Update no.1037

Update from the Sunland

No.1037

22.11.21 – 28.11.21

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

 

            To all,

 

I hope and trust everyone enjoyed a Happy Thanksgiving Day celebration.  We had the distinct pleasure of our grandson Wyatt, who was generous enough to bring his parents along with him for a long holiday weekend or a short vacay (depending upon one’s perspective). Despite the rancor and rampant, corrosive tribalism, we have much to be grateful for in this once grand republic. There is always hope that we will one day outgrow the contemporary dissonance and return to the lofty ideals that made this republic great.

 

Tuesday night, 23.November.2021, at 22:21 [U] PST, SpaceX launched an ambitious space vehicle for NASA from Space Launch Complex 4-East at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The craft is called the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART). The 670-kilogram package was lifted into space by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and sent on its way to the planned target—the moonlet Dimorphos orbiting the larger asteroid Didymos, roughly 7M miles beyond earth. The mission was planned and sponsored by NASA’s Office of Planetary Defense Coordination. The spacecraft will separate with a small vehicle known as the Cube about 10 days prior to impact. The Cube is expected to fly by and observe the impact at a distance of 55 kilometers. The 510-kilogram impactor will be traveling at 6.7 kilometers/second at impact and transfer its momentum to the moonlet to slow the 4.8M metric-ton rock by roughly 0.7 micrometers/second. By slowing the moonlet ever so slightly, the orbital distance will decrease, and the orbital period will decrease by a small amount that can be measured on earth. The test will demonstrate whether the momentum transfer method for deflection will work for planetary defense to avoid a mass extinction event. Neither Didymos nor Dimorphos pose any threat to earth. In addition to testing the physics in a practical manner, the test will also give us good metrics on when and how to alter the trajectory of a threatening object.

 

This week’s PBS Nova series program was “Universe Revealed –Big Bang” S48 Ep21, broadcast on 24.November.2021. The discussion of the Big Bang always yields one consistent question; what happened before the Big Bang? Another question has arisen when I learned that the Hubble Space Telescope took four months of constant staring to image the farthest known galaxy to date—GN-z11, 13.4B LY away. Will wonders ever cease?

 

            The follow-up news items:

-- The United States House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6^th Attack on the United States Capitol [1020]issued more subpoenas this week. In this bunch were the leaders of the far right-wing extremist groups that were involved in the January 6^th attack [991], including the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys. The Select Committee is methodically and relentlessly working their way to Perpetrator Number 1.

 

The McMichael trial for the murder of Ahmaud Aubrey is over. The jury found all three defendants guilty on multiple charges, including murder. The evidence was pretty solid for the murder conviction. Unfortunately, from my perspective, the most notable element of the trial was a graphic demonstration of the trial lawyer’s old adage. When the facts are on your side, argue the facts. When the facts are not on your side, argue the law. When the facts and the law are not on your side, pound on the table. We have witnessed the “pounding on the table” phase in the McMichael case. Attorney Kevin Gough for Willian ‘Roddie’ Bryant, Jr., the third defendant, made an outrageous claim repeated numerous times that “black pastors” were unfairly in the gallery. Beyond the blatantly racist claim, Gouch’s point had no bearing on the trial. It was a sleight of hand distraction intended to sway the majority white jurors. All three were found guilty of felony murder among other charges. All three are facing life in prison and rightly so.

 

Another notable court case was decided this week. A civil suit stemming from the “Unite the Right” Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia [12.August.2017]—Sines v. Kessler [USDC VA(WD) no. 3:17-cv-00072 (2021]. Nine plaintiffs originally filed the civil lawsuit on 11.October.2017 against 14 individuals and 10 organizations. In such cases, I try to avoid the long laundry lists of defendants. In this particular instance, the list of defendants is too important to the meaning of what we endured during the last administration. In Sines, the defendants were:

JASON KESSLER, RICHARD SPENCER, CHRISTOPHER CANTWELL, JAMES ALEX FIELDS, JR., VANGUARD AMERICA, ANDREW ANGLIN, MOONBASE HOLDINGS, LLC, ROBERT “AZZMADOR” RAY, NATHAN DAMIGO, ELLIOT KLINE a/k/a/ ELI MOSELY, IDENTITY EVROPA, MATTHEW HEIMBACH, MATTHEW PARROTT a/k/a DAVID MATTHEW PARROTT, TRADITIONALIST WORKER PARTY, MICHAEL HILL, MICHAEL TUBBS, LEAGUE OF THE SOUTH, JEFF SCHOEP, NATIONAL SOCIALIST MOVEMENT, NATIONALIST FRONT, AUGUSTUS SOL INVICTUS, FRATERNAL ORDER OF THE ALT-KNIGHTS, MICHAEL “ENOCH” PEINOVICH, LOYAL WHITE KNIGHTS OF THE KU KLUX KLAN, and EAST COAST KNIGHTS OF THE KU KLUX KLAN a/k/a EAST COAST KNIGHTS OF THE TRUE INVISIBLE EMPIRE. (emphasis mine)

