Breaking News Events

[FireSignFemme]

Georgia's right; the liquor stores are deemed essential because alcoholics can die from a rapid detox. That alcohol can take the edge off for the average person that drinks--making them and their stressors more bearable--is just gravy.

In our part of the state people can buy alcohol online through Walmart. You have to show identification when you pick it up at the store or have it delivered to your home. Not all stores in every state offer the service though.

[homoe]

Gov. Jay Inslee today, recognizing the dire situation in other states, announced the state of Washington will return more than 400 ventilators received from the Strategic National Stockpile to the SNS inventory to help states facing higher numbers of COVID-19 cases.

I'm happy to hear this BUT judging from what I witnessed today, people who have heard this must mistakenly think it's OK now to stop practicing social distancing and leave the house! I saw people out in groups today, some practically standing shoulder to shoulder!

I was ONLY out today because of an medical appointment I could not avoid. After the appointment I headed straight home but things I saw on my way there made my head spin!

[nhplowboi]

Our new press secretary, right off the state media bus, Kayleigh McEnany. Unlike Grisham, who did not give one single briefing, I am sure she will be a regular spinning lies for the Trump administration as she has done daily at her Fox news position.

[homoe]

Our new press secretary, right off the state media bus, Kayleigh McEnany. Unlike Grisham, who did not give one single briefing, I am sure she will be a regular spinning lies for the Trump administration as she has done daily at her Fox news position.


I don't care who he brings in, I doubt anyone could hold a candle to that lying, spin doctor Sarah Huckabee!

[charley]

Sanders is dropping out of the Presidential race! He ran a really good campaign, especially in making more people aware of the need for universal health care.

[Stone-Butch]

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify that 3M has been asked to stop supplying N95 respirators to Canada.

U.S.-based company 3M said Friday that it has been asked by the Trump administration not to supply N95 respirators to Canada amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>....

3M refused to obey the order and shipments have been sent to Canada as agreed on. We just love that guy, what a self centered...... whatever. Not a nice thing to demand in this world-wide situation. That ass should remember what Canada did during 911, how soon we forget eh.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Sanders is dropping out of the Presidential race! He ran a really good campaign, especially in making more people aware of the need for universal health care.

What what what?!?!?!

I can't wait to see who he chooses as his running mate. I wonder if he will wait awhile, or if he's already chosen somebody.

[dark_crystal]

Sanders is dropping out of the Presidential race! He ran a really good campaign, especially in making more people aware of the need for universal health care.

What what what?!?!?!

I can't wait to see who he chooses as his running mate. I wonder if he will wait awhile, or if he's already chosen somebody.

i wonder if he was leaned upon...with him out, they don't have to have a convention

[homoe]

Gov. Jay Inslee today, recognizing the dire situation in other states, announced the state of Washington will return more than 400 ventilators received from the Strategic National Stockpile to the SNS inventory to help states facing higher numbers of COVID-19 cases.

I'm happy to hear this BUT judging from what I witnessed today, people who have heard this must mistakenly think it's OK now to stop practicing social distancing and leave the house! I saw people out in groups today, some practically standing shoulder to shoulder!

I was ONLY out today because of an medical appointment I could not avoid. After the appointment I headed straight home but things I saw on my way there made my head spin!

This is good new obviously, but again I fear publicizing this is giving those less intelligent folks the impression they can run wild! To his credit the Governor has stated emphatically he isn't sounding the all clear and for folks to stay home and continue following the guidelines for protecting oneself from Coronvirus.

[charley]

Sanders is dropping out of the Presidential race! He ran a really good campaign, especially in making more people aware of the need for universal health care.

Yeah, he's out, but is he?! Dear god! The man refuses to be someone known as being gracious in defeat. He is still keeping his "name" on the ballet for the Democratic Convention; and similar to his fight against Hillary (and everything he thought and believed she stood for), he continues to endorse no one - which, of course, had the drastic effect of quite a few of his supporters voting for the other "guy" (Trump). He remains utterly intransigent and bull-headed. I think that his greatest moral character defect/flaw would have to be his complete lack of humility. What a difference it would make if his ego energy would be more directed towards supporting the Dems in their bid to win the next election...

[homoe]

Because of continued gatherings in major parks and crowded public places, the City of Seattle announced today (Thursday) the full closure of major regional parks this weekend where social distancing guidelines have not been followed by patrons. Effective Friday, April 10th at 11pm with parksm reopening on Monday, April 12 at 4:30 am.

No common sense even during a pandemic!? Officials knew warmer weather was expected since before the beginning of this week and yet did nothing until yesterday, after scads of people started showing up at area parks! The local news showed various parks and of course Alki beach loaded with people out enjoying the 60+ temps and sunshine.

I'm still trying to figure out why the closure didn't take effect immediately...:seeingstars:!

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Because of continued gatherings in major parks and crowded public places, the City of Seattle announced today (Thursday) the full closure of major regional parks this weekend where social distancing guidelines have not been followed by patrons. Effective Friday, April 10th at 11pm with parksm reopening on Monday, April 12 at 4:30 am.

No common sense even during a pandemic!? Officials knew warmer weather was expected since before the beginning of this week and yet did nothing until yesterday, after scads of people started showing up at area parks! The local news showed various parks and of course Alki beach loaded with people out enjoying the 60+ temps and sunshine.

I'm still trying to figure out why closure didn't take effect immediately...:seeingstars:!

When the parks close, where do the homeless people go? Or do homeless people not live in the parks in Seattle?

[homoe]

When the parks close, where do the homeless people go? Or do homeless people not live in the parks in Seattle?

The homeless are everywhere there in Seattle sad to say......

[homoe]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) faced backlash on Thursday after he falsely claimed that no one in the U.S. under the age of 25 had died from COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. “This particular pandemic is one where, I don’t think, nationwide there’s been one single fatality under 25, for whatever reason, it just doesn’t seem to threaten, you know, kids,” DeSantis told educators during a meeting about distance learning during the pandemic.

However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports on its website that one infant and four people aged 15 to 24 are confirmed to have died from the disease in the U.S. The deaths of infants in Illinois and Connecticut have also reportedly been linked to COVID-19.

This is the Einstein who let spring breakers run a muck!

[homoe]

On Friday’s “Morning Joe,” host Joe Scarborough offered some on-air advice to conservative radio scion Rush Limbaugh, who’s been vocal about his doubts regarding the seriousness of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic: Bag groceries if you want to restart the economy.

On multiple occasions, Limbaugh has cast doubt on the number of coronavirus deaths, saying on Tuesday “there may be some politics involved” in what he thought were over inflated numbers. Public health experts, of course, believe the opposite. On Thursday, Limbaugh suggested that public health experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci, who sits on the White House’s coronavirus task force, are “Hillary Clinton sympathizers” who want to “get rid” of President Donald Trump.

“All of these Trump talking heads that are saying we should reopen the economy now, that Fauci — that it’s all a hoax? Hey, Rush Limbaugh? Why don’t you go to your local Publix and bag groceries?” Scarborough responded. The MSNBC host went on, with encouragement from co-host Mika Brzezinski, “If you think it’s such a great idea that we open the economy, you can lead by example by going to a grocery store and bagging groceries. You can do it today.”

[homoe]

i wonder if he was leaned upon...with him out, they don't have to have a convention


It's not this way anymore, but I am old enough to remember when the party's nominated candidate waited until the convention to announce his running mate.

It was always a great source of intrigue and speculation by the news reporters of that time!

[homoe]

President Trump lashed out at The New York Times over a story it published on Saturday that reported Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar repeatedly warned the president of the possibility of a coronavirus outbreak weeks before his administration began to crack down in its response to the threat.Trump denied the story in a Sunday night tweet, claiming it was “fake news” and that Azar told him “nothing” until after his office rolled out travel restrictions from China.

I think it's more than clear that Trump waited MUCH to long before taking action, so why Morning Joe had to spend their whole 3 hours today re-hashing this is beyond me..:seeingstars:

[homoe]

But the nation’s top infectious disease expert also repeatedly cautioned against a blanket reopening of the economy. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, on Sunday expressed measured optimism that parts of the country could begin relaxing stay-at-home orders amid the coronavirus pandemic as early as next month.

“I think it could probably start at least in some ways maybe next month,” Fauci said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “We are hoping by the end of the month we can look around and say, ‘OK, is there any element here that we can safely and cautiously start pulling back on.’ If so, do it. If not, then just continue to hunker down.”

[homoe]

President Trump lashed out at The New York Times over a story it published on Saturday that reported Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar repeatedly warned the president of the possibility of a coronavirus outbreak weeks before his administration began to crack down in its response to the threat.Trump denied the story in a Sunday night tweet, claiming it was “fake news” and that Azar told him “nothing” until after his office rolled out travel restrictions from China.

I think it's more than clear that Trump waited MUCH to long before taking action, so why Morning Joe had to spend their whole 3 hours today re-hashing this is beyond me..:seeingstars:

Joe PLEASE stop beating a dead horse and move on!

[homoe]

Earlier Sunday, Trump tweeted, “Just watched Mike Wallace wannabe, Chris Wallace, on @FoxNews. I am now convinced that he is even worse than Sleepy Eyes Chuck Todd of Meet the Press(please!), or the people over at Deface the Nation. What the hell is happening to @FoxNews. It’s a whole new ballgame over there!” Trump and Wallace have not seen eye-to-eye on what the relationship between journalists and people in positions of power should be. Trump has repeatedly attacked the anchor, while Wallace has said the president “is engaged in the most direct, sustained assault on freedom of the press in our history.”

[charley]

I watch "Morning Joe" from time to time, but lately because of Covid-19, have been watching more of CBC, local news, etc. They usually repeat one of the segments later in the 3 hour show. They do this to catch viewers who wake up later.

On the other hand - and to me, quite self-evidently - they repeat, repeat, repeat so as to catch people who are looking for an alternate news broadcast and who happen to turn on to their show - which, as the Covid-19 crisis worsens, viewers may very well do. Their purpose is not only as a journalism show, but most importantly to educate; and, as so many people (globally) are ignorant, their purpose is always to ensure that people are getting real news and a different viewpoint instead of the horrid stuff that comes up on stations like Fox. Obviously, to educate, they (seeing their role as teachers), they have to explain!!! And, until everyone in the States is made aware of how bad their present govt is (and the Dems get elected), I am sure they will continue to have the same format, which I both applaud and understand the why-fore of their way of doing journalism. The only way to counter and balance the propaganda coming from the WH and stations like Fox is to do exactly what "Morning Joe" is doing. And so, they don't do journalism for the "converted" - and this is all because of Trump. (lol)

[homoe]

important than the medical crew on the COVID-19 task force!

For the past week or more I have watched the briefings on C-Span but today not only did I tape C-Span's coverage but I decided to watch the coverage live on MSNBC just to see if anything has changed! Sadly to say it has NOT!

It must of drove Ari Melber crazy having to wait almost an hour and a half before he could terminate the coverage and start his rant against the briefing! In fact he insisted it wasn't a briefing at all at one point because no new information was put forth!

HOWEVER if he could of just contained himself, kept his mouth shut, and continued to watch, he would of picked up a few tidbits of info that was new from the medical team!

[BullDog]

Judge Jill Karofsky beat conservative Judge Daniel Kelly for the Wisconsin State Supreme Court!!! All my respect to the voters of Wisconsin who overcame all odds and the shameful way the election was handled by the Wisconsin and US Supreme Courts to put voters at risk. Democracy won.

[charley]

Finally, Sanders endorses Biden in a joint livestream. Excellent! A clear path now for a Dems victory. :)

[homoe]

Furious Michiganders are planning to protest their governor's travel crackdowns in the state capital Wednesday.



She's damned if she does and damned if she doesn't!

[homoe]

Joe PLEASE stop beating a dead horse and move on!


I can hardly wait to see what Morning Joe says in the morning!

[homoe]

I can hardly wait to see what Morning Joe says in the morning!



BIG YAWN.........


Same ole same ole............

[homoe]

Paul TenHaken, the 42-year-old mayor of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, said it wasn't easy getting the world's top pork producer to shut down one of its biggest plants."It was tense," TenHaken said. "You know, you shut down a plant like that, it has a pretty big impact on the food supply. So we weren't taking this lightly, making this request." TenHaken,realized in early April that his city was turning into a hot spot of the novel coronavirus pandemic. And the infection was spreading most rapidly among the 3,700 workers at a pork processing plant owned by Smithfield Foods. Most of the workers at the plant are immigrants; they speak 26 different languages.

This thing jumped out of a light socket," TenHaken said. Dozens of workers were testing positive for the virus each day. TenHaken worried that Smithfield wasn't doing enough to stop the virus from spreading. He called the company's executives, he said, and told them, "We need to see a temporary closure, not only to calm the community, but to ensure that the safety of your employees is priority No. 1."

On Thursday, Smithfield agreed to close the plant in order to clean it, but just for three days. Meanwhile, the number of sick employees kept climbing, and TenHaken wasn't satisfied with the information he was getting from the company. The breaking point came Saturday morning, when the mayor heard that the number of infected employees had climbed past 100.


https://www.npr.org/2020/04/14/834470141/how-one-city-mayor-forced-a-pork-giant-to-close-its-virus-stricken-plant

[homoe]

South Dakota governor faces criticism over refusal to issue stay-at-home order after pork plant outbreak!



If you caught Rachel Maddow last night, she went into great detail on this..:hangloose:

[homoe]

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said at a White House briefing on April 2, that those Americans who have signed up for direct deposit will receive their payment within two weeks.

Today is the 15th and Mary's arrived in her account! That's a day ahead of schedule.........

[homoe]

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said at a White House briefing on April 2, that those Americans who have signed up for direct deposit will receive their payment within two weeks.

Today is the 15th and Mary's arrived in her account! That's a day ahead of schedule.........

“Social Security, you’ll get it very quickly after that,” Mnuchin said.

Very quickly have differing degrees.........:giggle:

[Jedi]

This could really be cool. https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/04/prides-getting-canceled-now-organizers-coming-together-online-global-pride/?fbclid=IwAR3VOcmH4i8oHRdN6zHZ8NrqkJKrKxY_B15Zy1pA j3UYFTLSsOuT52cWLxw

[homoe]

GOP congressman says letting more Americans die of coronavirus is lesser of two evils compared to economy tanking.

Washington (CNN)An Indiana congressman said Tuesday that letting more Americans die from the novel coronavirus is the "lesser of two evils" compared with the economy cratering due to social distancing measures.
Speaking with radio station WIBC in Indiana, Republican Rep. Trey Hollingsworth asserted that, while he appreciated the science behind the virus' spread, "it is always the American government's position to say, in the choice between the loss of our way of life as Americans and the loss of life, of American lives, we have to always choose the latter."

"The social scientists are telling us about the economic disaster that is going on. Our (Gross Domestic Product) is supposed to be down 20% alone this quarter," Hollingsworth said. "It is policymakers' decision to put on our big boy and big girl pants and say it is the lesser of these two evils. It is not zero evil, but it is the lesser of these two evils and we intend to move forward that direction. That is our responsibility and to abdicate that is to insult the Americans that voted us into office."

[homoe]

GOP congressman says letting more Americans die of coronavirus is lesser of two evils compared to economy tanking.

Washington (CNN)An Indiana congressman said Tuesday that letting more Americans die from the novel coronavirus is the "lesser of two evils" compared with the economy cratering due to social distancing measures.
Speaking with radio station WIBC in Indiana, Republican Rep. Trey Hollingsworth asserted that, while he appreciated the science behind the virus' spread, "it is always the American government's position to say, in the choice between the loss of our way of life as Americans and the loss of life, of American lives, we have to always choose the latter."

"The social scientists are telling us about the economic disaster that is going on. Our (Gross Domestic Product) is supposed to be down 20% alone this quarter," Hollingsworth said. "It is policymakers' decision to put on our big boy and big girl pants and say it is the lesser of these two evils. It is not zero evil, but it is the lesser of these two evils and we intend to move forward that direction. That is our responsibility and to abdicate that is to insult the Americans that voted us into office."

On Thanksgiving this year, I'll count my blessings I don't/didn't live in Indiana!

[homoe]

Furious Michiganders are planning to protest their governor's travel crackdowns in the state capital Wednesday.



She's damned if she does and damned if she doesn't!

Yesterday's new showed a bit of the protest.

For sure this whole travel ban, to other homes they may own ESPECIALLY if they happen to be in the UP of Michigan, is a sticky wicket! Unless things have changed, the UP of Michigan is not known for their stellar health care facilities! No doutbt the governor is aware of this and perhaps one of her reasons for the travel ban..... or not

[homoe]

Wisconsin on Thursday extended its coronavirus stay-at-home order to be in effect until May 26 and closed its schools for the rest of the academic year.
Gov. Tony Evers (D) had previously indicated an extension to the order, originally effective through April 24, may be necessary as states and local governments across the country have dug in on their efforts to fight the coronavirus.

Evers is allowing some adjustments to the original order, including opening golf courses. But conservatives have been pressuring Evers and other governors to reopen the government and end the stay-at-home order to allow the economy to function. Some have planned protests at the state Capitol on the original end date, a week from Friday.

Golfing? How in the hell is that essential?

[nhplowboi]

GOP congressman says letting more Americans die of coronavirus is lesser of two evils compared to economy tanking.

Washington (CNN)An Indiana congressman said Tuesday that letting more Americans die from the novel coronavirus is the "lesser of two evils" compared with the economy cratering due to social distancing measures.
Speaking with radio station WIBC in Indiana, Republican Rep. Trey Hollingsworth asserted that, while he appreciated the science behind the virus' spread, "it is always the American government's position to say, in the choice between the loss of our way of life as Americans and the loss of life, of American lives, we have to always choose the latter."

"The social scientists are telling us about the economic disaster that is going on. Our (Gross Domestic Product) is supposed to be down 20% alone this quarter," Hollingsworth said. "It is policymakers' decision to put on our big boy and big girl pants and say it is the lesser of these two evils. It is not zero evil, but it is the lesser of these two evils and we intend to move forward that direction. That is our responsibility and to abdicate that is to insult the Americans that voted us into office."

Why do I recall the saying that money is the root of all evil?

[homoe]

TV personality Dr. Phil McGraw appeared on Fox News on Thursday evening to slam the shutdowns intended to stop the spread of coronavirus. McGraw, a psychologist, talked about the mental health toll on people living in isolation and said the lockdowns would “create more destruction and actually more death across time than the actual virus will itself.” Then, he compared the toll of the virus to other causes of death. “Forty-five thousand people a year die from automobile accidents, 480,000 from cigarettes, 360,000 a year from swimming pools,” McGraw said, “but we don’t shut the country down for that. But yet we’re doing it for this?”

Some of McGraw’s numbers were off. According to the CDC, there are about 3,500 fatal unintentional drownings per year in the United States; another 32,000 are killed in motor vehicle accidents. Swimming deaths and traffic fatalities are also not contagious.

Another idiot heard from!!!! What anyone ever saw in this loud-mouth know-it-all numb·skull, to promote him like she, did is beyond me!

[homoe]

Dr. Oz is backtracking on comments he made on Fox News amid the coronavirus pandemic. The TV doc (real name: Mehmet Oz) faced backlash for saying on Hannity that schools should reopen to get the country going again — as that “may only cost us 2 to 3 percent in terms of total mortality.” He said those deaths “might be a trade-off some folks would consider.”

The Dr. Oz Show host has since apologized, saying he he “misspoke” when he minimized the risk and potential loss of life. “I’ve realized my comments about risks around opening schools have confused and upset people, which was never my intention,” he said in a recorded video. “I misspoke. As a heart surgeon, I spent my career fighting to save lives in the operating room by minimizing risks.” He continued, “At the same time, I’m being asked constantly: How will we be able to get people back to their normal lives. To do that, one of the important steps will be figuring out how do we get our children safely back to school. We know for many kids, school is a place of security, nutrition and learning that is missing right now. These are issues we are all wrestling with and I will continue looking for solutions to beat this virus.”

[homoe]

Last weekend, Seattle closed its largest, most popular parks and beaches due to concerns that crowds enticed by warmer weather would spread the coronavirus.

