of degree (such as an Associates or Bachelor's Degree) or are you talking only the higher degrees (Masters or Doctorates)?

Personally -- I think the reason that Mr. Trump is doing better with the non-degree group is because - if Biden's push comes to light - THEY will be PAYING for OTHER PEOPLE to get a degree!!!

The one that really slays me - and they do it on the news all the time -- they group ALL women in with the "suburban women" ... I'm sorry ... NO
Women who live in the Suburbs do NOT speak for those living in a tenament city ... or those living in the country ... or those living in a Big city ... or those living in the mountains ...

Just like "abortion" is not the only only Woman's Health Issue facing us today ... nor is it IVF - in fact, laws which will force Insurance companies to pay for this should be struck down ... You don't go into IVF hoping your insurance will pay for it - you're not talking a single baby in most instances, you are talking about PURPOSEFULLY having several babies at one time ...
OCTOMOM ... that's all I'm going to say. (I'm sure she loves all there kids, but she never thought about how much raising that many kids was going to cost her)

I just think when they "cherry pick" the polling data in such a way, that it makes it very deceptive.

AND SO IT BEGINS ...

If you thought that this election season was going to be easy for Mr. Trump .... better think again ...

A)The "Hush Money" trial in Manhattan has started seating jourors this week ... and there have been both ups and downs with this one.  By Wednesday they had 7 people on the jurt, but by Thursday morning that had dropped to 5 ... then later 4 ... One because her family figured out that she was on the jury (I think I've got info one the original 6 from before, but most of that info is mute now) ... one because of postings on Twitter where they had called for Mr. Trump to be kicked out of office while he was still President ... and one for having been arrested (and I assumed put on trial) in the 1990s for vandalizing/removing political signs, and then saying on his juror form that he had never been arrested for a crime - its considered "lying" even if you have innocently forgotten.
Mr. Trump's issue is that the trial will be taking place in MANHATTAN ... so all the jurors MUST come from Manhattan -- it is known as being the most Blue/Democratic city in the USA!!!
Basically, from what I've heard, NOT ONE block in Manhattan voted for Mr. Trump in 2016 nor 2020!!
Yeah, unfortunately, Life isn't very Fair.

B)Poll numbers are starting to slip a bit for Mr. Trump ... well, not that he's losing any numbers, but Mr. Biden has in fact gone UP in a few states, but expecially in Swing States - those needed in order to win the election.

Last month, Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden were only in a "tie" (and even that was a statistical tie) in WI ... Now the number for the 4 Swing states look like this:S

State (B/T)
GA 45%/51%
MI  46%/49%
PA  48%/48%
WI  48%/48%

Yeah - that only seems to swing Mr. Trump's way when Robert Kennedy Jr. is put in there ... then most of them definately go for Mr. Trump.

Right now the biggest question, which no one seems to be asking with any seriousness, is WILL THERE BE MULTIPLE DEBATES?? and if so, WHAT TIME OF DAY??

Remember - Mr. Trump is currently required by the judge to be in court EVERY DAY of the trial ... its like the judge doesn't realize there's an election going on.
And as we have seen with Mr. Biden, as the day goes on, he begins to "get lost" ... almost like Sundowners.

Wouldn't it be something if during a debate, Mr. Biden starts getting ready for bed? We are pretty sure he's going to lose his train of thought, slur his words ...

this is going to be very interesting ...

And the worse part is -- 
IF Mr. Biden does start having these issues ... on LIVE Tv ... the YOUTH of America will likely make FUN of him.
Worse, will be if MR. TRUMP begins to do it -- he is not that far behind Mr. Biden age wise, and these trials may start to take a toll on his mind as well soon.
Let's hope - if it happens - Mr. Trump will treat him with compassion. Maybe, treat Mr. Biden as HE would want to be treated.

Whatever happens -- I just hope we don't have a "Jesse Ventura" moment with this next election ... Let's hope that people don't go "I can'tt vote for either one, I vote RFK" or "He'll never win, its a protest vote" ...

Ask MN what happened when we did that in 1996!!!

FROM BOOK TO SERIES: MISS MARPLE

They have still showing the Geraldine McEwan versions of Miss Marple on my local PBS station ... which is very good, I like her protrayal of Miss Jane Marple ...

But .... very much like last week's episode .... the story, while it shares several basic marks ... almost seems like a different story than the one in the book.