I highlighted a few of this rogue lot to illuminate the leaders and curious association of participating groups. This list alone defines the purpose of the rally. These were the folks who were marching in a torchlight parade [ala 30.1.1933] as they shouted, “Jews will not replace us.” This is the same group [the person who shall no longer be named] proclaimed were “good people on both sides.” I found it particularly interesting that the case was tried under the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 (AKA Civil Rights Act of 1871, or the Force Act of 1871) [PL 42-I-022; 17 Stat. 13] [539]. The jury in Sines case found the defendants to be liable for injuries to the counter-protesters to the tune of US$26M in damages.Now, we will wait to see what can be extracted from whatever assets these yayhoos possess. They all deserve to be relegated to poverty existence to contemplate the error of their ways. I doubt they will achieve the penalty threshold, but there is always hope.

 

An article in the Arizona Republic after the censure of Representative Gosar by the House of Representatives [1036] struck a nerve.

“Censuring Rep. Paul Gosar was warranted. Booting him from committees was a mistake – Opinion: Censure was warranted. But stripping Gosar of committee assignments denies his constituents equal representation and invites retaliation.”

by Robert Robb

Arizona Republic

Published: 7:00 a.m. MT; Nov. 24, 2021

https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/robertrobb/2021/11/24/censure-rep-paul-gosar-but-dont-kick-him-off-committees/8735479002/?utm_source=azcentral-Opinions%20News%20Now&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=baseline&utm_term=hero&utm_content=1531AR-E-NL

In short, I fundamentally disagree with Mister Robb. However, I do agree that Gosar’s constituents deserve representation in Congress, but the censure of Gosar deserves punishment and stripping him of his committee assignments is about the only punishment available. In my humble opinion, Gosar’s conduct (along with Greene, Boebert, Gates, and others) deserves expulsion. His conduct should be absolutely and categorically unacceptable in any governmental body and especially in Congress. There should be a threshold for tolerable conduct, and Gosar has vastly exceeded that threshold. If the citizens of Arizona’s 4^th Congressional District want representation, vote for a representative who is at least less offensive to good order and discipline than Gosar. He deserves to be relegated to the dustbin of history for his abhorrent conduct and behavior.

 

            Comments and contributions from Update no.1036:

Comment to the Blog:

“I would have liked to see the eclipse this past Friday, but I don’t have what it takes to be up at the right time.

“We may hope the government handles the implementation of the Infrastructure Act well. With this much money at stake, there’s potential for great national benefit, considerable corruption, or most likely, some balance of both.

“It’s good to see the January 6 actors sentenced, but I want to see their seditious leaders go down.

“We don’t know whether Rep. Gosar has had visits with the FBI. They don’t publicize everything they do.

“Kyle Rittenhouse placed himself in perceived danger, heavily armed, and he was the only shooter in the whole incident. It’s hard to see that as legitimate self-defense. Do you really believe he was motivated to guard someone else’s business in another state? I don’t. The fact that Rittenhouse shot white people doesn’t change the ultimate target of his fear/grievance, which is anyone different from him. This verdict will give license to other vigilantes to ‘defend’ themselves from their perceived enemies (other races, social classes, political positions, or whatever).”

My response to the Blog:

We all have our priorities, my friend. At least you had the desire to see the eclipse, which was more than most.

Yes, agreed, the potential for abuse is enormous. I hope Mitch Landrieu is up to the task of supervising this beast. We certainly need sustaining maintenance, improvement of antiquated infrastructure, and the mounting need for new infrastructure to match our times. We shall have to watch as best we can, and this is one of those instances where we need an active, aggressive, free press.

Yes, absolutely, the pawns and minions deserve punishment under the law for succumbing to the Siren’s Song, but it is the instigators and planners that warrant the maximum penalty under the law for what they have done to besmirch the history of this once grand republic. We know who those instigators are. But they must be charged, tried, convicted and sentenced in a court of law.

Correct, we do not know, but he certainly deserves those visits. He also deserves charges IMHO.

On the Rittenhouse case, we shall respectfully disagree. I do not agree that he placed himself in a position that denies him self-defense. Again, there is not one scintilla of evidence that he went to Kenosha that day with his semi-automatic rifle with the intend to kill, injure or otherwise commit any crime. That young man did more than I would have done to fulfill what I have espoused as a citizen’s obligation. He was trying to protect property. The character of his attackers reinforced his legal defense. That said, I will add that it is tragic that he had been setup as some right-wing, militia hero. We do not need vigilantes. I do not agree with your premise that his motive was “anyone different from him” other than those committing property crime. His attackers tend to validate my hypothesis that a criminal, anarchistic element exploits legitimate protests to foment anger, disruption, and contamination of legitimate protests. Black Lives Matter deserves far better, but Rittenhouse is NOT the adversary.

 . . . follow-up comment:

“With respect to Kyle Rittenhouse, I reserve the right to say, ‘I told you so’ when more of his kind attack others.”

 . . . with my follow-up response:

LOL Understood and accepted. We shall hope your premonition is not correct or realized.

 

            My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)