This weekend, the city is keeping all its parks open, Mayor Jenny Durkan announced, but with restrictions. “The city will allow major parks to remain open throughout the weekend but will be requiring residents to keep moving and not play sports, picnic or barbecue, with additional new guidelines at Green Lake and Seward Park,” This weekend, the loop trails at Green Lake and Seward Park will be open only to pedestrians, and the Green Lake trail will be one-way only; “beach activities” will be banned at Golden Gardens and Alki Beach, with fire pits closed.

Parks and Recreation will be monitoring conditions over the weekend and will close parks if there are too many gatherings or too many people, the release said. Parks “ambassadors” will be stationed at major parks to remind people to keep their distance from one another, and signs are being installed, as well.

I hate to be a doubting Thomas, but lets see how this all works out!

[homoe]

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, batted down claims comparing the novel coronavirus to HIV made on Fox News by host Laura Ingraham, saying diseases like COVID-19 are “entirely different” and making such connections was a “little bit misleading.”

Laura Ingraham, another idiot who thinks this deadly virus is just going to magically disappear!


https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/fauci-laura-ingraham-coronavirus-comparisons-covid-19-044508312.html

[homoe]

~~
After watching Trump's briefings earlier in the week and a couple interviews yesterday with governors who are re-opening their states, it dawned on me how everyone from the President to these Governors are trying to cover their asses in case this whole thing blows up into another flare up of CoVid-19.

Of course tho if there are no repercussions, everyone and their brother will be trying to take credit!

[homoe]

Floridians didn’t waste any time getting back to the sun and surf when beaches and parks were reopened in Jacksonville — the same day the state clocked a record number of coronavirus cases.Jacksonville opened beaches from 6-11 a.m. and 5-8 p.m. daily, with some restrictions including no sunbathing or lounging in chairs or on blankets. Crowds were seen cheering and rushing the beach as police removed the barriers around 5 p.m. Friday, CNN reported.Aerial photos show hundreds of people packing the sand to swim, stroll, surf and fish. Many were without masks.

“This can be the beginning of the pathway back to normal life,” Mayor Lenny Curry reportedly said. Curry made the call after Gov. Ron DeSantis gave the green light for some municipalities to begin reopening beaches. Police were seen warning people who didn’t adhere to the no-sunbathing rule, according to photos posted to social media, while a flyover sign warned people: “Do your part. Stay 6 feet apart. Help keep beaches open.”

Florida announced 1,400 new cases Friday, the highest 24-hour toll since the pandemic began.

[charley]

There has been a mass shooting in Nova Scotia, 13 killed (so far), including an RCMP officer, Heidi Stevenson (mother of 2, and 23 years on the force - she was well known throughout N.S., as she had been seen on TV, also known as a public relations media spokeswoman). Another RCMP officer was wounded and is in hospital. Starting yesterday night, people were killed in various small rural communities throughout the middle of N.S. (an area of which I am familiar, having travelled through it) - a place where people don't lock their doors at night, and are real friendly. The suspect was a fairly well-known denturist (51 yrs. old), owning various properties. He was also killed. The odd thing about it was that he had been wearing something like an RCMP uniform, and driving a vehicle that he had disguised as an RCMP cruiser. I had been watching the news, and earlier today, they were broadcasting to look out for his cruiser, something he had likely also heard about; and then when he was found, he had changed cars. Police have no idea why he did all this, as yet. As this is an RCMP investigation (unlike American investigations), we will have to wait until the RCMP has finished their investigation to know all the details. One of the worst mass shootings in Canada.

[homoe]

OLYMPIA, WA., April 19 (Reuters) - An estimated 2,500 people rallied at the Washington state capitol on Sunday to protest Democratic Governor Jay Inslee’s stay-at-home order to limit the spread of coronavirus, defying a ban on gatherings of 50 or more people. Despite pleas from rally organizers to wear face coverings or masks, many did not. Protesters drove vehicles to the state capitol, honking horns and clogging streets

Police estimated the crowd at 2,500, making it one of the largest protests in U.S. states against lockdowns over the past week. In Olympia, hundreds gathered in close quarters on the steps of the capitol building and around a fountain, contravening state and federal health guidelines during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“Shutting down businesses by picking winners and losers in which there are essential and non-essential are violations of the state and federal constitution,” rally organizer Tyler Miller, 39, an engineer from Bremerton, Washington, and a Republican precinct officer, told Reuters.

Way to go Einsteins!

[charley]

There has been a mass shooting in Nova Scotia, 13 killed (so far), including an RCMP officer, Heidi Stevenson (mother of 2, and 23 years on the force - she was well known throughout N.S., as she had been seen on TV, also known as a public relations media spokeswoman). Another RCMP officer was wounded and is in hospital. Starting yesterday night, people were killed in various small rural communities throughout the middle of N.S. (an area of which I am familiar, having travelled through it) - a place where people don't lock their doors at night, and are real friendly. The suspect was a fairly well-known denturist (51 yrs. old), owning various properties. He was also killed. The odd thing about it was that he had been wearing something like an RCMP uniform, and driving a vehicle that he had disguised as an RCMP cruiser. I had been watching the news, and earlier today, they were broadcasting to look out for his cruiser, something he had likely also heard about; and then when he was found, he had changed cars. Police have no idea why he did all this, as yet. As this is an RCMP investigation (unlike American investigations), we will have to wait until the RCMP has finished their investigation to know all the details. One of the worst mass shootings in Canada.

ummm... bleh more bad news... now CTV says 16 killed (not incl. the suspect who was also killed in the shootout at a gas station), which makes it the worst mass shooting in Canadian history, worse than Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal (14 killed, many wounded), dear god... what a tragedy in such a beautiful place and such wonderful people, where I almost retired

[Kelt]

OLYMPIA, WA., April 19 (Reuters) - An estimated 2,500 people rallied at the Washington state capitol on Sunday to protest Democratic Governor Jay Inslee’s stay-at-home order to limit the spread of coronavirus, defying a ban on gatherings of 50 or more people. Despite pleas from rally organizers to wear face coverings or masks, many did not. Protesters drove vehicles to the state capitol, honking horns and clogging streets

Police estimated the crowd at 2,500, making it one of the largest protests in U.S. states against lockdowns over the past week. In Olympia, hundreds gathered in close quarters on the steps of the capitol building and around a fountain, contravening state and federal health guidelines during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“Shutting down businesses by picking winners and losers in which there are essential and non-essential are violations of the state and federal constitution,” rally organizer Tyler Miller, 39, an engineer from Bremerton, Washington, and a Republican precinct officer, told Reuters.

Way to go Einsteins!

Thus proving that the gene pool has a shallow end…

This went national today and while I knew that if this went on long enough they were sure to be some civil unrest, I honestly thought it would take the United States a little longer to devolve.

This will just be another wedge for Trump to use to drive more division into the population.

I understand the frustration I have also lost my income and a sizable chunk of assets and had a lot of plans for this next year all of which are inaccessible for the foreseeable future. I don’t see it as being worth dying or killing for. (That said, I know there are people in truly dire straits) I suspect that a lot of these folks don’t have anyone in their lives directly affected yet, it probably doesn’t seem real to them.

We need to get more economic support rolled out and quickly.

[charley]

Last year, the Canadian election resulting in a minority Liberal government as follows:

Liberals -187 seats, Leader Justin Trudeau now at his home in Ottawa
Conservatives - 121 seats, Leader Andrew Scheer is from Saskatchewan
New Democratic Party (NDP) - 24 seats - Leader Jagmeet Singh is from B.C. (presently staying in Ottawa)
Bloc Québécois - 32 seats
Green party - 3 seats, Leader Elizabeth May is in B.C.
Independent - 1 (the ex-AG of Canada :), who won a seat in B.C.

Trudeau has been giving daily press conferences out of his home in Ottawa (having had a mild case of Covid-19, and is now recovered).

Because of Covid-19, Parliament was suspended for 5 weeks, due to re-open today.

Scheer (the homophobic a**hole) has been a real pain in the ***, blaming Trudeau for all the financial woes, etc. etc., ...just endless criticisms. Every time that he has been on the news, I change the channel - reminds me of Trump. He has even been insisting on 3 sittings per week, which is kinda impossible, since members from B.C. - if they leave their province to travel to Ottawa - must self-isolate for 2 weeks upon their return! - let alone MPs (Members of Parliament) from the far north who would have extreme problems in travelling. Of course, for all members to sit, it would also mean that all govt employees that work along with such sittings would also have to be there as well, putting all sorts of other people at risk !! I am sure that Scheer will be soon insisting and pressuring Trudeau on reopening Canada for business asap, like he is unaware of the Covid-19's second wave, and the fact that there is no vaccine as yet.

In Canada, all provinces are responsible for how health care is administered in their province, and all provinces have been following the recommendations of their medical professionals (more or less).

The NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said that two virtual sittings of the committee of the whole per week can accommodate most other needs.

The Liberals have put forth a motion to sit once a week and virtual meetings for the rest, which, insofar as I am concerned, seems "reasonable", considering how dangerous and risky Covid-19 is.

Technically speaking, the only real reason/need for everyone to sit would be to pass legislation (which they have done x2 for passing bills re: $ relief, etc.), but Scheer is grandstanding and obviously wants to be in the spotlight, so he can be seen asking questions (looking like he is actually doing something, when he is doing nothing at all) - denigrating and blaming Trudeau. It's not like he was in the spotlight 5 weeks ago or earlier, suggesting anything constructive, but is now using the crisis to strut and be the jerk that he is...

[charley]

In Nova Scotia, the death toll is now over 18, with 15 crime scenes being investigated (some of which were houses that he had burnt down).

This is the fake RCMP cruiser that the gunman was driving.

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/9231/production/_111852473_tv061123847.jpg

[~ocean]

North Korean leader is in grave danger following surgery.

[homoe]

All large public gatherings requiring a city permit that are scheduled to take place in New York City through June are canceled, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday. The event ban was announced three days after de Blasio made a similar decree for gatherings scheduled to take place in the city in May.

"These kinds of community events, we love them, but they're not what we need right now," de Blasio said during a news briefing Monday morning. "We have to also recognize when thousands and thousands of people gather in one place, of course that goes against everything we're trying to do with social distancing and shelter-in-place, and everything we're trying to do to bring ourselves back."

The events covered under the ban include those permitted by the city and deemed nonessential, including parades, concerts and rallies. The city's Celebrate Israel Parade, Puerto Rican Day Parade and Pride March are among the affected June events.

[homoe]

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said on Tuesday that he was taken aback by President Donald Trump’s resentment over Hogan’s wife, Yumi Hogan, securing 500,000 COVID-19 testing kits from South Korea as Maryland and other states suffer a shortage of testing supplies. “Just yesterday he was saying that the governors are responsible for this, they’re on the front lines, so we should just get it done,” the governor told the MSNBC “Morning Joe” co-hosts. “And then we did get it done, and then we got criticized.”

Hogan said before Trump attacked him during the press briefing on Monday evening, he and the other governors had had a “great conversation” in their call with Vice President Mike Pence and the White House’s coronavirus task force earlier in the day. “And then somehow it went off the rails yesterday in that press conference, but I have no idea why,” the Maryland governor said.

During the press briefing, Trump claimed out of nowhere that Hogan “didn’t really understand what was going on” with regards to the federal government’s response to testing kit shortages, and that the governor would’ve “saved a lot of money” if he’d talked to Pence about the need for kits.

“I don’t think he needed to go to South Korea,” Trump told reporters. “I think he needed to get a little knowledge.”

I witnessed this live yesterday, Trump got very snarky indeed!

[homoe]

President Trump said Tuesday that he is going to ask large businesses and institutions such as Harvard University to return money that they received as part of a coronavirus relief package. “I’m going to request it,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday, singling out the Ivy League school. “Harvard is going to pay back the money. They shouldn’t be taking it.” “I’m not going to mention any other names, but when I saw Harvard — they have one of the largest endowments anywhere in the country, maybe in the world. They’re going to pay back the money,” the president continued.

Trump was answering a question about money issued through a small-business loan program established by the third coronavirus relief package signed into law last month. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has come under scrutiny amid revelations that major restaurant chains, hotels and other big businesses were able to tap into funds meant for businesses with fewer than 500 employees.

The PPP, initially funded at $350 billion, ran out of money last week. The Senate on Tuesday passed a bill to replenish the program's coffers.

And HOW did Harvard even get this money to begin with? Is there anyone overseeing how and to whom this money is disburse?

After the banking crisis of 2008 I believe it's more than clear bankers aren't to be trusted!

[homoe]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Officials have identified seven people who appear to have contracted the coronavirus through activities related to the April 7 election in Wisconsin. Shawn Benjamin, a spokesman for the Milwaukee health department, said in an email to The Associated Press that his agency has confirmed the infections. Commissioner of Health Jeanette Kowalik said six of the cases involve Milwaukee voters and one is a Milwaukee poll worker, the Journal Sentinel reported.

Officials hope to have additional information on the cases by the end of the week, including whether any of them were concentrated in any of the city’s five polling places or if any resulted in death, Kowalik said Monday. Wisconsin Department of Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm said Monday that there were no signs of a surge in cases related to the election as some feared. Palm noted, however, that if cases do exist symptoms may not have appeared yet. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ spokeswoman, Melissa Baldauff, didn’t immediately respond to an email Tuesday morning seeking comment on the Milwaukee infections.

Health officials say symptoms of COVID-19 typically appear within two weeks of exposure to the virus, and Tuesday is the 14th day since the election. That means more voters and poll workers could come forward with infections in the coming days.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

And HOW did Harvard even get this money to begin with? Is there anyone overseeing how and to whom this money is disburse?


I heard on NPR that the bankers were not supposed to look at the reasons for the loans on the applications, they were just supposed to approve them. That's what they did and that's how large restaurant and hotel chains, and Harvard, were able to swoop in and take the lion's share.

Apparently also the bill that authorized the money in the first place wasn't very clear about who was supposed to get it. They were more interested in getting it out fast than in making it clear.

[homoe]

Kemp on Monday announced that, effective Friday, his state would would end the closing order for nail salons, massage therapists, bowling alleys and gyms. Church services can resume on Sunday and restaurants and movie theaters will be allowed to resume business next Monday. The closing orders went into effect on April 2.

“He’s a very capable man. He knows what he’s doing. He’s done a very good job as governor,” Trump said of Kemp at the Tuesday White House briefing. Kemp was one of the last governors in the U.S. to issue a stay-at-home order and one of the first to test whether lifting it would result in a spike of new cases of COVID-19.

How Trump can claim Gov Kemp is a "very capable man' when Kemp admitted he didn't know asymptomatic people could transmit the virus is beyond me......:blink:

[charley]

ugh... so far, 22 deaths there. They have been going thru the burnt-out structures/houses with forensic specialists (16 crime scenes). As yet, they have no idea why the guy did this (who I have not named with good reason). And, out of hindsight, some have been questioning the lack of wisdom of the authorities in not sending out alerts Saturday night/Sunday morning like they have done with Covid-19 (e.g. stay-at-home alert - Easter weekend), which might have saved some people's lives (passers-by, who just happened to be going out for walks) - they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. :(

[GeorgiaMa'am]

How Trump can claim Gov Kemp is a "very capable man' when Kemp admitted he didn't know asymptomatic people could transmit the virus is beyond me......:blink:

Trump was talking about Kemp's ability to give a rim job.

[FireSignFemme]

Trump is going to make Harvard pay back the money? Yeah just like he was going to make Mexico pay for the wall. Talk is cheap, I'll believe it when I see it. You'd think if he was going to choose to attack, just couldn't stand living with himself if he had to behave himself, he'd at least have the sense to not take on Harvard.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Trump is going to make Harvard pay back the money? Yeah just like he was going to make Mexico pay for the wall. Talk is cheap, I'll believe it when I see it. You'd think if he was going to choose to attack, just couldn't stand living with himself if he had to behave himself, he'd at least have the sense to not take on Harvard.

Harvard has already said they're not going to take the money. I think they were embarrassed.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Looks like the Georgia governor's booty got spanked for jumping the gun!
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/kemp-defends-decision-to-reopen-georgia-after-trump-rebuke/ar-BB135XWy?ocid=spartanntp

[homoe]

Looks like the Georgia governor's booty got spanked for jumping the gun!
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/kemp-defends-decision-to-reopen-georgia-after-trump-rebuke/ar-BB135XWy?ocid=spartanntp

The love affair appears to have hit a snafu......:blink:

[homoe]

Harvard has already said they're not going to take the money. I think they were embarrassed.



Yes Harvard did BUT so many of other colleges have kept mum which is absolutely disgusting IMHO!

[homoe]

I heard on NPR that the bankers were not supposed to look at the reasons for the loans on the applications, they were just supposed to approve them. That's what they did and that's how large restaurant and hotel chains, and Harvard, were able to swoop in and take the lion's share.

Apparently also the bill that authorized the money in the first place wasn't very clear about who was supposed to get it. They were more interested in getting it out fast than in making it clear.

I guess I gave the bankers too much credit! Obliviously "common sense" didn't occur to them!

[homoe]

H E L L O.......Ever hear of a doorbell or even just knocking first..:blink:



https://www.yahoo.com/sports/whoops-tom-brady-accidentally-enters-wrong-house-attempting-to-see-byron-leftwich-154117748.html

[homoe]

Yes Harvard did BUT so many of other colleges have kept mum which is absolutely disgusting IMHO!


The University of Notre Dame, for one, has said it plans to accept the federal funds allocated to the school but use them only to "direct financial aid to students whose families have been struck by unemployment or otherwise upended by the pandemic." Recipients of the federal funds are expected to reserve at least 50 percent for emergency financial aid to help students with expenses related to coronavirus disruptions.

I hope this is true but I have my doubts!

[homoe]

Alki saw significant crowding last Sunday, April 19 so the city is implementing two additional strategies to deter crowding this coming weekend: 1. Adding additional signage. 2. Deterring congregating in picnic shelters and benches through caution tape and placing boards or signs on seating. We will leave some benches open through the park to serve those with disabilities. These efforts are in hopes that we will not have to close Alki Beach due to persistent crowding.

Our goal is that people would stay home, and when they go out to recreate that they walk in their neighborhood or use neighborhood parks. If folks do want to use Alki we would like them to keep it moving when they are there—walk, run, or bike, and try and visit the park during a less busy hour.

After public out cries, later in the day, they agreed to remove the bench blockers.

[homoe]

Bloomberg) --

On Friday, Trump sought to clean up his briefing room riff from the day before about the possibility of fighting coronavirus infection in patients with chemical disinfectant or sunlight -- a dangerous idea that doctors and a manufacturer of cleaning products felt obliged to publicly warn against.

Trump said he had “sarcastically” suggested Americans be injected with disinfectant. The president’s new spokeswoman also sought to clarify his remarks. “President Trump has repeatedly said that Americans should consult with medical doctors regarding coronavirus treatment, a point that he emphasized again during yesterday’s briefing,” the press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, said in a statement. “Leave it to the media to irresponsibly take President Trump out of context and run with negative headlines.”

I doubt anyone who watched the briefing live or otherwise is buying this explanation for his suggestions!

[Jedi]

https://www.tmz.com/2020/04/25/north-korea-dictator-kim-jong-un-dead-dies-heart-surgery-reports/?fbclid=IwAR1WF7ip4kbxWLv-N60MkU3N1XPqq9PhQXcI3mMqB6E1MXF_e8kdD4uk0tI

Not sure if it can be trusted but........here's this.......

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Most news outlets are reporting that Kim Jong Un is still alive, and that the viral photo showing him in a glass coffin is faked.

Who would take over if Kim Jong Un died? I don't think he has any children, does he?

[homoe]

In the midst of the global pandemic and a worsening economic crisis, one of the president’s most loathed turncoats got word that he’d receive an early release from prison to serve the rest of his sentence at home due to concerns over the coronavirus. The prisoner, his family, his friends were all relieved and predictably ecstatic when they got the news.

Donald Trump was not. “He was not pleased when he found out Michael was getting out early,” one of the individuals bluntly stated. According to those who spoke to him about it this month, the president was visibly agitated, bemoaning the early release of Michael Cohen, his former fixer and lawyer turned “rat” for the feds.

The rumor is Cohen is writing a tell-all-book! IF it's true lets hope it comes out before the 2020 election!