The Sleeping Murder

A bit of history of the story ...

Appearantly after World War 2 ... Agatha Christie decided to write the final cases for her most important detectives, Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple.

She wrote them, and shipped them off to her publisher - under the directions that they NOT be published until after her death.

This is the final case of Miss Jane Marple ... 

In the book, it appears she is still rather active ... and her instincts are as sharp as ever.

But it is the LAST novel for Jane ... although, it seems she lives on in the end (unlike Poirot, who dies in his final story)

In the Series - yup we're going to start with this one - the story opens in India, filmed Bollywood style with dancers and music in the Bollywood style ... pretty but ... fluff, just filler.  They use this scene to introduce Gwenda (main character) and her father.
In the series Gwenda is ENGAGED to be married ... and traveling to England alone to find a new home for her and her fiancee .... 
She is met by someone who her husband has pick her up at the airport and show her around the country, helping her look for a home.

During one of these trips, they go to a seaside and eat an ice cream cone ... when she notices a house over on the opposite shore - just nextled in ..

He finds that the house is for sale and she purchases it.

She appears to have "psychic" abilities - finding where a door was hidden and discribing the wallpaper in a room that is hidden away.

Yeah ... and that's about it, really.

In the book ... her name is Gwenda BUT she is already MARRIED ... she does arrive ON HER OWN to purchase a house, but there is NO ONE else, at least I don't remember it being mentioned, which drives her from place to place.

In the book, Gwenda says she has NEVER been to India, or England ... and that she was raised in New Zealand (interesting this bit, you don't hear about too many characters living in NZ) ... she's about 22 or 23 years old.  She was too young to remember her mother, and barely remembers her father .... she was raised by his wife and her husband.

In the book, not only does she find the hidden door, but also an old pathway which had grown over, and the wallpaper hidden in a cabinet, which had been locked but the key lost.

Both feature Gwenda & Jane going to a stage production ... both feature Gwends getting up and walking out of the play upset by what happened on the stage ... but I do like the way the book gets into what happens afterwards .... Miss Marple is so kind and gentle, bringing Gwenda a hot water bottle to help settle her shakes.

Oh yes -- the book is definattely the way to go ... but the series isn't bad either ...

just WATCH THE EPISODE FIRST ... otherwise you'll feel a tad disappointed.

Again, I have embedded what I could find on YouTube for you ... enjoy ... and remember ...

THESE ARE NOT MY VIDEOS ... I have only embedded them for your enjoyment.

The episode I saw found

(I have not found a good video of this story yet ... just very short clips)

The Audio book

FROM BOOK TO SERIES: HERCULE POIROT

Everytime I see the titla of this case, i can never remember who solves the case ... then I remember, its Poirot, of course.

We will look at the PBS series firest (via BBC) simply because it is the easist to do while watching .... and I've seen it several times before ... not one of my favorites - not so much because Poirot nearly FAILS on this one ... but the acting is so bad by the background (non-regulars) actors.

And now - as always ... 

SPOILER ALERT

The A-B-C MURDERS

The episode opens at a train station ... a train is rolling in, and someone is getting a ticket punched for "Victoria".
Turns out it was Captain Hastings returning cayfrom a trip to someplace where he was able to kill a cayman.
He see Poirot waiting for him ...
Poirot takes him back to his very own apartment, stating that until Hastings can get his own apartment back, he will be staying at Poirot's place, with him.

I just can't see this -- Poirot is a very particular with things, time ... he's kind of like Sheldon Cooper, only Belgium.

Hercule Poirot tells Hastings that things have been quiet while he's away ... but now that he's back they can go on the "hunt" again.

And POOF -- a case shows back up.
The ABC murderer has named himself ... but since its only the "A" murder which has been committed - why would he name himself "ABC"?

Inspector Japp shows up in this production as well ... he's the inspector on the case.
Poirot leaps to the concludes that the next person will have a last name beginning with "B" and living in a city beginning wih a "B" ... interesting conclusion since there's only been ONE killing so far, way too early to find a pattern of any sort.

They then pop over/into a movie theater where they are showing a movie about a murderer .... and they focus in on one man in the audience.
This same man later is in a library where he mets a man who speaks about murder and begins to laugh melialchy. 

After victim 3, there is finally a link to nylon stockings ... 

The interesting part is murder #4 -- Poirot totally messes it up ... and its too late to stop it.

But, is the murderer who we think it is???