[homoe]

John Bolton's The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir never came out in April and has since been pushed back to May 12, 2020.

I suppose a pandemic isn't the best time to release a book OR perhaps this is karma biting his ass for his refusing to testify!

Either way, I doubt the book will make as much $$$ as he originally thought! And as a sarcastic Seinfeld would say.."that's a shame"!

[Jedi]

Most news outlets are reporting that Kim Jong Un is still alive, and that the viral photo showing him in a glass coffin is faked.

Who would take over if Kim Jong Un died? I don't think he has any children, does he?
According to the article I posted, it says his sister.

[homoe]

~~~
Starting May 4th you can boat, fish, hunt, and use the parks system in WA state!

[homoe]

Washington — President Trump plans to invoke the Defense Production to order meat processing plants to remain open, a senior White House official said, as plants owned by some of the country's largest food companies grapple with outbreaks of the coronavirus among workers and a growing death toll. The president is expected to sign an executive order declaring the meat processing plants critical infrastructure to protect against disruptions to the food supply, a person familiar with the matter said. The federal government will also provide workers with additional protective gear and guidance, the person said. The senior White House official said the Trump administration will also issue guidance from the Labor Department providing additional liability protections. The White House and Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia are also working to provide safety standards and guidance for employees.

This after thousands of cases of Coronavirus are linked to employees in several state. Are you kidding me?!

[homoe]

OLYMPIA — Gov. Jay Inslee could announce an extension of his statewide coronavirus stay-at-home order later this week, according to his chief of staff. The order is currently scheduled to lift at the end of the day on May 4, but the governor has said parts of it would continue for longer. “We hope we will be able to tell you what the date of the extension will be by the end of this week,” said Inslee chief of staff David Postman in a news conference Tuesday afternoon.”But I’m not 100% sure we will do that, but we’re certainly going to try to share that as soon as we can.”

The remarks come as Inslee in recent days has taken small steps to lift some measures intended to slow the spread of COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. The governor on Friday announced that some construction work on existing projects could start back up under new safety guidelines and social-distancing requirements to protect workers.

Meanwhile, Secretary of Health John Wiesman said Tuesday there have been discussions about reopening regional areas of Washington that have fewer coronavirus cases. “We are exploring that right now, in terms of what that might look like,” he said, adding later: “We are exploring what kind of a regionalized approach would look like.” “And I’m sure you’ll be hearing more about that in the days to come, as we make some further decisions about that” he added. Still, said Wiesman, “We certainly want to see cases decreasing everywhere.”

[homoe]

My Fellow American': Donald Trump letter to stimulus check recipients raises objections.


Mary got this letter Monday. It makes it sound like Trump personally did this single handed....*shaking head

[PlatinumPearl]

Most news outlets are reporting that Kim Jong Un is still alive, and that the viral photo showing him in a glass coffin is faked.

Who would take over if Kim Jong Un died? I don't think he has any children, does he?


I am not sure if Kim Jong Un is dead or not. He could be in hiding....or under house arrest.... :thinking:

His sister would take over.

[homoe]

Kushner calls US coronavirus response a 'success story' as cases hit 1 million


Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, praised the administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic as a "great success story" on Wednesday -- less than a day after the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States topped 1 million.

Kushner painted a rosy picture for "Fox and Friends" Wednesday morning, saying that "the federal government rose to the challenge and this is a great success story and I think that that's really what needs to be told."
When he was pressed on coronavirus testing levels in the US, Kushner said the question shouldn't be why did it take so long, but, "How did we do this so quickly?" Kushner also predicted that things will be "rocking" by July.
"May will be a transition month ... I think you will see by June, a lot of the country should be back to normal, and the hope is that by July the country is really rocking again," he said.

Just more stupidly "happy talk" IMHO!

[homoe]

Biden to join MSNBC's 'Morning Joe' to discuss Reade sexual assault allegations.

Former Vice President Joe Biden will appear on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Friday morning, where for the first time he will address allegations from a former staffer named Tara Reade who says he sexually assaulted her in 1993.

"Morning Joe" booker Michael Del Moro said the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee would be responding to the allegations during an appearance on the show. The appearance from his home studio in Wilmington, Del., would allow Biden to deal with the issue in what could be a more favorable setting. Biden is conducting the interview on his own and will not be joined by his wife Jill Biden.

[homoe]

Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk assailed the social distancing measures in place over the past several weeks in the electric car-maker’s home state of California and across the country, which led to a weeks-long closure at the company’s flagship Fremont factory.

“I would call it forcibly imprisoning people in their homes against all their constitutional rights ... breaking people's freedoms in ways that are horrible and wrong and not why people came to America,” Musk said during a public call with analysts and investors after reporting first-quarter earnings results Wednesday afternoon, adding an expletive. “It will cause great harm, not just to Tesla, but to any company. And while Tesla will weather the storm, there are many small companies that will not.”

“If somebody wants to stay in their house, that's great,” Musk added. “They should be allowed to stay in the house, and they should not be compelled to leave. But to say that they cannot leave their house, and they will be arrested if they do, this is fascist. This is not democratic. This is not freedom.”

I really do try and stay on top of new events during this time of upheaval, BUT I do NOT recall any governors threatening to arrest people if they leave their house.

[CherylNYC]

Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk assailed the social distancing measures in place over the past several weeks in the electric car-maker’s home state of California and across the country, which led to a weeks-long closure at the company’s flagship Fremont factory.

“I would call it forcibly imprisoning people in their homes against all their constitutional rights ... breaking people's freedoms in ways that are horrible and wrong and not why people came to America,” Musk said during a public call with analysts and investors after reporting first-quarter earnings results Wednesday afternoon, adding an expletive. “It will cause great harm, not just to Tesla, but to any company. And while Tesla will weather the storm, there are many small companies that will not.”

“If somebody wants to stay in their house, that's great,” Musk added. “They should be allowed to stay in the house, and they should not be compelled to leave. But to say that they cannot leave their house, and they will be arrested if they do, this is fascist. This is not democratic. This is not freedom.”

I really do try and stay on top of new events during this time of upheaval, BUT I do NOT recall any governors threatening to arrest people if they leave their house.

Poor, put-upon billionaire. I fear he's been hitting the sauce again. As they say in the Southern states, bless his heart.

[charley]

It is bothering me, and it keeps coming up inside, so I have to say this:

It's tragic and really unfortunate, but even mad, insane, highly neurotic, delusional and completely dishonest women are sexually assaulted... every day. So, every case must be thoroughly investigated.

[PlatinumPearl]

Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk assailed the social distancing measures in place over the past several weeks in the electric car-maker’s home state of California and across the country, which led to a weeks-long closure at the company’s flagship Fremont factory.

“I would call it forcibly imprisoning people in their homes against all their constitutional rights ... breaking people's freedoms in ways that are horrible and wrong and not why people came to America,” Musk said during a public call with analysts and investors after reporting first-quarter earnings results Wednesday afternoon, adding an expletive. “It will cause great harm, not just to Tesla, but to any company. And while Tesla will weather the storm, there are many small companies that will not.”

“If somebody wants to stay in their house, that's great,” Musk added. “They should be allowed to stay in the house, and they should not be compelled to leave. But to say that they cannot leave their house, and they will be arrested if they do, this is fascist. This is not democratic. This is not freedom.”

I really do try and stay on top of new events during this time of upheaval, BUT I do NOT recall any governors threatening to arrest people if they leave their house.


Elon Musk is part of the Elite and knows what's up. They all know...they have an agenda.

Bill Gates and the WHO want to make it mandatory for everyone to get vaccinated before returning back to 'normal'. Normal as in leaving your home to get groceries, going to the bank, visiting family, etc.

Whether or not that will happen or when it will happen only time will tell...but one thing is for certain if you go against the government and depending on what it is you will either get thrown into a psychiatric ward or arrested.

Anytime anyone stands up for their human rights they get arrested.

[Jedi]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/judge-dismisses-us-womens-national-soccer-teams-claim-for-equal-pay/?fbclid=IwAR2bvr1gr8DvQtOzgGbixNFPpiDlTNePL9QJv2sd osJ7j8xeDjkABtDNYto

[CherylNYC]

It is bothering me, and it keeps coming up inside, so I have to say this:

It's tragic and really unfortunate, but even mad, insane, highly neurotic, delusional and completely dishonest women are sexually assaulted... every day. So, every case must be thoroughly investigated.

I would say, especially neurotic, delusional woman are sexually assaulted. Experienced predators often choose victims with credibility issues for obvious reasons. I'm not sure I would characterize Biden as an experienced predator, though.

This is the crazy cycle: Girl/young woman is targeted for her difference, or she just happens to get sexually assaulted. It really f***s her up and she starts acting out. The assault/molestation may lead to promiscuity, depression, substance abuse, difficulties within her personal relationships, etc. Experienced predators see a flashing neon sign on that girl/woman's forehead and they make a bee-line for her. She becomes the ideal victim precisely because she lacks credibility due to how she acts out as a result of previous victimization. Every time she's victimized she loses more credibility. Her family and friends may ask, 'Why are these things always happening to you? What are you doing to bring these things on yourself?' And so it goes...

[homoe]

White House Denies Congressional Request For Dr. Anthony Fauci's Testimony

The White House will not allow the leading immunologist on the coronavirus task force to testify to Congress calling the request "counter-productive" to the administration's efforts to contain the virus. Dr. Anthony Fauci's testimony had been requested by the House Appropriations Committee, as part of an investigation into the White House response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A committee spokesman on Friday said the White House had blocked the doctor from appearing before the panel. "The Appropriations Committee sought Dr. Anthony Fauci as a witness at next week's Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee hearing on COVID-19 response. We have been informed by an administration official that the White House has blocked Dr. Fauci from testifying," spokesman Evan Hollander said in a statement. Fauci has become one of the most well recognized experts in the administration's coronavirus response team, often speaking publicly during task force briefings, and at times, seeming to contradict statements made by President Trump.

[charley]

U.S. Supreme Court says Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg hospitalized with infection

Any news re: Ginsburg being sick makes me really concerned; but so far, this seems to be a fairly benign intervention, I hope that she lasts at least until after the election.

“Infection caused by non-surgical treatment for gall bladder condition, says top court
“Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was hospitalized Tuesday with an infection caused by a gallstone, the U.S. Supreme Court said.
“The 87-year-old justice underwent non-surgical treatment for what the court described as acute cholecystitis, a benign gall bladder condition, at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.
“She expects to be in the hospital for a day or two, the court said.
“Ginsburg took part in the court's telephone arguments Monday and Tuesday and plans to do so again Wednesday, the court said.
“She has been treated four times for cancer, most recently in August.
“She initially sought medical care Monday, when the gallstone was first diagnosed.”

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/u-s-supreme-court-justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-hospitalized-infection-1.5557140

[homoe]

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said on Monday that the American economy needs to reopen quickly and that tens of thousands of more Americans may die from the novel coronavirus, insisting that Americans are “gonna have to” accept that. Speaking to CNN correspondent Dana Bash on her The Daily DC podcast, Christie—who now works as an ABC News contributor—pushed for the reversal of stay-at-home orders in order to open up businesses and ramp up economic activity.

Confronted with recent models that now show that as many as 135,000 Americans will die due to decreased social distancing amid the pandemic, Christie essentially threw up his hands and said there really wasn’t a choice.
“Of course, everybody wants to save every life they can—but the question is, towards what end, ultimately?” Echoing previous comments he’s made that the country cannot wait to reopen the economy, the former Trump transition team member asserted that “we’re going to destroy the American way of life” if people don’t immediately get back to work.

I often wonder when those politicians, who are so eager to open up the economy at any costs, if they stop to think that perhaps some of the deaths could occur right in their own family? Christie has 4 kids and it's a proven fact that Covid doesn't discriminate when it comes to age! No, I doubt they think of that, in their mind it's always going to be someone else's kid or family member!

[Orema]

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said on Monday that the American economy needs to reopen quickly and that tens of thousands of more Americans may die from the novel coronavirus, insisting that Americans are “gonna have to” accept that. Speaking to CNN correspondent Dana Bash on her The Daily DC podcast, Christie—who now works as an ABC News contributor—pushed for the reversal of stay-at-home orders in order to open up businesses and ramp up economic activity.

Confronted with recent models that now show that as many as 135,000 Americans will die due to decreased social distancing amid the pandemic, Christie essentially threw up his hands and said there really wasn’t a choice.
“Of course, everybody wants to save every life they can—but the question is, towards what end, ultimately?” Echoing previous comments he’s made that the country cannot wait to reopen the economy, the former Trump transition team member asserted that “we’re going to destroy the American way of life” if people don’t immediately get back to work.

I often wonder when those politicians, who are so eager to open up the economy at any costs, if they stop to think that perhaps some of the deaths could occur right in their own family? Christie has 4 kids and it's a proven fact that Covid doesn't discriminate when it comes to age! No, I doubt they think of that, in their mind it's always going to be someone else's kid or family member!

They're thinking black people and other people of color will be the first to go because we're dying at a faster rate than others, but this is going to backfire on them. Too bad there aren't journalists who will call them on this instead of sitting back quietly and taking notes.

[homoe]

~~
"The american economy needs to reopen quickly even tho tens of thousands of more Americans may die from coronavirus and insist that Americans are going to have to accept that" I would just once love to have a reporter, especially in Trump's case say something like " so you're willing to accept that Baron or even better yet Ivanka may die in order to get the precious economy open"? You know, like make it up close personal....

I think it's a safe bet that Melania isn't about to let Baron to far out of her sight regardless of what that nincompoop of a husband of hers says!

[homoe]

(CNN)President Donald Trump contradicted a nurse he was honoring in the Oval Office on Wednesday, insisting there are no personal protective equipment shortages in the US despite her account that availability could be "sporadic." "I think it's sporadic," answered Sophia L. Thomas, president of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. "I mean, I talk to my colleagues around the country. Certainly there are pockets around the country where PPE is not ideal, but this is an unprecedented time." "The infection control measures that we learned back when we went to school, one gown and one mask for one patient per day -- this is a different time," she said, adding that she has been reusing a single N95 mask for "a few weeks now." "PPE has been sporadic, but it's been manageable. And we do what we have to do," Thomas said. "We are nurses and we learn to adapt and do whatever we can do for our patients to get the job done and the care provided, and that's what we will continue to do as Covid-19 continues."

Despite her firsthand experience, Trump disputed Thomas' account.
"Sporadic for you but not sporadic for a lot of other people," the President told her.

It was unfortunate that she didn't stand up to Trump and contradict him back! Honestly who would know better, some lard ass sitting in the White House OR a nurse on the front-lines!

[homoe]

Judge Sullivan still has to sign off on this fortunately!

[C0LLETTE]

OK WE CAN ALL RELAX NOW

"Insect experts ask people to lower concerns about ‘murder hornets’: The facts are, experts said, two dead hornets were found in Washington last December, a lone Canadian live nest was found and wiped out last September, and no live hornets have yet been seen this year."

Don't want to wear a face mask? OK, your decision.
Don't want to wear a bee/hornet-keeper hat and veil? OK, your decision.

Trump has been seen wearing a full-body beekeeping outfit ...head to toe.

Says that anyone who wants one can get one.

[dark_crystal]

OK WE CAN ALL RELAX NOW

"Insect experts ask people to lower concerns about ‘murder hornets’: The facts are, experts said, two dead hornets were found in Washington last December, a lone Canadian live nest was found and wiped out last September, and no live hornets have yet been seen this year."

Don't want to wear a face mask? OK, your decision.
Don't want to wear a bee/hornet-keeper hat and veil? OK, your decision.

Trump has been seen wearing a full-body beekeeping outfit ...head to toe.

Says that anyone who wants one can get one.

i have one i bought off amazon for Mr. Jenny to wear when i was a bee for halloween

[homoe]

Supermarket chains begin terminating ‘hero’ pay to their workers.

As parts of the country reopen for business amid ongoing coronavirus concerns, the debate about “hero” or “hazard’’ pay for supermarket workers is getting pushed to the forefront. Kroger-owned QFC and Fred Meyer have confirmed they will be ending the $2 hourly bonus added to employee wages by the end of next week after company officials told employees in internal bulletins recently to expect the extra money to be discontinued. Other supermarket chains, including Safeway and Albertson’s, have yet to decide end dates for their $2 hourly bonus plans, while Walmart’s plan for some associates is due to expire in two weeks. “In the coming months, we know that our associates’ needs will continue to evolve and change as our world responds and recovers,” QFC spokeswoman Tiffany Sanders said in confirming that the company’s “Hero Bonus,’’ enacted March 29, will end May 16. “Our commitment is that we will continue to listen and be flexible in order to make decisions that balance what is best for our associates, customers, communities and the sustainability of our business.’’

IMHO, with still so many states in lock-down, this is pure horse shit to do this to their employees who showed their dedication by staying on the job!
And it brings to mind that old saying "no good deed goes on unpunished"!

[homoe]

Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk assailed the social distancing measures in place over the past several weeks in the electric car-maker’s home state of California and across the country, which led to a weeks-long closure at the company’s flagship Fremont factory.

“I would call it forcibly imprisoning people in their homes against all their constitutional rights ... breaking people's freedoms in ways that are horrible and wrong and not why people came to America,” Musk said during a public call with analysts and investors after reporting first-quarter earnings results Wednesday afternoon, adding an expletive. “It will cause great harm, not just to Tesla, but to any company. And while Tesla will weather the storm, there are many small companies that will not.”

“If somebody wants to stay in their house, that's great,” Musk added. “They should be allowed to stay in the house, and they should not be compelled to leave. But to say that they cannot leave their house, and they will be arrested if they do, this is fascist. This is not democratic. This is not freedom.”

I really do try and stay on top of new events during this time of upheaval, BUT I do NOT recall any governors threatening to arrest people if they leave their house.

Elon Musk says Tesla will 'immediately' leave California after coronavirus shutdowns forced the company to close its main car factory

Oh you whining little bitch!

[charley]

Elon Musk says Tesla will 'immediately' leave California after coronavirus shutdowns forced the company to close its main car factory

Oh you whining little bitch!

Maybe, he, Grimes & little X Æ A-12 can move to Mars, through his company SPACEX. :)

And, he can take Jeff Bezos & Mark Zuckerberg with him, as they are also interested in going to Mars. :)

[homoe]

Trump and Pence should go into self-quarantine for the next 2 weeks — according to the government's own coronavirus guidelines.


More than a dozen people who may work near President Trump and Vice President Pence have tested positive for the coronavirus this week. On Friday, Pence's press secretary Katie Miller tested positive for the virus. Eleven Secret Service agents have also tested positive for COVID-19, along with one of President Trump's valets.

This being said and with Trump vigorously promoting the opening of states back up for purely economical reasons, what do you think the chances of either of them self-quaranting? My money is on SLIM to NONE!

[homoe]

Dr Fauci enters ‘modified quarantine’ after contact with White House staffer who tested positive for Covid-19.

Dr Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has entered a “modified quarantine” after coming into contact with a White House staffer who tested positive for the coronavirus, according to CNN. Dr Fauci, a key member of the White House coronavirus task force, told the news organisation he would work from home and wear a mask for 14 days after making "low risk" contact with the staffer. A low-risk contact means he "was not in close proximity to the person who tested positive during the time when that person was known to be positive for the virus," CNN's Jake Tapper reported.

Dr Fauci joins two other members of the coronavirus task force who are already self-quarantining: Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration Commissioner, and Director Robert Redfield, head of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

[homoe]

Elon Musk says Tesla will 'immediately' leave California after coronavirus shutdowns forced the company to close its main car factory

Oh you whining little bitch!

Lorena Gonzalez a California State assemblywoman tweeted "F--- Elon Musk" on Saturday night, hours after the Tesla CEO announced was considering moving his company out of the state amid ongoing lockdown restrictions.

Good for her!

[homoe]

WASHINGTON – With coronavirus exposure arriving in the West Wing, the White House is taking extra precautions to ensure the safety of the president and his staff after two administration aides tested positive for the coronavirus.

President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence will be tested daily for the virus, as will every staff member in close proximity to them. White House guests will be tested, workspaces will undergo regular deep cleaning, and staff will follow social distancing guidelines, undergo daily temperature checks and have their symptom histories reviewed, White House spokesman Judd Deere said Sunday.

“The president’s physician and White House operations continue to work closely to ensure every precaution is taken to keep the president, first family and the entire White House complex safe and healthy at all times,” Deere said.

What idiots! Shouldn't they have been doing all this during this time!?

[homoe]

In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott has put the state on a path to reopen nonessential businesses on a rolling schedule. It began May 1, when restaurants and retail stores were allowed to open again to 25 percent capacity. Soon after he announced that hair salons could open with a limited capacity on May 8 and that 10 days after that, gyms would be allowed to operate at quarter capacity.

Businesses that choose to reopen have mandatory guidelines they must follow to help stop the spread of Covid-19. For instance, restaurants need to sit groups six feet from each other, tables should be actively disinfected, employees should wear masks and more. But how many shops and restaurants were following those rules? Billionaire entrepreneur and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban wanted to find out, so he hired secret shoppers to spread out across Dallas and evaluate. Unfortunately, only 4 percent of all businesses they evaluated were fully compliant, according to a study Cuban released on his blog. “Bigger picture, I wanted to know if these are places that I would feel safe taking my family to,” Cuban wrote.

[homoe]

Leaked audio has captured the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, conceding that overwhelming scientific evidence is that reopening businesses will increase the spread of coronavirus – even as he himself authorises a phased relaxation of his state’s lockdown measures. The audio was released as Texas’s Covid-19 death count approached 1,000, with some counties reporting their highest daily numbers of new cases so far.

On the conference call with state legislators, Mr Abbott made no bones about the implications of allowing businesses to resume operations. “How do we know reopening businesses won’t result in faster spread of more cases of Covid-19? “Listen, the fact of the matter is pretty much every scientific and medical report shows that whenever you have a reopening – whether you want to call it a reopening of business, or just a reopening of society – in the aftermath of something like this, that it actually will lead to an increase in spread.

“So it’s almost ipso facto, the more that you have people out there, the greater possibility there is for transmission.”

[Bèsame*]

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball owners gave the go-ahead Monday to making a proposal to the players’ union that could lead to the coronavirus-delayed season starting around the Fourth of July weekend in ballparks without fans, a plan that envisioned expanding the designated hitter to the National League for 2020.

[homoe]

1qTXBOTV7ac



By the time this occurred most stations, even Fox, had broken away from the news conference so their pundits could blather...

[Jedi]

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1281241/germany-coronavirus-cases-jump-lockdown-lift-tougher-lockdown-rules-angela-merkel
Does Germany have to lock down again?

[charley]

I am eagerly awaiting the Supreme Court's decision on Trump's tax returns & bank records, which his lawyers, in several lower cases, have lost, and now they have all been combined into one case, and the lawyers have finished their arguments with intense questioning by justices for this entire case as of today.

For an MSNBC discussion of what's at stake (i.e. no one is above the law, etc.), pls. check out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pwOXie637w

If Trump loses, it will mean the end of Trump (as all his finances will be revealed, at least to prosecutors, and special committees) !!!

(There is a 5-4 conservative majority - two of the justices, Neil Gorsuch & Brett Kavanaugh, are Trump appointees.)

[C0LLETTE]

WHAT KIND OF DELUDED MONSTERS DO THIS?????
There is no God worth believing in: Muslim, Christian or anything else, that demands THIS from its believers.


Death toll from attack on Kabul maternity hospital rises to at least 24, officials say

Afghan officials on Wednesday raised the death toll from a militant attack on a maternity hospital in Kabul the previous day, saying that 24 people were killed, including two newborn babies, their mothers and an unspecified number of nurses.

Militants stormed the hospital in Dashti Barchi, a mostly Shiite neighbourhood in the western part of Kabul, on Tuesday morning, setting off an hours-long shootout with the police. As the battle raged, Afghan security forces struggled to evacuate the facility, which is supported by the aid group Doctors Without Borders, carrying out babies and frantic young mothers.

The Interior Ministry spokesman, Tareq Arian, said on Tuesday that 16 people were killed in the attack and over 100 women and babies were evacuated from the building under fire. The new death toll of 24 came from Wahid Majroh, the deputy public health minister, who spoke at a press conference on Wednesday. He said 16 were wounded in the attack.

[charley]

Biden and Abrams will appear together tomorrow on The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell. Will not miss that ... :)

[~ocean]

WHAT KIND OF DELUDED MONSTERS DO THIS?????
There is no God worth believing in: Muslim, Christian or anything else, that demands THIS from its believers.


Death toll from attack on Kabul maternity hospital rises to at least 24, officials say

Afghan officials on Wednesday raised the death toll from a militant attack on a maternity hospital in Kabul the previous day, saying that 24 people were killed, including two newborn babies, their mothers and an unspecified number of nurses.

Militants stormed the hospital in Dashti Barchi, a mostly Shiite neighbourhood in the western part of Kabul, on Tuesday morning, setting off an hours-long shootout with the police. As the battle raged, Afghan security forces struggled to evacuate the facility, which is supported by the aid group Doctors Without Borders, carrying out babies and frantic young mothers.

The Interior Ministry spokesman, Tareq Arian, said on Tuesday that 16 people were killed in the attack and over 100 women and babies were evacuated from the building under fire. The new death toll of 24 came from Wahid Majroh, the deputy public health minister, who spoke at a press conference on Wednesday. He said 16 were wounded in the attack.


Collette was this Taliban related ?

[homoe]

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said on Monday that the American economy needs to reopen quickly and that tens of thousands of more Americans may die from the novel coronavirus, insisting that Americans are “gonna have to” accept that. Speaking to CNN correspondent Dana Bash on her The Daily DC podcast, Christie—who now works as an ABC News contributor—pushed for the reversal of stay-at-home orders in order to open up businesses and ramp up economic activity.

Confronted with recent models that now show that as many as 135,000 Americans will die due to decreased social distancing amid the pandemic, Christie essentially threw up his hands and said there really wasn’t a choice.
“Of course, everybody wants to save every life they can—but the question is, towards what end, ultimately?” Echoing previous comments he’s made that the country cannot wait to reopen the economy, the former Trump transition team member asserted that “we’re going to destroy the American way of life” if people don’t immediately get back to work.

I often wonder when those politicians, who are so eager to open up the economy at any costs, if they stop to think that perhaps some of the deaths could occur right in their own family? Christie has 4 kids and it's a proven fact that Covid doesn't discriminate when it comes to age! No, I doubt they think of that, in their mind it's always going to be someone else's kid or family member!

Whoopi Goldberg Confronts Chris Christie on ‘The View’: Who Are You Willing to ‘Sacrifice?’ Unfortunately I didn't get to see this on Friday, but I'm so happy someone asked one of these idiots who are saying we need to open America back up this question...

[homoe]

SALEM, Ore. — A county judge has declared Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s coronavirus restrictions “null and void” because she didn’t have her emergency orders approved by the Legislature.

Baker County Circuit Judge Matthew Shirtcliff made the ruling Monday in a lawsuit brought by churches that had sued saying the social-distancing directives were unconstitutional. The suit had also argued that emergency powers only last for a month and after that Brown would have needed legislative approval. The judge agreed.

Brown said she would immediately appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court to try to keep the emergency orders in effect. “This will ensure we can continue to safeguard the health of all Oregonians — including frontline health care workers, those living in nursing homes, workers in agriculture and food processing plants, and Oregonians with underlying health conditions — while the legal process moves forward,” Brown said.

Ray Hacke, the attorney who represented the plaintiffs in the case, said in a phone interview Monday the ruling invalidates Brown’s ban on churches gathering for worship but also the entire stay-at-home order, Hacke said.

Common Sense intervened after the Sacramento-based Pacific Justice Institute filed the case earlier this month on behalf of Oregon businesses, expanding the scope, he said. “The stay-at-home order is no longer in effect. It is invalidated. If people want to get their haircut, they can. They can leave their home for any reason whether it’s deemed essential in the eye of the state or not,” he said. He added that the ruling was a vindication not just for freedom of religion, but for all Oregonians’ freedoms. “Praise God. I’m excited, and I’m glad that the judge saw that there are limitations on the governor’s power, even in the midst of emergencies,” he said.

IMHO who cares what decisions courts hand down, it's going to boil down to what the residents of a given state decide! They ultimately will decide when they feel safe getting a haircut, going to a dentist, etc etc

[homoe]

Nancy Pelosi has led a chorus of surprise and alarm after Donald Trump said he was taking the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to ward off coronavirus.

Trump’s own government has warned that the drug should only be administered for Covid-19 in a hospital or research setting due to potentially fatal side effects.

The US House Speaker did not mince her words when she was asked on CNN about the president’s decision.

“He’s our president, and I would rather he not be taking something that has not been approved by the scientists, especially in his age group and his, shall we say, weight group ... morbidly obese, they say,” she said.

No doubt our thin-skinned President will be tweeting something "nasty" soon!

[C0LLETTE]

Recently a friend of mine complained that she couldn't get CNN anymore. So I sent her my recap of what she missed. Hopefully, no one will be offended.

OK here’s a recap:
"Here’s Dr Fauci…. thank you Dr Fauci….ooops….here’s Dr Fauci again….here’s Dr Sanjai Gupta…thank you Dr. Gupta…Here’s Dr Fauci again…oh wait, that’s Dr Gupta …apologies Dr Fauci…please fix Dr.Fauci’s mic…ok let’s just go to Dr Gupta….ooops that’s Dr Fauci…ok that’s better, we can hear you now Dr Fauci….10,000 deaths in the time it took to fix your mic Dr Fauci…Dr Gupta please wait your turn. Dr Gupta bids 15,000 deaths….your bid Dr Fauci. Ok, that’s a bully bid Dr Fauci. Dr Gupta, Dr Fauci bid 1,000,0000 deaths in the next 60 seconds….Dr. Gupta just died, condolences to the family…Tune in tonight for our special “Black People Dropping Like Flies.

[homoe]

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday that she called President Donald Trump “morbidly obese” because he's put down women for their weight. And besides, she suggested, the president could lose a few pounds himself as the coronavirus bears down on the nation's capital.

“I gave him a dose of his own medicine. He’s called women one thing or another over time, and I thought he thinks that passes off as humor in certain cultures," Pelosi told reporters at her weekly press conference. "I was only quoting what doctors had said about him, so I was being factual in a very sympathetic way.”

For the record, the president is obese, but not morbidly so. Pelosi on Monday called Trump “morbidly obese.” He responded by dismissing her as “a waste of time.”

Pelosi's level of sympathy is unclear. Even as the virus ravages Americans and the U.S. economy, the two are barely speaking to each other.

They have sparred since the beginning of the Trump presidency and more sharply since Pelosi ascended to the speakership in 2019, for the second time. The topics have ranged from the historic — a government shutdown and Trump's impeachment — to playground-quality name-calling and who has the last word.

[PlatinumPearl]

https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5ec9431f2510d7000786b4ca/960x0.jpg?fit=scale

Elon Musk’s SpaceX Is About To Launch Humans For NASA. Here’s Everything You Need To Know About The Historic Mission

On Wednesday, May 27, SpaceX is set to achive a goal 18 years in the making – launching humans to space.

In 2002, Elon Musk founded the company with his sights set on human spaceflight. Now in a matter of days, the Demo-2 mission will see the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida with two astronauts on board, NASA's Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, for the first time.

It will be the first launch of humans to orbit from American soil since the retirement of the Space Shuttle in July 2011, and the beginning of an exciting new era of human spaceflight.

Here’s how it’s all going to go down.

What's happening?

This is the first launch of a private spacecraft carrying astronauts to orbit in history. SpaceX was funded by NASA to build the spacecraft, called Crew Dragon, over the past decade.

When is the launch?

Crew Dragon is scheduled to lift-off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 4.33 P.M. Eastern Time on Wednesday, May 27. Backup launch opportunities are available on Saturday, May 30 and Sunday, May 31.

Where is the mission going?

The spacecraft will head for the International Space Station (ISS), about 400 kilometers above Earth. After the launch it will take Crew Dragon about 19 hours to reach the ISS.

Who are the two people on board?

Both are NASA astronauts. Doug Hurley is the mission’s commander, while Bob Behnken is the joint operations commander for the mission. They have both flown to space several times before.

Why are they launching during the coronavirus pandemic?

It's just unfortunate timing. People have been waiting years for the launch, and it just so happens that it is ready to go now. NASA and SpaceX have both been keen to keep the launch on track despite the pandemic.

The two astronauts have been in quarantine for weeks prior to the launch, and have adhered to strict social distancing measures to avoid catching COVID-19 or carrying the virus to the space station.

How can I watch the launch?

You will be able to watch it live on NASA TV, and on SpaceX’s website. NASA is advising people not to travel in person to Florida to watch, owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

Excitingly, people in the U.K. and Europe should have a chance to see the spacecraft. It is expected to fly past the Moon in the night sky about 20 to 30 minutes after launch, appearing as a dot of light moving across the sky.

What will happen after the launch?

It will take about 12 minutes for Crew Dragon to reach its initial orbit, before it then gradually raises its orbit and flies autonomously towards the ISS.

The spacecraft is designed to dock autonomously with the space station at 11.29 A.M. Eastern Time on Thursday, May 28, although Hurley will briefly control the spacecraft manually to test it beforehand.

The astronauts will open the hatches and enter the ISS at 1.55 P.M. Eastern Time. They will join NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, and Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner, who are currently on the ISS.

What will happen to the rocket?

The first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket will come back for a landing on SpaceX’s drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Atlantic Ocean, roughly eight minutes after the launch.

What happens if something goes wrong during the Demo-2 launch?

Crew Dragon will use emergency thrusters to fire away from the Falcon 9 rocket, known as a launch abort. SpaceX tested this system earlier this year by blowing up a Falcon 9 rocket mid-flight.

The spacecraft would then use its parachutes to safely drop into one of several recovery zones in the Atlantic Ocean stretching from Florida to the western Irish coast.

What will the astronauts do on the ISS?

They will be part of the ISS crew, just like astronauts on any Soyuz launch. They will live and work on the space station with the other astronauts for the duration of their mission.

How long will Crew Dragon stay on the ISS?

That isn’t clear yet. The spacecraft will stay for at least one month, but it could stay for up to four months. The precise time will depend on how the spacecraft handles being in space, and how the next mission to the ISS progresses.

What’s that mission?

That would be the Crew-1 mission. While Demo-2 is in essence a test mission, Crew-1 will be SpaceX’s first fully operational crewed mission to fly to the ISS. On board will be NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, along with Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi.

What will happen at the end of the Demo-2 mission?

Crew Dragon will undock from the station, and a day later it will then re-enter our atmosphere after getting rid of its service module and solar arrays. Its heat shield will bear brunt of re-entry and keep the astronauts safe.

The spacecraft will use four parachute to slow its descent, eventually splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean where it and its astronauts will be recovered.

Why is this mission such a big deal?

It’s the culmination of a decade of funding from NASA in an effort to commercialize the transport of astronauts to low Earth orbit (LEO). SpaceX is one of two companies, the other being Boeing, that has been funded in this Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) programme.

It will also return orbital launches to the U.S. since the final Space Shuttle flight, Atlantis, back in July 2011. Since then NASA has been paying Russia for trips to space on its Soyuz spacecraft, at a recent cost of more than $90 million per seat.

How much money did SpaceX get from NASA to develop Crew Dragon?

SpaceX was given $2.6 billion, and Boeing $4.2 billion for its Starliner spacecraft. However, the cost-savings for NASA compared to developing their own comparable spacecraft and rocket is estimated to be in the tens of billions.

What will Crew Dragon be used for in the future?

SpaceX is under contract with NASA to take astronauts to and from the ISS on multiple missions. However, Crew Dragon can seat seven people. Thus, SpaceX plans to let space tourists pay for seats as well.

Already several people have signed up, at a cost of no less than $20 million per seat – including, possibly, Tom Cruise. In the future SpaceX is expected to conduct more and more private flights, including to destinations other than the ISS, such as maybe orbiting space hotels and private space stations.

What’s next?

Well, apart from more Crew Dragon flights in the future, we’re expecting Boeing to launch humans on its Starliner spacecraft for the first time no earlier than spring 2021.

SpaceX, meanwhile, is developing a new spacecraft called Starship to take humans to the Moon and Mars. But first they will need to prove they can safely launch humans to space, starting with Crew Dragon on Wednesday.



Date: May 23, 2020,12:24pm EDT
Source: Forbes.com

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanocallaghan/2020/05/23/elon-musks-spacex-is-about-to-launch-humans-for-nasa-heres-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-historic-mission/?utm_source=FBPAGE&utm_medium=social&utm_content=3366264417&utm_campaign=sprinklrForbesMainFB#46e8c63e2e5d

[homoe]

Lorena Gonzalez a California State assemblywoman tweeted "F--- Elon Musk" on Saturday night, hours after the Tesla CEO announced was considering moving his company out of the state amid ongoing lockdown restrictions.

Good for her!

Perhaps Elon Musk should hop aboard one of these rockets himself seeing how he's so displeased the way things are being handled down here on earth concerning Covid-19.

It'd be a win win for all IMHO....

[homoe]

A new ad from former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign ripped into President Donald Trump for golfing over the weekend as the coronavirus death toll in the nation approached 100,000. The video, which Biden posted to his Twitter account on Saturday, features a bar graph tracking coronavirus-related deaths in the U.S. The bar on the graph steadily rises as footage of what appears to be Trump golfing plays in the background.

In the past, Trump had repeatedly criticized Obama for playing the sport. In 2014, when the second Ebola case was confirmed in the United States, Trump went on Fox News to bash the then-president for golfing. “There are times to play and times that you can’t play. It sends the wrong signal,” he said.

Well well well, it looks like the Golfstream's on the other foot now doesn't it...:hangloose:

[homoe]

ABC News.....
2 hairstylists with COVID-19 may have exposed 140 people at salon

Two hairstylists potentially exposed 140 customers to COVID-19 at a Great Clips in Missouri, according to alerts from a local health department.The Springfield-Greene County Health Department announced on Friday that a hairstylist who tested positive for COVID-19 had potentially exposed 84 clients at a Great Clips in Springfield. The case is believed to have been contracted through travel to a "high-intensity" area in Missouri, Director of Health Clay Goddard said Friday. Then on Saturday, the health department announced a second hairstylist who tested positive for the virus had potentially exposed 56 clients at the same salon, located in a strip mall.

[homoe]

A new ad from former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign ripped into President Donald Trump for golfing over the weekend as the coronavirus death toll in the nation approached 100,000. The video, which Biden posted to his Twitter account on Saturday, features a bar graph tracking coronavirus-related deaths in the U.S. The bar on the graph steadily rises as footage of what appears to be Trump golfing plays in the background.

In the past, Trump had repeatedly criticized Obama for playing the sport. In 2014, when the second Ebola case was confirmed in the United States, Trump went on Fox News to bash the then-president for golfing. “There are times to play and times that you can’t play. It sends the wrong signal,” he said.

Well well well, it looks like the Golfstream's on the other foot now doesn't it...:hangloose:

UPDATE:Trump apparently feels he’s being held to an unfair “double standard” since Obama also recently went golfing. But one of these men is currently the U.S. president; the other is not.

Obama’s golf game has preoccupied Trump for years, long before Trump even took office.

In December 2011, Trump accused then-President Obama of playing golf “to escape work while America goes down the drain.”

In 2014 he tweeted, “Can you believe that, with all of the problems and difficulties facing the U.S., President Obama spent the day playing golf.”

As with so many of Trump’s tweets, they’re now starkly hypocritical. The amount of days Trump has spent on a golf course is more than two and a half times Obama’s total at the same point in his first term.

Worse, Trump’s insistence on playing at his own courses means Trump is lining his pockets at taxpayers’ expense every time he hits the links. To date, Trump’s golf tab has cost taxpayers more than $133.8 million ― equal to 334 years of the presidential salary that Trump and his supporters frequently boast he isn’t taking.

[homoe]

On Sunday, President Trump, ever the optimist, tweeted that coronavirus “Cases, numbers and deaths are going down all over the Country!” Two days later, both Reuters and the New York Times reported that new daily cases of COVID-19 — which have been falling for weeks, both nationally and in the hardest-hit metropolitan areas — suddenly and simultaneously started to rise in more than a dozen states.

The Times counted 14 states where the rolling seven-day average of new infections has climbed over the last two weeks. Narrowing the timeframe and focusing on the total weekly case count, Reuters found that 20 states reported an increase in new infections during the week ending May 24, up from 13 states the week before.

Most of the affected states were among the first to reopen in late April or early May: Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia. In others — Arkansas, North Dakota, Oklahoma — statewide stay-at-home orders were never issued, but businesses that had been closed began reopening around the same time.

[homoe]

Wisconsin saw a record number of new coronavirus cases and deaths reported in a single day on Wednesday, two weeks after the state’s Supreme Court struck down its statewide stay-at-home order. The state reported 599 new known COVID-19 cases on Wednesday with 22 known deaths, according to Wisconsin’s Department of Health Services, the highest recorded daily rise since the pandemic began there. As of Wednesday, the state had more than 16,460 known cases and 539 known deaths, according to the department.

On May 13, Wisconsin’s Supreme Court struck down the state’s stay-at-home order during the pandemic as "unlawful, invalid, and unenforceable" after finding that the state's health secretary exceeded her authority. The order had put Evers at odds with the state's Republic-controlled legislature.
Some local officials, including those in Milwaukee and Madison, have since instituted their own regulations.

On a personal note, whoever is in charge of Brown County appears to be asleep at the wheel! According to reports from my nephew, some dummies have been gathering in bars, not practicing social distancing, and just acting like idiots in general!

[homoe]

Was approved Thursday to enter phase 2 of Governor Inslee's plan!



King & Pierce should enter 2 IF all goes well on Monday June 1st......

[PlatinumPearl]

https://europeansworldwide.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/headline-alternative-putin-closes-gates.jpg?w=666&h=280&crop=1

The removal of all Microsoft software has now begun in Russia with immediate effect. Government spokesman Sergei Zheleznyak explained that Microsoft had been caught carrying out minute-by-minute surveillance on millions of Russian citizens, as well as citizens of other countries.



Date: May 15, 2020
Source: europeansworldwide.wordpress.com

https://europeansworldwide.wordpress.com/2020/05/15/putin-closes-gates/?fbclid=IwAR2BJbuZtAj_KrjyacSvc3BtVBM7FIvGFEou0k_7 zYnXlQJ5yziLgVVkV5M

[homoe]

Q13 News crew witnessed multiple police cruisers set ablaze, other vehicle fires, and people breaking into retail stores and other businesses. A police spokeswoman, Sgt. Lauren Truscott, said some people were arrested, though she didn’t have an exact figure.

Gov. Jay Inslee activated up to 200 members of the Washington National Guard in response to a request from the City of Seattle. The National Guard is on stand by to assist the Seattle Police Department as requested by Mayor Durkan," Inslee said. "They will be unarmed and assist with infrastructure protection and crowd movement. They will only be utilized if absolutely necessary and we appreciate their efforts to help in this important work."

[~ocean]

the family of George Floyd had an independent autopsy done , findings were the opposite of the medical examiners was. GEORGE did die of asphyxia.

[kittygrrl]

i would like to offer a different perspective..it's not evil to feel pissed about what is happening to black men in this country, George Floyd, is the latest. fyi, In Minneapolis alone, the compressing of necks has been done 44 times in the past 5 years. Police should not have the power of life & death.

https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/black-lives-matter-sign-demonstration-seattle-washington-90894225.jpg

Most of the protests are peaceful but there are fringe groups, white supremacists, anarchists who want to burn everything down. and use the peaceful protests as cover. Be informed. Don't spread misinformation.

Vote

[homoe]

Washington (AFP) - American religious leaders on Tuesday castigated Donald Trump for posing in front of a church holding a Bible after peaceful protesters were violently cleared from the surrounding area. "It was traumatic and deeply offensive, in the sense that something sacred was being misused for a political gesture," Washington's Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde said on public radio station NPR.