Ok course, they are trying to squeeze a novel into only 45 minutes - 1 hour ... and it would seem that a series of crimes which follow the alphabet would seem rather simple to follow (a each scene is a train schedule turned to the pageturned to where the murder took place)
But ... while they do a good job at telling about how Poirot is trying to work it out, you know very early WHO it is!!
It just feels that they rushed through the substance of the story way too fast

ITS LIKE LOOKING AT A FORESIC MAP

 Maybe I'm a bit of a "conspiracy theorist" here ... at least that's what my kids would call it ... my dad would say I was "tilting at windmills" - a reference I didn't understand until I had to choose a Spanish cultural course in college (to complete my 2nd language requirement, I was absolutely horrid at the spoken language - trust me, this was way better) ... its from Don Quixote (the only name I've ever seen which uses 2 of the 4 10pt letters in Scrabble or nor 8 pt words in "Words with Friends2" app) ....

oh lets not have me tangent -- this will be tough to do in this post as it is ...

A couple days ago, or maybe yesterday (I haven't been getting much sleep lately), there was a report that there has been a 700% increase of Chinese nationals crossing over the Southern Border - unusual, because usually they come in from the Canadian side - and they are part of the Biden "Catch and Release" program ... and really, its gone way overboard from when former President Obama did it -- something like 1700-2000 have made it through so far this year, in and of it self, in only 4 months .... January - April (although, usually numbers are taken from Oct 1st, the start of the fiscal year)

As it turns out, DB says it seems like the "vast majority" of them come into America to start marijuana farms.
Wait - what?
So in order to grow "pot" for commercial use, a permit must be purchased, and there are a LOT of hoops to jump through ... but apparently being a US citizen or Green Card holder is NOT one of them????
That doesn't sound right!

Anyhow ... it seems that this week there had been a very large group which had gotten caught - so you know there were even more "gotta-aways" out there ... 

Suddenly last night 911 systems in 4 states all went down ...

Nevada
Newbraska
South Dakota
Texas

all fairly "open" states - an awful lotta space between those cities, in those states, right there!

Am not saying the runners had anything to do with it ... but its quite the coincidence ...

These are also 3 states which are likely to vote for Mr. Trump this year, according to the latest polling ... South Dakota wouldn't vote Democrat if that were the only party running for office!!

This is JUST IN JEST .... I'm joking ... 

The chances of these things being pulled off by ANY group of people is pretty slim ... they'd have to have a good education ... and if there's one thing you can say about these states - a "good" education is NOT high on their list!

JOKING

Just gonna keep any eye on the news stories about this one ...
Somebody's gonna have a field day with it.

THAT'S QUITE THE COMBINATION THERE!

I had a father who fought in World War 2 ... his job was to khelp Repatriot the men from one of the Polish concentration camps (not Auschwitz) because he could speech a bit of the language - he was second generation American - and he never told me a thing about this work ... ... I don't even know if my brothers knew, but by the time I was born, he rarely talked about it ...

Until my daughter interviewed him for a report she had to give on the veterans of the family ... and she asked about the one thing they could never forget about their experience ...

I honestly thought it would be about the friends he had made ... the scenerie where he had been .... anything but what he came up with ...

His was .... the men standing at the barbed wire, "thinner than the clothes they had on", his words, not mind ... he began to cry ... my father had only cried twice before that I knew of - both were at funerals, one of my brothers, and my mothers - but that was it.

I remember when I was growing up ... one of the kids at school said the Holocaust wasn't real ... I wish I had known about what my dad had done, I could have set them straight - but I had mentioned it when I got home and dad said if it wasn't real than what did he go to war for?
He said it was real ... and I believed him - I never doubted it.

Ma had told me that he was in the group that shook hands with the Russians in Berlin .... there's a photo out there someplace, but I don't think my father is in it.

So - when I saw this story about the valedictorian at USC being cancelled due to "racism" by the school, I listened up ... 
The university insists that it has nothing to do with race, gender, religious beliefs, or free-speech issues ...

It has to do with SAFETY ....

Okay, fine ... I can see that.
She wears a hijab, so I assume she is muslim ... and there's a LOT of anti=Israel stuff going on ... I do believe the school on this one though - they have cancelled people before but, it seems like, its usually the conservative ones ....

My understanding is .... the person with the HIGHEST CPA in the school, gets to be Valedictorian ... but I got my egree in MN not CA .... so I suppose they could simply vote for the peoson .... but that would be .... weird.