And former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, said in a Tuesday speech: “The president held up the Bible at St John’s Church yesterday. I just wish he'd opened it once in a while, instead of brandishing it.”

[nhplowboi]

Benjamin Crump (the Floyd family lawyer) you are disgusting. Dragging around Floyd's son, like Trump in Lafayette Park waving the bible, just so you can get on tv and run your mouth for 15-20 minutes with words that were not helpful. You spoke in a manner to incite the people gathered at the site of Floyd's death and did not offer any measure of comfort to them. You went on and on in great detail about how Floyd was murdered while his son, your prop, was made to stand there and listen to your words. You are the perfect example of someone who had their 15 minutes of fame (Treyvon Martin case) and then run around leaching off any family of color who has the misfortune to end up in a similar situation.

[Orema]

Steve King, House Republican With a History of Racist Remarks, Loses Primary

Mr. King, one of the nation’s most divisive elected officials, saw his power in Congress curtailed last year after he questioned why white supremacy was considered offensive.

https://i.postimg.cc/C5vH63x7/merlin-152446446-81515ef4-28d0-4bc1-83a7-5a5e0b046cd3-super-Jumbo.jpg
Representative Steve King of Iowa has long made racist remarks about immigrants, and Republicans had worried before the primary election on Tuesday that he was an electoral liability. Credit...Hilary Swift for The New York Times

By Trip Gabriel
June 3, 2020
Updated 1:36 a.m. ET

Representative Steve King of Iowa, the nine-term Republican with a history of racist comments who only recently became a party pariah, lost his bid for renomination early Wednesday, one of the biggest defeats of the 2020 primary season in any state.

Mr. King was defeated by Randy Feenstra, a state senator, who had the backing of mainstream state and national Republicans who found Mr. King an embarrassment and, crucially, a threat to a safe Republican seat if he were on the ballot in November.

The loss was most likely the final political blow to one of the nation’s most divisive elected officials, whose insults of undocumented immigrants foretold the messaging of President Trump, and whose flirtations with extremism led him far from rural Iowa, to meetings with anti-Muslim crusaders in Europe and an endorsement of a Toronto mayoral candidate with neo-Nazi ties.

In interviews over the years, voters in Iowa’s most conservative region downplayed Mr. King’s incendiary comments. His loss after 18 years in office was mainly because opponents painted him as ineffective after party leaders in Congress stripped him of his committee assignments last year.
That move came after comments that Mr. King made in an interview with The New York Times in 2019, in which he asked, “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?”

The remarks caused an uproar. Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican majority leader, told Mr. King to “find another line of work.”

Instead, Mr. King clung to his seat, claiming to be the victim of Republican insiders and of the news media.

Now Mr. Feenstra, a political and social conservative in a deep-red district in northwest Iowa, is the odds-on favorite to hold the seat against J.D. Scholten, who nearly defeated Mr. King two years ago and ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

The belief that Mr. King, who had crushed earlier primary opponents, was vulnerable this year drew four challengers, including Mr. Feenstra; Jeremy Taylor, a former state lawmaker; and two businessmen, Bret Richards and Steve Reeder. All four opponents campaigned as equally conservative as Mr. King on red-meat issues like abortion and gun rights, but they promised more effective representation of the district after Mr. King lost his committee assignments.

“Our Fourth District desperately needs a seat at the table,” Mr. Feenstra said at a debate last month, calling for the district to have “an effective conservative voice.”

Although there was a question of whether the four challengers would split voters opposed to Mr. King too many ways and allow him to skate through, Mr. Feenstra’s margin was decisive, 46 percent to 36 percent for Mr. King.

In comments Mr. King recorded on Facebook after his loss, he said none of his challengers had taken issue with “a single statement that I have made” during his career, and he urged Iowans to continue to “teach our children well” about “values we care about,” including opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage.

His defeat, he said, was the result of “an effort to push out the strongest voice for full-spectrum constitutional, Christian conservatism” in Congress.

Mr. Feenstra promised during the campaign to be an unflagging social and fiscal conservative in Congress. “I’ll fight with President Trump to build the wall,” he said at a candidate forum, boasting that he had voted in the Iowa Senate to ban “sanctuary cities” and defund Planned Parenthood. As a lawmaker, he co-sponsored a bill to define life as beginning at conception. He ran on his support of Iowa’s largest tax cut in history, in 2018, which a state Department of Revenue analysis showed aimed the highest benefits to the wealthy.

Mr. Feenstra was the preferred candidate of establishment Republicans, and he easily outraised Mr. King, bringing in $925,800 to Mr. King’s $331,000. He won endorsements from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Right to Life Committee. And in an extraordinary rebuke of Mr. King by House colleagues, five Republican congressmen donated to Mr. Feenstra’s campaign.

Anticipating the general election, Mr. Scholten on Wednesday indicated he would run a populist campaign around economic issues, while accusing Mr. Feenstra of siding with corporate donors. “Not being Steve King isn’t enough for this district,” he said. “It won’t be enough to revitalize rural communities, ensure farmers get a fair price and can stay on their land, or for families to afford health care and save for retirement. We need someone with vision and the ability to bring people together. That’s not Feenstra.”

During the primary, Mr. Feenstra refrained from attacking Mr. King’s years of demeaning comments about immigrants — he once compared Dreamers to drug mules “with calves the size of cantaloupes” — and instead portrayed the congressman as powerless to help Iowans.

https://i.postimg.cc/RFBkMHQ8/merlin-137735649-765fcd8e-bebb-4dfb-b3b4-e834661e6a5d-super-Jumbo.jpg
Randy Feenstra, left, a state senator, had the backing of mainstream state and national Republicans. Credit...Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

Mr. King, 71, claimed during the campaign that Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the House Republican leader, had privately pledged to help him regain his committee assignments. But Mr. McCarthy denied having said any such thing, adding that if the Republican Steering Committee, which decides on committee roles, met again to weigh in on Mr. King, he would not win back his posts.

Even before facing Republican discipline in the House in January 2019 after the Times interview, Mr. King was in electoral trouble. He just barely won re-election in 2018 over Mr. Scholten, a former professional baseball player, by three percentage points — in a district Mr. Trump carried by nearly 30 points.

Just before that election, the head of the Republican House campaign arm, Representative Steve Stivers of Ohio, denounced Mr. King for his endorsement of the Toronto mayoral candidate, Faith Goldy, who has espoused white nationalism, and for comments seeming to embrace the “Great Replacement,” a far-right conspiracy theory. “We must stand up against white supremacy and hate in all forms, and I strongly condemn this behavior,” Mr. Stivers said at the time.

A paradox of Mr. King’s career is that, in his anti-immigrant language and policies, he was years ahead of Mr. Trump, who won the presidency by stirring fears about nonwhite immigrants.

Well before Mr. Trump promised to build a wall on the southwest border, Mr. King, who founded an earth-moving company, stood on the House floor and showed off a model of a 12-foot border wall of his own design.

Soon after Mr. Trump took office, he invited Mr. King — who even then was snubbed by establishment Republicans like the former House speaker John A. Boehner — to the Oval Office. The president boasted to Mr. King of having supported him, and raised money for him during an Iowa visit in 2014, Mr. King told The Times.

In the past, Mr. King routinely won the backing of other Iowa Republicans, including Gov. Kim Reynolds, who named him a co-chair of her 2018 election campaign. He sought to be a kingmaker in presidential politics given Iowa’s early-voting role. In 2015 he played host to a forum for 2016 hopefuls, including Mr. Trump, who attacked Jeb Bush for saying that immigrants enter the United States in an “act of love.”

“Say what?” Mr. Trump said. “Half of them are criminals!”

“For two decades Steve King has been something of the sun in the political universe around here,” Douglas Burns, an owner of newspapers in Mr. King’s district, said on Tuesday night. “I’ll still have to see the eclipse tomorrow to believe these results.”

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/us/politics/steve-king-iowa-primary.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

[~ocean]

justice finally ! on George Floyd case .

[~ocean]

why in the hell did CRUMP bring GF's son on national TV ?? he just added additional sadness to that boy !

[homoe]

President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and their son Barron were rushed to a secure bunker on Friday after protesters breached temporary fences outside the White House, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

Four protesters were detained by Secret Service in the incident, according to arrest records reviewed by The Post. The barricade breach elevated the alert level at the White House from "yellow" to "red." This new reporting is at odds with Trump's Wednesday claim that reports that he was taken to the bunker for his safety amid the protests were "false," and that he instead visited the bunker simply to inspect it.

"They said it would be a good time to go down and take a look because maybe sometime you're going to need it," Trump told Fox News radio on Wednesday morning.

You say potato I say potahto, You say tomato I say tomahto! When will this vain and thin skinned Trump Presidency be over?!

[homoe]

~~
James Mattis former defense secretary denounces President Trump....


“Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us,” Mattis writes. “We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society. This will not be easy, as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens; to past generations that bled to defend our promise; and to our children.”

Then of course, thin skinned Trump had to jump on Twitter & tweet about Mattis being the worst "_______ "fill in the blank!

[homoe]

Lisa Murkowski, drew Trump’s ire earlier Thursday when she concurred with former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’ sharp critiques of the president over his response to the death of George Floyd, an unarmed African American man, at the hands of police in Minneapolis, and the subsequent nationwide protests sparked by the killing.

“I thought General Mattis’ words were true, and honest, and necessary, and overdue,” Murkowski told reporters after Mattis wrote that Trump was threatening the Constitution and trying to pit Americans against each other. When asked whether she could still support Trump, Murkowski said she was “struggling with it.”

Trump responded as he typically does: with a Twitter thread.

“Few people know where they’ll be in two years from now, but I do, in the Great State of Alaska (which I love) campaigning against Senator Lisa Murkowski,” Trump wrote, noting that Murkowski voted against the GOP efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and opposed Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court.

“Get any candidate ready, good or bad, I don’t care, I’m endorsing. If you have a pulse, I’m with you!” the president concluded.

[C0LLETTE]

THIS IS THE DAY....JUNE 5, 1833.

Ada Lovelace meets Charles Babbage and invents the first computer program


In an age when it wasn’t expected, Ada Lovelace learned history, languages, music, chemistry and mathematics. When she was barely a teenager, in the late 1820s, she wanted to learn to fly and studied birds for her book on “flyology,” as she put it. She never got off the ground but did take flight in another sense. On June 5, 1833, she met the brilliant polymath Charles Babbage, the Londoner who is considered the inventor of the first mechanical computer, the Difference Engine, and its more sophisticated successor, the Analytical Engine. Ms. Lovelace took the concept of Mr. Babbage’s computer to a new level, where she imagined it could create as well as merely calculate as it “weaves algebraic patterns just as the Jacquard loom weaves flowers and leaves.” When she was 27, she published what many modern-day computer scientists consider the first computer program, which would use Mr. Babbage’s Analytical Engine (never built) to calculate Bernoulli numbers, used in number theory. In her writings, she foresaw that "a new, a vast and a powerful language is developed for the future use of analysis.” Only in recent years has her pioneering contribution to the digital age been fully recognized.

[homoe]

Four U.S. presidents spoke this week about systemic racism and injustice. They used their platforms to illuminate the humanity in all Americans and to decry the dehumanization of some. And they summoned the nation to confront its failures, make change and come together.

A fifth U.S. president spoke instead this week about using military force to dominate Americans who are protesting racial injustice. He declared winners and losers among state and city officials trying to safeguard their streets. And, with his reelection campaign in mind, he sought to apply a partisan political lens to the national reckoning over racial inequities.

[C0LLETTE]

seems like nothing is going all that well for Trump

[homoe]

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump made his demands for the planned Republican National Convention in Charlotte quite clear to North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who had balked at agreeing to a mass gathering of tens of thousands of delegates, allies and media.

In a phone call, Trump told the Democratic governor he would accept his party's nomination in an arena filled with cheering supporters, coronavirus pandemic or not. "Since the day I came down the escalator, I've never had an empty seat and I find the biggest stadiums," he told Cooper on Friday, according to two people familiar with the call who requested anonymity to share its contents. "I don't want to be sitting in a place that's 50 percent empty," Trump said.

Trump's obsession with crowd size and the spectacle he insisted should greet his renomination came on a day during which extraordinary pressure was building on other fronts, as protesters against police violence began to mass near the White House and in cities and towns across America. Trump, in the roughly 15-minute conversation, casually dismissed any health concerns that might arise from squeezing thousands of supporters - wearing masks only if they choose to - inside an arena to hear his acceptance speech. The full details of the call have not previously been reported. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The president's call to Cooper - who unsuccessfully pleaded, by praising Trump, that the president abide by restrictions set by health officials - came on the same day Trump called Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, to see whether he might host the convention on Trump's terms. Cooper has insisted that it is too early to determine what will be safe for the convention, scheduled to be held Aug. 24-27. Trump had a blunt response to Cooper's reminders about the potential cost of crowding so many people into a closed arena.

"We can't do social distancing," the president said, according to the two people familiar with the call.

The Friday conversation was the second time that week that Trump inserted himself into the middle of a two-year planning process for his party's convention and derailed ongoing talks about how to safely hold a mass gathering in the midst of a pandemic. He began the week with a Memorial Day broadside against Cooper in which he mocked the governor as still being "in shutdown mood."

The fallout has sent RNC officials shuttling around the country to consider other options. Possible replacements include Jacksonville and Orlando in Florida, Nashville, New Orleans and even Las Vegas, the only other city that submitted a formal bid to host the convention back in 2018. Also in play are Phoenix, the site of a major anti-Trump rally in 2017, and Dallas, according to a Republican operative.

A Republican familiar with the talks said RNC officials are asking those cities to approve the convention on Trump's terms: without social distancing or required masks. As those talks proceed, the convention host committee pushed Thursday for a meeting in Charlotte to "resolve open questions as expeditiously as possible," according to a copy of the invitation.

Those familiar with the call who recounted it for The Post described it as cordial, even as Trump pushed the Democratic governor to overrule public health concerns and accelerate reopening.

"We're in a different situation now," Cooper said at one point. He asked Trump to allow the RNC to negotiate a scaled down event.Trump replied: "We can't do scaled down." At one point during the call, Cooper pushed back, according to the two people familiar with the conversation. He asked Trump whether he was worried about his supporters, and the possibility that they would become sick.

"No, I'm not because we've learned a lot about it," Trump said, referring to the coronavirus.

[clementinefemme]

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump made his demands for the planned Republican National Convention in Charlotte quite clear to North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who had balked at agreeing to a mass gathering of tens of thousands of delegates, allies and media.

In a phone call, Trump told the Democratic governor he would accept his party's nomination in an arena filled with cheering supporters, coronavirus pandemic or not. "Since the day I came down the escalator, I've never had an empty seat and I find the biggest stadiums," he told Cooper on Friday, according to two people familiar with the call who requested anonymity to share its contents. "I don't want to be sitting in a place that's 50 percent empty," Trump said.

Trump's obsession with crowd size and the spectacle he insisted should greet his renomination came on a day during which extraordinary pressure was building on other fronts, as protesters against police violence began to mass near the White House and in cities and towns across America. Trump, in the roughly 15-minute conversation, casually dismissed any health concerns that might arise from squeezing thousands of supporters - wearing masks only if they choose to - inside an arena to hear his acceptance speech. The full details of the call have not previously been reported. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The president's call to Cooper - who unsuccessfully pleaded, by praising Trump, that the president abide by restrictions set by health officials - came on the same day Trump called Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, to see whether he might host the convention on Trump's terms. Cooper has insisted that it is too early to determine what will be safe for the convention, scheduled to be held Aug. 24-27. Trump had a blunt response to Cooper's reminders about the potential cost of crowding so many people into a closed arena.

"We can't do social distancing," the president said, according to the two people familiar with the call.

The Friday conversation was the second time that week that Trump inserted himself into the middle of a two-year planning process for his party's convention and derailed ongoing talks about how to safely hold a mass gathering in the midst of a pandemic. He began the week with a Memorial Day broadside against Cooper in which he mocked the governor as still being "in shutdown mood."

The fallout has sent RNC officials shuttling around the country to consider other options. Possible replacements include Jacksonville and Orlando in Florida, Nashville, New Orleans and even Las Vegas, the only other city that submitted a formal bid to host the convention back in 2018. Also in play are Phoenix, the site of a major anti-Trump rally in 2017, and Dallas, according to a Republican operative.

A Republican familiar with the talks said RNC officials are asking those cities to approve the convention on Trump's terms: without social distancing or required masks. As those talks proceed, the convention host committee pushed Thursday for a meeting in Charlotte to "resolve open questions as expeditiously as possible," according to a copy of the invitation.

Those familiar with the call who recounted it for The Post described it as cordial, even as Trump pushed the Democratic governor to overrule public health concerns and accelerate reopening.

"We're in a different situation now," Cooper said at one point. He asked Trump to allow the RNC to negotiate a scaled down event.Trump replied: "We can't do scaled down." At one point during the call, Cooper pushed back, according to the two people familiar with the conversation. He asked Trump whether he was worried about his supporters, and the possibility that they would become sick.

"No, I'm not because we've learned a lot about it," Trump said, referring to the coronavirus.

Sounds like he's compensating for *something*...

[homoe]

Sounds like he's compensating for *something*...



...:goodpost:...

[homoe]

ALBANY, N.Y. – An entire unit of the Buffalo Police Department resigned from their assignments Friday after two officers were suspended amid outcry over video showing officers shoving a 75-year-old man to the ground, according to the Buffalo News and other media outlets. All 57 of the members of the department's Emergency Response Team resigned from the unit, which responds to riots and other crowd control situations, according to the outlets. The Emergency Response Team members have not quit the police department, but have stepped down from the tactical unit, the Buffalo News reported.

Graphic video from WBFO shows the two officers pushing the man down as he approached them in a public square around an 8 p.m. curfew Thursday. The man stumbles back and falls, and the video shows him motionless and bleeding from his head. Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz tweeted Friday morning that a hospital official said the man was "alert and oriented."
Asked about the resigning officers at a press conference, Poloncarz said he would be "disappointed" if they had in fact resigned. "If they resigned, I'm exceptionally disappointed by it because it indicates to me that they did not see anything wrong with the actions last night," Poloncarz said.

The Erie County District Attorney's Office tweeted Friday that it was continuing its investigation of the incident and that the man was unable to provide a statement to investigators Thursday night.

The officer's actions quickly drew condemnation from around the state, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo who said the "incident is wholly unjustified and utterly disgraceful."During a press briefing Friday, Cuomo played video of the incident, watching it wide-eyed before questioning the officers’ actions. "You see that video and it disturbs your basic sense of decency and humanity," Cuomo said. "Why? Why? Why was that necessary? Where was the threat? It was an older gentleman. Where was the threat? And then you just walk by the person when you see blood coming from his head," he said, describing the scene.

Cuomo also urged the mayor and district attorney in Buffalo to investigate the incident and move expeditiously towards potentially bringing criminal charges against and firing the officers involved.

[homoe]

ARE you freaking kidding!

You stay almost completely silent on this poor man's brutal murder/death and this is what you chose to say!?

UNREAL!!! Just when I think this SOB can't sink any lower he does!

[homoe]

San Francisco (AFP) - Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg on Friday promised to review the social network's policies that led to its decision to not moderate controversial messages posted by US President Donald Trump.

The announcement, which came in the form of a letter to employees, appeared aimed at quelling anger inside the company that was so severe it prompted some to quit.

The outrage was sparked when Zuckerberg said Facebook would not remove or flag Trump's recent posts that appeared to encourage violence against those protesting police racism.

On MAKING promises this guy is great, follow thru not so much IMHO!

In fact I'd love to know how many congress members he ever got back to when they grilled him up on the Hill! When he couldn't give an answer he'd often respond by saying "I'll get back to you"!

[C0LLETTE]

[B]Great Breaking Moments 1974 Contributing to Breaking News Events.

Inspired by early line and character editors that broke a move or copy operation into two steps—between which the user could invoke a preparatory action such as navigation—Lawrence G. "Larry" Tesler proposed the names "cut" and "copy" for the first step and "paste" for the second step. Beginning in 1974, he and colleagues at Xerox Corporation Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) implemented several text editors that used cut/copy-and-paste commands to move/copy text.[4]

Apple Computer widely popularized the computer-based cut/copy-and-paste paradigm through the Lisa (1983) and Macintosh (1984) operating systems and applications. Apple mapped the functionalities to key combinations consisting of the Command key (a special modifier key) held down while typing the letters X (for cut), C (for copy), and V (for paste), choosing a handful of keyboard shortcuts to control basic editing operations. The keys involved all cluster together at the left end of the bottom row of the standard QWERTY keyboard, and each key is combined with a special modifier key to perform the desired operation:

Z to undo
X to cut
C to copy
V to paste

[homoe]

Trump shushed Yamiche Alcindor of PBS, then angrily told her: “You are something.”

President Donald Trump attempted to silence then angrily demeaned Yamiche Alcindor, a Black female reporter, on Friday when she pressed him on rising unemployment figures for Black and Asian workers. The put-down occurred after Trump crowed in a Rose Garden statement about a better-than-expected 13.3% unemployment figure for the nation in May. The president shockingly claimed that it was a “great day” for George Floyd — the Black man a white police officer killed last month in Minneapolis — because he would be pleased “looking down” at the jobs stats.

Though white unemployment fell from 14.2% to 12.4% in May, the jobless rate for Black and Asian workers increased slightly. Black unemployment rose from 16.7% to 16.8%. When Alcindor, who works for PBS, asked the president to explain how he plans to address systemic racism in the country, he held a finger to his lips, then seconds later said: “A strong economy.”

When she asked how worsening jobless figures for Asians and Blacks were “a victory,” as Trump had claimed, he shook his head angrily and told her: “You are something else.”

It's obvious that this jerk has "issues" with strong, well spoken, intelligent women who won't deference to him!

[C0LLETTE]

Wow, that's terrible.

[homoe]

z4ebSsN19tg






The apple doesn't fall far from the tree...

[homoe]

~~~
The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir
by John Bolton release's date has once again been changed to Jun 23, 2020!

[C0LLETTE]

I'll look for it.

[C0LLETTE]

How fucking stupid, naive can far left Democrats be??? I have no doubt that the moment Trump saw "Defund the Police" his dick got so hard he could hardly move. There it is boys: we're going to scare the shit out of Middle America.

Was there really no other way to headline changes to police reform? Nothing else that could have gotten middle America on board with change?

Did they really not realise that most people, even the most liberal, don't read below the headline, below the thick text of policy explanation? "Blah blah blah...defund the police. How many voters you think read that shit. All they know is that you want to leave them at the mercy of no one.

If you can't explain it succinctly , clearly, and in a way that most citizens would want to live with...SHUT THE FUCK UP...you are reelecting Trump.

It's like the far left sits around in a little jack-off daisy chain applauding eachother with no sense of how to move anyone without giving the far right a huge gift.

How fucking stupid are they?

[~ocean]

trump wants to put martial law in effect. WE ARE DOOMED . reform the police across the board .

[C0LLETTE]

I give up.

A thoughtful post that took time to compose gets dumped out by blah blah , never to be seen again...what''s the point?

[tantalizingfemme]

This woman is absolutely amazing and her Monopoly metaphor is genius. She is a genius. And the information, priceless. And heartbreaking. And deplorable.

JONES: As far as I'm concerned, they could burn this bitch to the ground. And they are lucky that what black people are looking for is equality and not revenge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=sb9_qGOa9Go&feature=emb_logo

[C0LLETTE]

OMG THAT WAS THE MOST AMAZING MESSAGE EVER . IF THAT GOES NO WHERE THEN NOTHING GOES ANY WHERE???

WHY CAN"T CNN ( and those other lefty falsies ) THAT CLAIM THE LEFT JUST BROADCAST THAT OVER AND OVER AND SHUT THOSE DUMB TALKING POLITICAL HEADS UP THAT NO ONE EVER HEARD OF.

WHY CAN"T THEY JUST GO TO THE PEOPLE THAT REALLY HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY AND SAY IT WITH ENERGY AND TRUTH.

GUILLOTINE THOSE ASSHOLE PROFITEERING TALKING HEADS.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=sb9_qGOa9Go&feature=emb_logo

[FireSignFemme]

OMG THAT WAS THE MOST AMAZING MESSAGE EVER . IF THAT GOES NO WHERE THEN NOTHING GOES ANY WHERE???

WHY CAN"T CNN ( and those other lefty falsies ) THAT CLAIM THE LEFT JUST BROADCAST THAT OVER AND OVER AND SHUT THOSE DUMB TALKING POLITICAL HEADS UP THAT NO ONE EVER HEARD OF.

WHY CAN"T THEY JUST GO TO THE PEOPLE THAT REALLY HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY AND SAY IT WITH ENERGY AND TRUTH.

GUILLOTINE THOSE ASSHOLE PROFITEERING TALKING HEADS.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=sb9_qGOa9Go&feature=emb_logo

I don't know what was said and I don't want to know because if I know and it reeks of injustice I'll be forced to take action rather than just react and I'm feeling really, really lazy right now, but whatever it was "GUILLOTINE THOSE ASSHOLE PROFITEERING TALKING HEADS" damn that was choice.

[homoe]

The US’s top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci warned on Tuesday that the coronavirus pandemic was far from over, calling Covid-19 his “worst nightmare”.

Treasury Secretary Mnuchin says "we can’t shut down the economy again"

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC that shutting down the economy for a second time to slow Covid-19 isn’t a viable option.
The Treasury secretary’s comments came as Wall Street grew more concerned about a second wave of coronavirus cases in the U.S.

R E A L L Y? Not a 'viable option', are you friggin kidding me!

[Stone-Butch]

Not really news but facts. More and more places are opening, ignoring the viral warnings that it can escalate. Reasons are a few but two obvious are: to keep people from rioting from boredom and to sate their id.
To put businesses back on track so that taxes can start coming in instead of being paid out to those without income support.

I think it is the same all over North America and I am sure all over the world but I am not as much up on the news from outside North America.

The gov.s need to fill their coffers at anyones' expense and the need to satisfy the multitude to be in the voters good graces. (The only opinions I am entitled to, my own)

[C0LLETTE]

Good to know. Thanks for the info.

[homoe]

Anthony Fauci said Friday that his advice for people who want to attend President Donald Trump’s campaign rallies is the same for anti-Trump protestors -- any large group is "a danger" and "risky." And if a person insists on going, they should wear a mask, especially when they are yelling or chanting, he said.
"You know, it's a danger to the people who are trying to control the demonstration," he said of the recent protests. "And it's a danger to the people who are demonstrating. So at the end of the day, it is a risky procedure."
Fauci said he understands the urge people have to participate in the political process. But he also said the safest bet is to avoid congregating in large groups When asked whether his advice also applies to Trump’s plans to resume campaign rallies next week, Fauci said yes: "I am consistent. I stick by what I say."
The "best way that you can avoid -- either acquiring or transmitting infection -- is to avoid crowded places, to wear a mask whenever you're outside. And if you can do both, avoid the congregation of people and do the mask, that's great," he said.

[homoe]

Bolton Accuses Trump Of More Impeachable 'Transgressions' In Book...

Defying the White House, former national security advisor John Bolton will release a book that suggests President Donald Trump committed impeachable offenses beyond Ukraine and alleges that his entire foreign policy is motivated by domestic politics, his publisher said Friday. Trump earlier this year warned Bolton not to publish his book while the president is still in the White House, whose lawyers have contended that large portions of the material in the memoir are classified.

But publisher Simon and Schuster said it would go ahead and release "The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir" on June 23, teasing in a press release: "This is the book Donald Trump doesn't want you to read."

Timing is everything IMHO and you Mr. Bolton lost your window of opportunity to release this book eons ago!

[homoe]

Oregon Governor Announces One-Week Pause in State's Reopening After Spike in New Coronavirus Cases


Oregon Governor Kate Brown (D) announces a seven-day pause in the state's reopening after a spike in new coronavirus cases. An estimated 5,237 people have tested positive in the state since the pandemic began and 171 people have died from the disease. Governor Brown says she will assess next week whether to lift or extend the pause.

[C0LLETTE]

These really are good things to know. Thank you for posting this in case we missed it on the news.

[homoe]

Bolton Accuses Trump Of More Impeachable 'Transgressions' In Book...

Defying the White House, former national security advisor John Bolton will release a book that suggests President Donald Trump committed impeachable offenses beyond Ukraine and alleges that his entire foreign policy is motivated by domestic politics, his publisher said Friday. Trump earlier this year warned Bolton not to publish his book while the president is still in the White House, whose lawyers have contended that large portions of the material in the memoir are classified.

But publisher Simon and Schuster said it would go ahead and release "The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir" on June 23, teasing in a press release: "This is the book Donald Trump doesn't want you to read."

Timing is everything IMHO and you Mr. Bolton lost your window of opportunity to release this book eons ago!

I wouldn't count on much $$$ rolling in from royalties checks either if I were you Mr.Bolton! We're living in a world a lot different than we were, and there are more IMPORTANT issues to worry about!

[C0LLETTE]

I wouldn't count on much $$$ rolling in from royalties checks either if I were you Mr.Bolton! We're living in a world a lot different than we were, and there are more IMPORTANT issues to worry about!

Absolutely right.

[homoe]

On Wednesday, Trump explained the rationale for holding his first rally since March in Tulsa.

“They’ve done a great job with COVID, as you know, in the state of Oklahoma.”

While the state’s number of confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, fell in the month of May, it has spiked over the last few weeks, according to data from the Oklahoma State Department of Health. On Friday, the state recorded its largest single-day increase since the pandemic began.

[C0LLETTE]

Very good. We should all know this.

[homoe]

Bolton Accuses Trump Of More Impeachable 'Transgressions' In Book...

Defying the White House, former national security advisor John Bolton will release a book that suggests President Donald Trump committed impeachable offenses beyond Ukraine and alleges that his entire foreign policy is motivated by domestic politics, his publisher said Friday. Trump earlier this year warned Bolton not to publish his book while the president is still in the White House, whose lawyers have contended that large portions of the material in the memoir are classified.

But publisher Simon and Schuster said it would go ahead and release "The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir" on June 23, teasing in a press release: "This is the book Donald Trump doesn't want you to read."

Timing is everything IMHO and you Mr. Bolton lost your window of opportunity to release this book eons ago!

How I hope this book is a total flop after it being touted as the be all to end all books! You should of cashed in when you had the chance instead of refusing too first testify and do the country some good but NO you put money ahead of the good of the country! Payback is a bitch isn't it Bolton!?

[C0LLETTE]

Thanks for reposting that a second time. Almost missed it.

[homoe]

Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams says the state’s Tuesday primary performance was “an unmitigated disaster,” pinning the blame on Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

Polling locations all around Georgia experienced delays and long lines Tuesday due to a mix of logistical problems, technical issues with the state’s new voting machines and COVID-19-related restrictions resulting in fewer available voting sites.

“The Constitution puts the obligation for the conduct of elections squarely in the hands of the secretary of state. On top of that, [Raffensperger] very vigorously pushed to purchase new machines that he insisted would be ready for roll out in the primary, at the cost of $107 million,” Abrams told NPR Friday. “He failed to adequately direct, train, and invest in the counties so they could do their work,” she added.

https://wamu.org/story/20/06/13/stacey-abrams-calls-georgias-primary-election-an-unmitigated-disaster/

[Bèsame*]

From an alert on my phone and a breaking news report on NBC

The Supreme Court declared Monday that the historic Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects LGBTQ employees from workplace discrimination.

In a major victory for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender workers, the justices said the law's ban on job discrimination on basis of "sex" can be read to forbid bias against employees because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

[dark_crystal]

From an alert on my phone and a breaking news report on NBC

The Supreme Court declared Monday that the historic Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects LGBTQ employees from workplace discrimination.

In a major victory for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender workers, the justices said the law's ban on job discrimination on basis of "sex" can be read to forbid bias against employees because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

AND! Trump's first appointment, Gorsuch, sided with the majority!

[homoe]

AND! Trump's first appointment, Gorsuch, sided with the majority!



Loved it. Talk about your Irony and Poetic Justice!

[homoe]

June 15, 2020 at 6:49 PM EDT Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is coming under fire for her 2018 vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, after Kavanaugh dissented in Monday’s landmark ruling affirming that federal anti-discrimination laws protect gay and transgender employees.

Despite expressing objection that the matter was decided by the judicial branch instead of the legislature, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the conservative darling who was a hotly-contested Supreme Court nominee amid sexual abuse allegations, wrote in his dissent on Monday that he finds the high court ruling reading sexual orientation and gender identity into the meaning of “sex” in federal civil rights law to be an “important victory” for “gay and lesbian Americans” and they can “take pride in” it.

[C0LLETTE]

" A cheap and widely-used steroid called dexamethasone has become the first drug shown to be able to save lives among COVID-19 patients in what scientists said is a “major breakthrough” in the coronavirus pandemic.

Trial results announced on Tuesday showed dexamethasone, which is used to reduce inflammation in other diseases such as arthritis, reduced death rates by around a third among the most severely ill of COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital..."

Reuters

[homoe]

Vice President Mike Pence painted a rosy ― and misleading ― portrait of the U.S. government’s response to the coronavirus and the current state of the crisis in an op-ed published Tuesday in The Wall Street Journal.

In one section, Pence, whom President Donald Trump appointed in late February to lead the White House’s coronavirus task force, praised all 50 states for beginning to reopen in a “safe and responsible manner.”

But Dr. Anthony Fauci, the lead infectious disease expert on the task force, suggested that isn’t the case during an interview with NPR earlier Tuesday.

“There certainly were states that did not strictly follow the guidelines that we put out about opening America again,” Fauci said. “There were rather well-delineated gateway criteria followed by phase 1, phase 2 and phase 3.”

He added: “Clearly there were states that ― left to their own decision about that ― went ahead and opened to a varying degree ... certainly before they got to the benchmarks that they needed to get.”

The contradicting statements serve as an example of the distance between the propaganda pushed by the White House and some of the warnings raised by Fauci and other public health experts.

[homoe]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - After much debate between members of the Montgomery City Council Tuesday night, a vote for a mandatory mask wearing ordinance failed to pass.

The proposal, sponsored by Councilman Cornelius “CC” Calhoun, would have made it mandatory to wear a mask in a public location with groups of 25 or more people. The vote ended in a tie, 4 to 4.

Three of the speakers in attendance during Tuesday’s meeting in city hall were Montgomery-area doctors and medical personnel. All felt that the mask ordinance would have been a big step in the right direction.

“Two months ago, our units were almost empty, without patients, and now the units are full,” said Dr. William Saliski with Montgomery Pulmonary Consultants. “If this continues the way it’s going, we will be overrun.”

As of June 14, Montgomery County is number one in the state for total number of COVID-19 cases, surpassing counties like Mobile and Jefferson that have more than double the population.

Saliski went on to say that half of their patients are on ventilators and between 85 and 90 percent of those are African American.

[homoe]

Vice President Mike Pence painted a rosy ― and misleading ― portrait of the U.S. government’s response to the coronavirus and the current state of the crisis in an op-ed published Tuesday in The Wall Street Journal.

In one section, Pence, whom President Donald Trump appointed in late February to lead the White House’s coronavirus task force, praised all 50 states for beginning to reopen in a “safe and responsible manner.”

But Dr. Anthony Fauci, the lead infectious disease expert on the task force, suggested that isn’t the case during an interview with NPR earlier Tuesday.

“There certainly were states that did not strictly follow the guidelines that we put out about opening America again,” Fauci said. “There were rather well-delineated gateway criteria followed by phase 1, phase 2 and phase 3.”

He added: “Clearly there were states that ― left to their own decision about that ― went ahead and opened to a varying degree ... certainly before they got to the benchmarks that they needed to get.”

The contradicting statements serve as an example of the distance between the propaganda pushed by the White House and some of the warnings raised by Fauci and other public health experts.

Mike Pence Hammered Over Coronavirus Op-Ed:

The vice president was accused of gaslighting with his column for The Wall Street Journal. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) described it “as pathetic as it is reckless.”

[homoe]

How I hope this book is a total flop after it being touted as the be all to end all books! You should of cashed in when you had the chance instead of refusing too first testify and do the country some good but NO you put money ahead of the good of the country! Payback is a bitch isn't it Bolton!?


Well I guess I won't get my wish after all....