Then they went over what her degrees were in ...

Major: BIO-ENCGINEERING
Minor: RESISTANCE TO GENECIDE

Thus the reason for my telling you about my father ... and what he lived through ... you see ...

While most of my friends had parents who were in the Korean or even the Viet Nam wars, very few had parents who lived through both the Great Depression AND World War 2 ...
But even then ... they could talk to their grandparents, who very likely were kids during WW2 ....

Then it dawned on me ...

It has been almost 80 years since WW2 happened ....
All those horrors ....

It has been a LONG TIME since they have released a movie which actually looks at what went on over there -- during the absolutely BLACKEST time in history of the world ...

It makes me wonder .... if they aren't teaching about World War 2 any longer in schools??

Why else would there be a course of studies about "Genocide"?? or rather the Resistance to Genocide?

Then I thought ... why do they have to teach kids NOT to kill? 
I have a degree in Child Psychology -- this is actually an INSTINCT not to kill your own species ... killing those of your own kind, must be taught.
We are hardwired to keep the HUMAN SPECIES going .... unless your a sociapath

What the heck are the kids being TAUGHT these days???

But I've got to say ...

If she was having any bad thoughts ... she's got an education that will make it happen ...

BIO-ENGINEERING: The same degree held by those who designed the C-19 "problem" (don't want to gett cancelled myself) ... 
RESISTING GENOCIDE: Well, that can be used to disguise any specific genocidal act ... in theory ...

But I'm going to hope that she is NOT the type of person who would do anything so horrid.

Peace be with HER and with you.

STOP HELPING THEM!!!!!!

 WHAT A BUNCH OF IDIOTS .... 

THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO WIN ....

LAME BRAINS AT WORK ....

JUST SHAKING AND HANGING MY HEAD ...

These are all possible titles for this posting ... and a couple which I felt shouldn't be shared because they were ... kind of tasteless.

The House Republicans ... you know that bunch of poop flinging monkeys ... are getting ready to debate a bunch of bills dealing with Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, our own borders ... each as an individual package - in hopes of cutting down all the rhetoric which seems to come with every single bill which they debate ...

Hey - don't get me wrong ... debate is important ... and bills need to be read before a vote ... and grouping them all ttogether makes it easier to "hide" hidden crap in plain sight.

No one wants to relive the whole "We gotta pass it to know what's in it" scenerio ever again ...
How Pelosi kept her job after that is beyond me ...

So Speaker Johnson - who is doing the job as Speaker rather well - Mr. Johnson is the one pushing the developement of these bills, although I'm sure he's not the only one who thought of this idea - I know I did - he has done the job the best he can ...

He's no Newt Gingrich  ....  but he's DOING. THE. JOB!

Leave him ALONE!!!

And this is the issue with the "new" generation of House members ... 

They don't think they will be able to do ANYTHING if a single Democrat likes it .... 

What a bunch of BABIES!!!!

There is a single House member (Republican) who is banging their rattle on the highchair ... because Democrats seem to be agreeing to this legislature/spending bills ... and Lord forbid they should act like GROWN-UPS and actually work together!!!

And so close to the election too ...

All you guys are doing is handing the Democrats sound bites ... video clips ... fodder .... for their political "machine"

Remember the Presidential election????

I'm not saying if he isn't doing his job, that you should keep him ...

But as far as we can tell -- he's doing a great job ... Leave. Him. Be.

The absolutely WORSE thing?

Mr. Johnson has had ENOUGH ... he resigned this morning ...

Yup he basically quit ... I don't think he's actually allowed to do this until a new Speaker is seated ...

So this will be the FOURTH Speaker of the House in 2 freakin' years!!!!

And the Republicans .... I don't believe this is a "delay tactic" as I've heard online ... I honestly think they just can't understand that, YES, you are going to have to work with the other party ...
You're "majority" isn't that big ...

Come on gang!

Put the older Rules of Speakership back into play ... before you make it so a DEMOCRAT gets the Speakership even though there's a Republican majority.

Your constituents didn't send you there to just sit on your butt ... or to appear on news shows ... nor line you pockets with money ... 

Do The Job Your People Sent You To DO .... NOT what you think your job is to do ...

This isn't a new position where there isn't a "job description" given ...

YOU know what the job is ... DO IT

Stop dinking around and get it done!