[~ocean]

I think Bolton waited to release his book instead of testifying to make a few bucks ~ it's not a crime what he did , why not anybody would have, personally I rather get a charge out of the timing on the books release. besides the book, ohh my my my "Donny Dolly Hands " is having a very bad day ! He's already taken to tweeting his narcissistic anger. Did you all hear that TRUMP and his lover Putin had another swat sticker that they have been using. !! I want to buy Bolton's book so bad , but it will be sold out too fast. I am going to try though ~ I have my credit card ready :)

[GeorgiaMa'am]

I want to buy Bolton's book so bad , but it will be sold out too fast. I am going to try though ~ I have my credit card ready :)

Can you pre-order it on Amazon?

[~ocean]

Can you pre-order it on Amazon?

I have no idea I've never done business on amazon before ~ sometimes when a web site is very popular they seem more like they can be targeted.

[homoe]

Thursday at the end of a round table discussion with governors on the reopening of America’s small businesses, Reid tried to get the president to answer one more very pertinent question: “Why do you keep hiring people that you believe are wackos and liars?”

The President did not answer Paula’s Question.

[homoe]

Senior State Department Official Resigns Over Trump’s Response To Racial Injustice

Taylor, 30, was the youngest person and first black woman to serve as assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs in the State Department. In her resignation letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, obtained by the Post, Taylor said the president’s “comments and actions surrounding racial injustice and Black Americans” had “cut sharply against my core values and convictions.” "Moments of upheaval can change you, shift the trajectory of your life, and mold your character,” wrote Taylor, who has served with the Trump administration since its first day in January 2017. “I must follow the dictates of my conscience and resign as Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs.”

[homoe]

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Friday that she would be among the administration officials attending President Trump’s reelection rally in Tulsa, Okla., on Saturday, but she will not be wearing a mask recommended to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

“It’s a personal choice. I won’t be wearing a mask and I can’t speak for my colleagues,” McEnany said of her plans.

Asked by CNN’s Jim Acosta whether she was forgoing a mask out of deference to the president, who has disdained them, McEnany said she was confident that she was not infected by the virus.

Keep telling yourself that you idiot, I'm sure the cure to this deadly virus is "Positive Thinking"

[homoe]

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Friday that she would be among the administration officials attending President Trump’s reelection rally in Tulsa, Okla., on Saturday, but she will not be wearing a mask recommended to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

“It’s a personal choice. I won’t be wearing a mask and I can’t speak for my colleagues,” McEnany said of her plans.

Asked by CNN’s Jim Acosta whether she was forgoing a mask out of deference to the president, who has disdained them, McEnany said she was confident that she was not infected by the virus.

Keep telling yourself that you idiot, I'm sure the cure to this deadly virus is "Positive Thinking"

And to think everyone else was figuring on a vaccine to be the cure!

[homoe]

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump's return to the campaign trail was designed to show strength and enthusiasm heading into the critical final months before an election that will decide whether he remains in the White House.

Instead, his weekend rally in Oklahoma highlighted growing vulnerabilities and crystallized a divisive reelection message that largely ignores broad swaths of voters — independents, suburban women and people of color — who could play a crucial role in choosing Trump or Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

“There’s really only one strategy left for him, and that is to propel that rage and anger and try to split the society and see if he can have a tribal leadership win here,” former Trump adviser-turned-critic Anthony Scaramucci said on CNN's “Reliable Sources.”

[homoe]

Fox News anchor Chris Wallace on Sunday pressed Trump campaign adviser Mercedes Schlapp about the underwhelming turnout at President Donald Trump’s rally in Oklahoma and shot down her attempts to “deny the reality of what happened” with spin.

In an interview with Schlapp on “Fox News Sunday,” Wallace noted Trump’s claim that one million people requested tickets for his Tulsa campaign event, and pointed out that the campaign planned for massive turnout by establishing an outdoor overflow section at the city’s 19,200 capacity BOK Center. The Tulsa Fire Department estimated roughly 6,200 people ultimately attended the event, and Trump’s planned remarks at the outdoor area were canceled at the last minute when the space went mostly unused.

Schlapp, echoing talking points pushed by Trump campaign spokesperson Tim Murtaugh and manager Brad Parscale, sought to pin the blame on protesters for the lackluster turnout, claiming they blocked pathways. Journalists at the event denied seeing any attendees blocked from entering the venue.

“The fact is, the president talks about the attendance at his events ... how he can fill an arena, and that Joe Biden can’t. He didn’t fill an arena last night,” Wallace interjected. “And you guys were so far off that you had planned an outdoor rally and there wasn’t an overflow crowd.”

“Protesters did not stop people from coming to that rally. The fact is, people did not show up.” Schlapp doubled down, claiming protesters “absolutely” affected turnout and that millions watched the event online. She continued: “I’d love to see a Joe Biden rally. Let’s bring it on because there is no comparison.” “Those people that knew that they wanted to be there physically present with the president,” she added. “They joined us, and they’re family-oriented individuals who wanted to come out and be with us.”

“Mercedes, please don’t filibuster,” Wallace interrupted. “We’re showing pictures here, and it shows big, empty areas. Frankly, it makes you guys look silly when you deny the reality of what happened.”

[homoe]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday said Canada is not in a rush to open its borders “too quickly,” as doing so may spark a second wave of coronavirus cases.

Speaking to the media on Monday, he said he understands the border closures are frustrating, but “if we take steps too quickly, if we are not sure of what we’re doing at each stage, we risk hitting a second wave … and having to close our economy again.”

Trudeau said he would “like to see a return to international travel so we can get people coming and supporting our local communities and seeing business travel pick up again.”

He added that before that happens, “we need to make sure we are keeping Canadians safe.”

In March, during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, Canada closed its land border with the U.S. and many airports to international flights. That means that with the exception of immediate family, Canada currently restricts all foreigners from visiting the country for non-essential travel.

[tantalizingfemme]

This woman is absolutely amazing and her Monopoly metaphor is genius. She is a genius. And the information, priceless. And heartbreaking. And deplorable.

JONES: As far as I'm concerned, they could burn this bitch to the ground. And they are lucky that what black people are looking for is equality and not revenge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=sb9_qGOa9Go&feature=emb_logo

For anyone interested, here is a link to Kimberly Jones being interviewed by Trevor Noah. She is so incredible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1k9APedIUY&feature=youtu.be&linkId=91477247&fbclid=IwAR26wuoeKoXs8DudbergWBrASA8ZrbR2jptIev74T o7_7dwjiUJf-wVAFKs

[homoe]

As Florida grapples with a COVID-19 spike and the NFLPA advises players to stand down, Tom Brady met with some of his Bucs teammates Tuesday morning for a workout at a Tampa prep school.

He then promoted an immune supplement from his TB12 product line on his Instagram page.

Brady posted pictures of a Tuesday workout that included Rob Gronkowski on an Instagram story. The Tampa Bay Times reports that at least a dozen of his Tampa Bay Buccaneers teammates joined him on a football field at Tampa’s Berkeley Preparatory School at 7 a.m. and worked out for two hours.

Cheaters gotta cheat!

[homoe]

The New York Times said that a request for a temporary restraining order had been filed by Trump’s brother, Robert Trump, in Queens county surrogate’s court in New York, which handled the estate of the deceased family patriarch, Fred Trump. The court papers say that Mary Trump had previously signed a non-disclosure agreement and that the book violates its terms, the newspaper reported.

Mary Trump’s Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man is set to be released in July and has already created a storm of media coverage based solely on the publisher’s notes describing its content as explaining the inner workings of “one of the world’s most powerful and dysfunctional families”.

[homoe]

John R. Bolton, the former national security adviser, says in his new book that the House in its impeachment inquiry should have investigated President Trump not just for pressuring Ukraine to incriminate his domestic foes but for a variety of instances when he sought to intervene in law enforcement matters for political reasons.


It's too bad that Bolton picked being a profiteer over a patriot!
Perhaps had the House had that information, at the time of the impeachment hearing, the bum would of been removed from office by now!

[homoe]

John R. Bolton, the former national security adviser, says in his new book that the House in its impeachment inquiry should have investigated President Trump not just for pressuring Ukraine to incriminate his domestic foes but for a variety of instances when he sought to intervene in law enforcement matters for political reasons.


It's too bad that Bolton picked being a profiteer over a patriot!
Perhaps had the House had that information, at the time of the impeachment hearing, the bum would of been removed from office by now!

If John Bolton was expecting his book tour to go smoothly, he was sadly mistaken.

Fox News host Martha McCallum asked Bolton, “Isn’t it a shirking of duty to not step up in that moment, given how strongly you felt about what was going on?”

Her colleague, Brett Baier, pressed Bolton, “Don’t you feel some responsibility now that you’re saying [Trump] should have been impeached on other things, but you never piped up?”

Joy Behar of “The View” noted that Bolton worked for Trump for 17 months, but “never said a word until someone gave you $2 million to write a book about it.”

“View” co-host Sunny Hostin asked, “Help me understand why your silence is not complicity?”

CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer chided Bolton by saying, “You chose not to [testify to Congress under oath]. Instead, you wanted to wait until you could get your, quote, $2 million advance for your book.”

[PlatinumPearl]

https://i.insider.com/5ef4b32baee6a84f347987c5?width=1000&format=jpeg&auto=webp
Saniniu Laizer, 52, poses with two precious tanzanite gemstones. They're among the biggest found in Tanzania.


A Tanzanian miner became a millionaire overnight. He says he wants to use his new riches to build a school near his home.



Source: Insider.com
Website: https://bit.ly/3fXmqxi
Date: June 25, 2020

[~ocean]

Homoe ~ I SAW THE VIEW TOO !! it was awesome the way the ladies handled Bolton . Now today the serial liar from the WH abruptly cut off coronavirus research funding ~ Can you believe that. he needs to be taken out of the white house NOW not in November ~ he's becoming extremely vicious ~ I've said it before and I can't help but feel he hates AMERICA ! I also have noticed people that are followers of TRUMP make no sense at all. I wouldn't trust a trumpette

[homoe]

Update:

A New York judge on Thursday rejected on jurisdictional grounds a legal effort by President Donald Trump’s brother to halt the publication next month of a tell-all book by the president’s niece, Mary Trump — but the brother’s lawyer said the case will be refiled in another court.

The ruling in Queens County Surrogate’s Court by Judge Peter Kelly came just two days Trump’s brother, Robert Trump, said in a court filing that Mary Trump would be violating a nondisclosure agreement if the book is published.

The president himself recently said that his niece, who is the daughter of his late older brother Fred Trump Jr., is subject to the nondisclosure agreement, and is “not allowed to write a book.”

I had missed this tidbit, but thankfully a fellow BF planet bud clued me in to it...:hangloose:

[C0LLETTE]

ICC
Sometimes we are a bullwark.

In its hour of need, confronting one of the toughest crises in its history, the International Criminal Court has turned to one of its earliest and staunchest allies: Canada.

The war-crimes court in The Hague is facing a sharp escalation in pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, and this time it is personal. Earlier this month, Mr. Trump authorized a range of punishments, from asset freezes to travel bans, against any court employee who assists in an investigation of U.S. soldiers or security agents.

As many as 40 Canadians – including the court’s President himself – could potentially be exposed to the U.S. sanctions. But that didn’t stop the Canadian government from joining 66 other countries in rallying around the court this week. In a joint statement, without explicitly naming Mr. Trump, they vowed to stand up to the threats.

“I know where Canadian hearts will be on this,” said the ICC’s President, Justice Chile Eboe-Osuji. “I know that Canadian public opinion is on the side of justice: international criminal justice on behalf of the victims of atrocity crimes that the ICC was set up to give justice for.”

The Globe and Mail June 26, 2020

[PlatinumPearl]

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/VWxsl5OX72B6wHHsM-886Xm3wD8=/0x0:3800x2533/920x613/filters:focal(349x502:957x1110):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/66986020/1084721272.jpg.0.jpg
Microsoft to permanently close all of its retail stores.


Microsoft is giving up on physical retail. Today the company announced plans to permanently close all Microsoft Store locations in the United States and around the world, except for four locations that will be “reimagined” as experience centers that no longer sell products.



Source: theverge.com
Website: https://bit.ly/2VkbDoQ
Date: Jun 26, 2020, 9:21am EDT

[homoe]

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas and Florida reversed course and clamped down on bars again Friday in the nation’s biggest retreat yet as the number of confirmed coronavirus infections per day in the U.S. surged to an all-time high of 40,000.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered all bars closed, while Florida banned alcohol at such establishments. The two states joined the small but growing list of those that are either backtracking or putting any further re-openings of their economies on hold because of a comeback by the virus.

Health experts have said a disturbingly large number of cases are being seen among young people who are going out again, often without wearing masks or observing other social-distancing rules. “It is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars,” Abbott said. Abbott had pursued up to now one of the most aggressive reopening schedules of any governor. The Republican not only resisted calls to order the wearing of masks but also refused until last week to let local governments take such measures.

Texas reported more than 17,000 new cases in the past three days, with a record high of nearly 6,000 on Thursday. In Florida, under GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, the agency that regulates bars acted after the daily number of new cases neared 9,000, almost doubling the record set just two days earlier.

[C0LLETTE]

[B]Indigenous Lives[/B

The police officer who shot and killed Chantel Moore during a so-called wellness check in Edmundston, N.B., wasn’t wearing a body camera, so it’s likely that many details of the encounter that left the 26-year-old Indigenous woman dead will never be known. Police say Ms. Moore, a member of Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation in British Columbia, was brandishing a knife; Ms. Moore’s family say she was a slight, non-violent person, and that she was shot five times at close range.

But we do know that Indigenous women live particularly imperilled lives in this country, and that the police are too often part of the danger rather than a protection from it. We also know, that more than one-third of people fatally shot by the RCMP in the past ten years were Indigenous. We know that an Indigenous person is 10 times as likely to be shot dead by police as a white person in this country.

We know that the history of Indigenous women’s relationship with police, stewed in centuries of racism and sexism, has been marred by sexual misconduct, exploitation and a fatal lack of attention to the real dangers threatening them. This has been well documented, over and over again, But while the reports are being written and the press conferences held, nothing much actually changes to keep Indigenous women safe. So when Ms. Moore’s six-year-old daughter Gracie told one of her relatives that she doesn’t want to die like her mother, that’s not a child’s wild fantasy. That’s a calculation about the threats she may face one day as an Indigenous woman in this country."

Globe and Mail June 26, 2020

This is the story of indigenous lives since the 'White Man" got here,,,even before the African slavers added to the misery.

[Stone-Butch]

Good information COLLETTE. Indigenous people also have the highest rate of suicide and alcoholism. They can't buy or sell their property on the reservation as this is held in trust by the gov. They can't get a loan as they do not have collateral in the way of land to put up and if the bank can't take the home then it has no monetary value per se. Up into the early 70's many thousands of indigenous women were given hysterectomies often when they were in for appendectomies or if they had "female" problems then that was the solution. This was ok'd by the gov. of both Canada and the U.S.
Children were taken from homes and placed in residential schools where they were often beaten, sexually assaulted, forbidden to dance, sing or speak their own language, and taught that it was shameful to be "Indian". All were forbidden to do ceremonial dances and prayers up to today.

[homoe]

Native American activists are planning protests during President Trump’s planned July 3 visit to Mount Rushmore, already a longtime source of contention due to its location on sacred Lakota Sioux land.

“Mount Rushmore is a symbol of white supremacy, of structural racism that’s still alive and well in society today,” Nick Tilsen, a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe and the president of NDN Collective, a local activist organization, told The Associated Press. “It’s an injustice to actively steal Indigenous people’s land then carve the white faces of the conquerors who committed genocide.”

[Stone-Butch]

That is a for sure moe. Not only was the land promised to the Sioux "forever" which meant till gold was found but that is one of the most sacred places. We can throw in also that two of the presidents (Jefferson and Washington) had their own parcel of slaves over 200. Now the faces can mock the Sioux and look down on the black Americans whos' ancestors were held by these men in slavery.

[homoe]

~~
Bring back memories of Nixon vs John Lennon doesn't it!

[C0LLETTE]

Lots of activity in the DOJ.

[homoe]

The Jacksonville order came on the same day the head of the World Health Organization warned that the pandemic is “not even close to being over.” The city of Jacksonville, Florida, where mask-averse President Donald Trump plans to accept the Republican nomination in August, ordered the wearing of face coverings Monday, joining the list of state and local governments reversing course to try to beat back a resurgence of the coronavirus.

Less than a week after Mayor Lenny Curry said there would be no mask requirement, city officials announced that coverings must be worn in “situations where individuals cannot socially distance.”

White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany responded by saying the president’s advice is to “do whatever your local jurisdiction requests of you.”

Trump has refused to wear a mask during visits to states and businesses that require them.

In recent weeks, the Republicans moved some of the convention pageantry to Jacksonville after Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina objected to the holding of a large gathering in Charlotte without social-distancing measures. The convention will be in late August.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has opposed a statewide mask requirement but said in response to Jacksonville’s action that he will support local authorities who are doing what they think is appropriate.

The Jacksonville order came on the same day that the head of the World Health Organization warned that the pandemic is “not even close to being over” and is accelerating.

“The worst is yet to come,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu. “With this kind of environment and condition, we fear the worst.”

[homoe]

President Trump, confronted with a damaging report that Russia offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill American and allied troops in Afghanistan, declared Sunday on Twitter that he was never briefed about the finding by U.S. intelligence.

Democrats including Trump’s prospective presidential rival, Joe Biden, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sharply criticized Trump’s seeming indifference to the explosive report in Friday’s New York Times. Neither Trump nor other administration officials have specifically denied the report, which has since been confirmed by several other news organizations.

On Sunday, Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming joined in the criticism, saying that if the information was genuine, the White House needed to explain why Trump was not told, and why the administration has done nothing in response.

The core of the story is that U.S. spy agencies concluded several months ago that a Russian military intelligence unit had offered secret bounties for attacks on coalition troops. The matter was discussed in late March by the National Security Council, and European allies including Britain were also made aware of the findings, the story said. On Sunday, the New York Times reported that the first word of the Russian plan came as early as January from military and intelligence officials in Afghanistan.

So far, the White House response to the story has not been to lay out any response to Russia, but simply to insist that Trump had not been personally briefed.

[C0LLETTE]

News Flash: " Canadians make millions selling their passports to Americans wanting to visit Europe. Canadian airport lounges load up on Budweiser, Coke Zero and Hawaiian Pizza.

[homoe]

A New York state judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the release of a tell-book by the niece of President Donald Trump, which paints an unflattering portrait of her uncle and the family's history.

New York state Judge Hal Greenwald’s temporary restraining order blocks Simon & Schuster from "publishing, printing or distributing" Mary Trump's book "Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man," scheduled to be released July 28. In the book, the daughter of Trump's brother, Fred Jr., paints as an "authoritative portrait of Donald J. Trump and the toxic family that made him."

Representatives for both parties have to meet on July 10 where the judge will evaluate Robert Trump's claims and decide whether to issue an injunction.

[homoe]

President Donald Trump expressed his support for more stimulus — potentially including a second round of checks and monetary incentives for Americans to return to work.

When asked by Fox Business News on Wednesday whether he supports another round of direct payments to Americans, he said: “I do. I support it but it has to be done properly. And I support actually larger numbers than the Democrats.” “I want the money getting to people to be larger, so they can spend it,” he said. “I want the money to get there quickly and in a non-complicated fashion.”

[homoe]

A New York state judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the release of a tell-book by the niece of President Donald Trump, which paints an unflattering portrait of her uncle and the family's history.

New York state Judge Hal Greenwald’s temporary restraining order blocks Simon & Schuster from "publishing, printing or distributing" Mary Trump's book "Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man," scheduled to be released July 28. In the book, the daughter of Trump's brother, Fred Jr., paints as an "authoritative portrait of Donald J. Trump and the toxic family that made him."

Representatives for both parties have to meet on July 10 where the judge will evaluate Robert Trump's claims and decide whether to issue an injunction.

As of July 1st
Harsh book about Trump family by president's niece, Mary Trump, can be published, judge rules.

OMG I can't keep up, my head is spinning!

[homoe]

President Donald Trump expressed his support for more stimulus — potentially including a second round of checks and monetary incentives for Americans to return to work.

When asked by Fox Business News on Wednesday whether he supports another round of direct payments to Americans, he said: “I do. I support it but it has to be done properly. And I support actually larger numbers than the Democrats.” “I want the money getting to people to be larger, so they can spend it,” he said. “I want the money to get there quickly and in a non-complicated fashion.”

Now when he says "quickly" I'm reading thru the lines as too that meaning in relative time to election time!

[homoe]

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters that the White House is seriously considering another round of coronavirus stimulus checks for Americans on Thursday. “We’re going to seriously consider whether we need to do more direct payments,” Mnuchin told reporters on Thursday. On Thursday, Mnuchin said he’s discussing the need for future stimulus and is, “having conversations with certain members of Democrats and Republicans to get ideas.”

[C0LLETTE]

Oh, by the way, Hong Kong just disappeared.

You may have been distracted by other things, what with Canada Day celebrations and baseball’s pending return and all. Certainly you would not have been disturbed by anything your government did or said about it. But it is true: What once was the world’s freest city, a glittering tribute to the human spirit, has just been swallowed whole by Communist China, as surely as if troops and tanks had invaded.

The freedoms and autonomy of the former British colony, supposedly guaranteed under the agreement governing its handover to Chinese rule in 1997 – “one country, two systems” was the slogan – have been obliterated at a stroke. With the passage earlier this week of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong is no longer free or autonomous."

Andrew Coyne
Globe and Mail July 2, 2020

[homoe]

Former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain has been hospitalized with COVID-19.

A spokesman confirmed the diagnosis Thursday afternoon, describing the 73-year-old as “resting comfortably” at an Atlanta-area hospital after his symptoms became serious enough Wednesday to require care, but not a ventilator.

Cain’s positive June 29 test came just over a week after he appeared at Donald Trump’s indoor campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Addressing speculation he may have picked it up at Trump’s campaign event, Cain’s team said in a statement they are unsure how or where he contracted the virus.

“We honestly have no idea where he contracted it,” HermanCain.com editor Dan Calabrese wrote on the site. “I realize people will speculate about the Tulsa rally, but Herman did a lot of traveling the past week, including to Arizona where cases are spiking. I don’t think there’s any way to trace this to the one specific contact that caused him to be infected. We’ll never know.”

[C0LLETTE]

Australia's plan to consider giving safe haven to Hong Kong nationals under threat from draconian security laws has inflamed tensions with China.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said cabinet would consider options after the United Kingdom opened a path to citizenship for millions of Hong Kong residents.
The Chinese foreign ministry hit back, urging Australia to look at the national security legislation in a "correct and objective" light.

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said Australia had similar perspectives to the UK about Hong Kong.

"We support the one country, two systems structure that was put in place," he told ABC television on Friday.

"We want to see respect for the basic law that underpins the way in which Hong Kong works as a unique but very important part of China."

Australia could fast track skilled migrant visas for Hong Kong nationals or offer safe haven through the refugee program.


SOURCE AAP - SBS

[homoe]

After Maine’s Republican Sen. Susan Collins voted to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made a promise during a Fox News interview: “Senator Collins will be well funded, I can assure you.”

Maybe not well funded enough.

On Thursday, Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon, the most likely Democratic challenger to Collins, revealed she raised a whopping $9 million in the second quarter. Oh, and Gideon is set to receive an additional $3.5 million or more after she (presumably) wins the Democratic primary in the middle of July. A Federal Election Commission report filed that night showed Gideon with $5.5 million in the bank as of June 24.

Gideon’s financial advantage over Collins, who reported $5 million cash on hand, doesn’t guarantee a victory over the three-term Republican, who not long ago remained astronomically popular in the state and is trying to frame the race as a battle between a shaky upstart and a battle-tested veteran. But the Democrat’s financial advantage is the starkest example of the Trump-fueled wave of progressive energy and small-dollar donor cash that now threatens Collins ― and her party’s majority in the Senate.

“This is the hardest race Sen. Collins will ever have,” said Toby McGrath, a Democratic strategist who worked on President Barack Obama’s campaigns in the state and for independent Sen. Angus King, noting most public polls now show a toss-up race. “Single digits is not a place she’s ever been.”

Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy election Susan!

[C0LLETTE]

AND IN FRANCE.......

A special French court ordered an investigation Friday of three current or former government ministers over their handling of the coronavirus crisis.

COVID-19 patients, doctors, prison personnel, police officers and others in France filed an unprecedented 90 complaints in the Court of Justice of the Republic over recent months, notably over shortages of masks and other equipment as the virus sped across Europe.
The nine it deemed worth investigating target former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who resigned hours before the court’s announcement, Health Minister Olivier Veran or the former health minister, Agnes Buzyn.

They are accused of “failing to fight a disaster,” and could face up to two years in prison and fines, if tried and convicted.

[Bèsame*]

I just read there is a new candidate for president. I dont want to spoil your surprise..just be on the look out!!

[~ocean]

I just read there is a new candidate for president. I dont want to spoil your surprise..just be on the look out!!



who ? lol don't make me get all OWL like besame :))))

[Kätzchen]

Just ordered the book authored by Mary L. Trump:

Too Much and Never Enough:
How My Family Created The World's Most Dangerous Man (Simon & Schuster, NY NY, July 14th, 2020).

CNN news article:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/06/media/mary-trump-book-release-date/index.html

[C0LLETTE]

Just ordered the book authored by Mary L. Trump:

Too Much and Never Enough:
How My Family Created The World's Most Dangerous Man (Simon & Schuster, NY NY, July 14th, 2020).

CNN news article:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/06/media/mary-trump-book-release-date/index.html

Thanks for the reminder. Just put in my order (preorder?)

[~ocean]

I can't help but laugh over the thought of KANYE WEST saying he wants to run for president ~ oh hell maybe we should give it a try too ! he claims to be a billionaire and had to borrow money from TRUMP for PPP << he needs a urologist ? what's PPP ? oy

[C0LLETTE]

Was that a pee pee pee joke? lol

[easygoingfemme]

Thanks for the reminder. Just put in my order (preorder?)

Me too. I am so looking forward to this read.

[~ocean]

I am boycotting GOYA FOODS the CEO Robert Unanue is a Trump supporter. Regardless of the fact he is a racist of the Hispanic community. sometimes money has no ethics.

[Apocalipstic]

I am boycotting GOYA FOODS the CEO Robert Unanue is a Trump supporter. Regardless of the fact he is a racist of the Hispanic community. sometimes money has no ethics.

I am also boycotting Goya products!

[clay]

I can't help but laugh over the thought of KANYE WEST saying he wants to run for president ~ oh hell maybe we should give it a try too ! he claims to be a billionaire and had to borrow money from TRUMP for PPP << he needs a urologist ? what's PPP ? oy

PPP=Payroll Protection Plan.
Kanye West DID get one of those payroll loans in the stimulus plan to help personally owned businesses. The "rich get richer, the poor get poorer!

[C0LLETTE]

Personally, I think Beyonce would be a far better president than Kanye or Trump> These guys just need to go and do what they do best...sit on their expensive toilet seats and hope their balls stay above the water-line.

[Cin]

Washington (CNN)Hospital data on coronavirus patients will now be rerouted to the Trump administration instead of first being sent to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed to CNN on Tuesday.

The move could make data less transparent to the public at a time when the administration is downplaying the spread of the pandemic, and threatens to undermine public confidence that medical data is being presented free of political interference.

...hospitals are to begin reporting the data to HHS on Wednesday, noting also that the "database that will receive new information is not open to the public, which could affect the work of scores of researchers, modelers and health officials who rely on C.D.C. data to make projections and crucial decisions."

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/14/politics/trump-administration-coronavirus-hospital-data-cdc/index.html

[Kätzchen]

CNN had a news byte this morning, which talked about 4 possible VP candidates that Joe Biden is vetting for the position.

Out of the four candidate hopefuls, i saw Susan Rice's name. I think she could fulfill the VP role. (Link to Rice (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Rice) bio).

CNN news article link:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/21/politics/joe-biden-four-black-women-vice-president/index.html

[Cin]

The title of the article on Biden and his possible VPs is
"Joe Biden says he is considering four Black women to be his running mate"

And then the article goes on to name 5. I wonder which one he is not considering? I would rather imagine that is the answer, rather than someone cannot count to 4.

I guess that's what's called sloppy copy. I think they should be more careful with articles about the democratic presidential nominee. It might just be a residual thing a kind of perpetual confusion left from the trying to be clear in the time of Trump. That will be over soon hopefully.

[Baby_Yoda]

The title of the article on Biden and his possible VPs is
"Joe Biden says he is considering four Black women to be his running mate"

And then the article goes on to name 5. I wonder which one he is not considering? I would rather imagine that is the answer, rather than someone cannot count to 4.

I guess that's what's called sloppy copy. I think they should be more careful with articles about the democratic presidential nominee. It might just be a residual thing a kind of perpetual confusion left from the trying to be clear in the time of Trump. That will be over soon hopefully.

All I have heard is of the possible picks 4 of them are black women not that they are the only possible picks.

[Cin]

All I have heard is of the possible picks 4 of them are black women not that they are the only possible picks.

The article reads "I am not committed to naming any (of the potential candidates), but the people I've named, and among them there are four Black women," Biden told MSNBC's Joy Reid on "The ReidOut."
...Biden is considering a broad tier of candidates to be his running mate, after pledging earlier this year to pick a woman for the job. CNN previously reported that Sen. Kamala Harris of California, Rep. Val Demings of Florida, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, former Obama administration national security adviser Susan Rice and Rep. Karen Bass of California are among the Black women being considered."

I count 5. So perhaps he is no longer considering all 5 of those women, since he said "I am not committed to naming any (of the potential candidates), but the people I've named, and among them there are four Black women"

I don't know about you, but I find the numbers don't compute. I am a bit confused.

[BullDog]

Biden has never released an official list of who he is considering for VP so the names in the news are just speculation. There could have been more than 4 black women being considered and the winnowing process has begun or maybe there were only 4 to begin with.

I don't think you can come up with an exact number based on media speculation. Anyway, he explained the process on Joy Reid last night. They still have quite a bit of the vetting process to go, and yes there are black women being seriously considered.

Personally I think he should pick a black woman and I think that Susan Rice and Kamala Harris are the strongest candidates anyway.

[Cin]

I was just talking about an article entitled "Joe Biden says he is considering four Black women to be his running mate" I found it surprising, maybe marginally interesting or perhaps just plain sloppy writing that the article then goes ahead and lists the names of FIVE Black women. That is all. Not debating about who Biden has said his picks are or whether he has or hasn't, not judging picks or anything at all. Just remarking about an article posted here that seemed at numerical odds with itself. But I think I've beaten that horse to death:deadhorse:

over and out.

[BullDog]

Well, heck that article forgot to mention Stacey Abrams.

Anyway, all of the women who had been speculated about (including myself) I think will make a great VP. I don't think Biden is going to pull any surprises but we shall see.

[Kätzchen]

I agree Bulldog. I want to think Joe Biden will choose the woman with a well developed portfolio of experience. I think Susan Rice out ranks most other candidates we have been told about via media news. Rice has a well developed background under several administrations, plus she had excellent cooperative and collanorative experiences with US Allies and other important ranking global agencies. Choosing Rice would be a huge sign to me that leadership counts, especially when shattered global relationships need someone strong to help rebuild trust and credibility.

In my mind, Susan Rice is the best choice. Not only for our country, but for other countries too who have been betrayed by current admin in DC.

And thanks to both Cin and Bulldog for adding toward this particular issue, the Vice Presidential choice.

Has anyone started a new thread for talk about the up coming election and issues that are vitally important to talk about?

If either of you start one, I will gladly participate.

~K. :rrose:

[BullDog]

I agree Bulldog. I want to think Joe Biden will choose the woman with a well developed portfolio of experience. I think Susan Rice out ranks most other candidates we have been told about via media news. Rice has a well developed background under several administrations, plus she had excellent cooperative and collanorative experiences with US Allies and other important ranking global agencies. Choosing Rice would be a huge sign to me that leadership counts, especially when shattered global relationships need someone strong to help rebuild trust and credibility.

In my mind, Susan Rice is the best choice. Not only for our country, but for other countries too who have been betrayed by current admin in DC.

And thanks to both Cin and Bulldog for adding toward this particular issue, the Vice Presidential choice.

Has anyone started a new thread for talk about the up coming election and issues that are vitally important to talk about?

If either of you start one, I will gladly participate.

~K. :rrose:



I agree with you Kätzchen. For a long time my favorite pick was Kamala Harris. I still think she would be a good choice, but Susan Rice hands down has the most experience working in the White House and is best qualified, has a very good working relationship with Biden (they actually worked on things together, not just in the same administration), and as you say she has a lot of international experience.

Also, if I were asked who is the first person I would want in the situation room in a crisis - no matter what their position was - I would choose Susan Rice hands down.

The only thing we will have to hear the Repugs yelling about how she misled the country about Benghazi. Ugh, of course, it isn't true, but we are likely to hear it. I don't think it would sink his candidacy though.

I'm sure he will get the pick right. He knows all about the vetting process and what it takes to be a good VP.

[C0LLETTE]

So, I notice that Trump wished Ghislaine Maxwell "well".

I suspect he knows full well that if she or her lawyer sniff even a whiff of "distancing" ( the only social distancing that Donald knows. ) she will open a floodgate of information about him, so repulsive that even his most ardent supporters will drown in her "incontinence".

[~ocean]

So, I notice that Trump wished Ghislaine Maxwell "well".

I suspect he knows full well that if she or her lawyer sniff even a whiff of "distancing" ( the only social distancing that Donald knows. ) she will open a floodgate of information about him, so repulsive that even his most ardent supporters will drown in her "incontinence".

He is friends with a female pedophile. She is just as corrupt as her b/f. birds of a feather ! I bet trump will exonerate her once shes convicted.

[C0LLETTE]

BEWARE MR. TRUMP. TIME NEVER RUNS OUT ON CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY.

A German court on Thursday convicted a 93-year-old former SS private of being an accessory to murder at the Stutthof concentration camp, where he served as a guard in the final months of the Second World War. He was given a two-year suspended sentence.

Bruno Dey was convicted of 5,232 counts of accessory to murder by the Hamburg state court, news agency dpa reported. That is equal to the number of people believed to have been killed at Stutthof during his service there in 1944 and 1945. He also was convicted of one count of accessory to attempted murder.

“How could you get used to the horror?” presiding judge Anne Meier-Goering asked as she announced the verdict.

The trial opened in October. Because of Dey’s age, court sessions were limited to two, two-hour sessions a week. Additional precautions also were taken to keep the case going through the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

In a closing statement earlier this week, the wheelchair-bound German retiree apologized for his role in the Nazis’ machinery of destruction, saying “it must never be repeated.”

“Today, I want to apologize to all of the people who went through this hellish insanity,” Dey told the court.

For at least two decades, every trial of a former Nazi has been dubbed “likely Germany’s last.” But just last week, another ex-guard at Stutthof was charged at age 95. A special prosecutors’ office that investigates Nazi-era crimes has more than a dozen ongoing investigations.

That’s due in part to a precedent established in 2011 with the conviction of former Ohio auto worker John Demjanjuk as an accessory to murder on allegations that he served as a guard at the Sobibor death camp in German-occupied Poland. Demjanjuk, who steadfastly denied the allegations, died before his appeal could be heard.

German courts had previously required prosecutors to justify charges by presenting evidence of a former guard’s participation in a specific killing, often next to impossible given the circumstances of the crimes committed at Nazi death camps.

However, prosecutors successfully argued during Demjanjuk’s trial in Munich that guarding a camp whose only purpose was murder was enough for an accessory conviction.

A federal court subsequently upheld the 2015 conviction of former Auschwitz guard Oskar Groening, solidifying the precedent.

The Dey case extends the argument to apply to a guard at a concentration camp that did not exist for the sole purpose of extermination.

Prosecutors argued that as a Stutthof guard from August 1944 to April 1945, Dey – though “no ardent worshipper of Nazi ideology” – aided all the killings that took place there during that period as a “small wheel in the machinery of murder.”

Dey gave wide-ranging statements to investigators about his service, saying that he was deemed unfit for combat in the regular Germany army in 1944 so was drafted into an SS guard detachment and sent to the camp near Danzig, now the Polish city of Gdansk.

Incarcerated there included political prisoners, accused criminals, people suspected of homosexual activity and Jehovah’s Witnesses.

From mid-1944, when Dey was posted there, tens of thousands of Jews from ghettos in the Baltics and from Auschwitz filled the camp along with thousands of Polish civilians swept up in the brutal Nazi suppression of the Warsaw uprising.

More than 60,000 people were killed there by being given lethal injections of gasoline or phenol directly to their hearts, shot or starved. Others were forced outside in winter without clothing until they died of exposure, or were put to death in a gas chamber.

Dey told the court that as a trained baker’s apprentice, he attempted to get sent to an army kitchen or bakery when he learned he’d been assigned to Stutthof.

Dey acknowledged hearing screams from the camp’s gas chambers and watching as corpses were taken to be burned.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Tr**p just did the right thing for the first time in my memory - he called off the Republican national convention. He won't get to announce his candidacy in front of a (smaller than wished-for?) screaming crowd full of delegates. The convention was to be held in an arena in Jacksonville, FL. But, as the BBC noted, Florida has become "a new epicenter for the coronavirus".

I wonder what brought on Tr**p's suddenly enlightened self-interest? I don't believe for a minute that his only impetus was the health of the people who might attend. Possibly, the lesson was learned from the rally that didn't have the huge crowd he wanted. I'm sure the RNC has a bevy of bean counters calculating the results of cancelling the convention's effect on the projected vote count.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Tr**p just did the right thing for the first time in my memory - he called off the Republican national convention. He won't get to announce his candidacy . . .


Sorry, I meant, accept the nomination.

[Jedi]

https://lawandcrime.com/legal-analysis/two-dhs-officials-apparently-just-admitted-their-troops-have-been-violating-the-constitution/?fbclid=IwAR1yBV2D0Oknz7c88SLBcZ8GDUogw7kw5e6Ec_ZJ oszFikIq7CnN-yFajEs

This made me ill this early AM

[homoe]

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Thursday that there was a high likelihood of another round of cash payments for Americans.

He said they'd likely go to the same people as before, for the same amount.

[homoe]

NEW YORK (AP) — A judge on Thursday ordered the release of President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer from prison, saying the government retaliated against him for planning to release a book critical of Trump before November’s election.

Michael Cohen’s First Amendment rights were violated when he was ordered back to prison on July 9 after probation authorities said he refused to sign a form banning him from publishing the book or communicating publicly in other manners, U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein said during a telephone conference.

Hellerstein ordered Michael Cohen released from prison to home confinement by 2 p.m. on Friday.

[homoe]

Tensions flared on Capitol Hill this week when a Republican lawmaker challenged Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on issues of crime and policing in an unusual — and decidedly personal — confrontation on the Capitol steps.

Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) was coming down the steps on the east side of the Capitol on Monday, having just voted, when he approached Ocasio-Cortez, who was ascending into the building to cast a vote of her own.

In a brief but heated exchange, which was overheard by a reporter, Yoho told Ocasio-Cortez she was "disgusting" for recently suggesting that poverty and unemployment are driving a spike in crime in New York City during the coronavirus pandemic.

"You are out of your freaking mind," Yoho told her.

Ocasio-Cortez shot back, telling Yoho he was being "rude."

The two then parted ways. Ocasio-Cortez headed into the building, while Yoho, joined by Rep. Roger Williams (R-Texas), began descending toward the House office buildings. A few steps down, Yoho offered a parting thought to no one in particular.

"Fucking bitch," he said.

Ocasio-Cortez, a liberal firebrand and social media sensation, is no stranger to attacks from the right. But shortly after the exchange, she said it was the first time since she arrived in Congress that another lawmaker has challenged her so aggressively. "That kind of confrontation hasn't ever happened to me — ever," she said. "I've never had that kind of abrupt, disgusting kind of disrespect levied at me."

Approached a few hours later, Yoho declined to discuss any aspect of the exchange. "No comment," he said.

Williams, who was in a position to hear the entire back-and-forth, said he wasn't paying it any mind.

"I was actually thinking, as I was walking down the stairs, I was thinking about some issues I've got in my district that need to get done," Williams said. "I don't know what their topic was. There's always a topic, isn't there?"