29 August 2022

Update no.1076

 Update from the Sunland

No.1076

22.8.22 – 28.8.22

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

 

To all,

 

NASA is scheduled to launch Artemis I Space Launch System (SLS) on Monday morning, 29th August, just after Update no.1076 hits the Web. The planned mission will send the unmanned Orion spacecraft to orbit the moon and return to earth 42 days later. Adverse weather is forecast with an estimate of 30% launch criteria exceedance. When it goes, I will be watching.

 

The follow-up news items:

-- Just to remind everyone, [the person who shall no longer be named] [705] is the subject of criminal investigations in New York, Florida, Georgia, and Washington, District of Columbia, for a wide variety of crimes. Two letters related to the fellow’s malfeasance were publicly released this week and noted below.

-- On 22.March.2019, former captain of Marines, former FBI director, and Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller, III, [804] submitted his Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election to the Department of Justice [898]. Two days later, then attorney general William Pelham ‘Bill’ Barr issued a four-page summary of the special counsel’s report that largely dismissed the report because it made no prosecutorial recommendations. With public outcries mounting, the AG released a redacted version of the special counsel’s report on 18.April.2019 [902], which brings us to the memorandum released this week.

At the request of AG Barr, Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) Assistant Attorney General Steven Andrew Engel submitted the subject memorandum; subject: Review of the Special Counsel's Report, dated: 24.March.2019. The review was confined to only Volume II and sought to answer the question, “whether the facts recited therein (Volume II) would support initiating or declining the prosecution of the President for obstruction of justice under the Principles of Federal Prosecution, without regard to any constitutional barrier to such a prosecution under Article II of the U.S. Constitution.” [emphasis mine] Engle’s conclusion and recommendation was, “. . . under the Principles of Federal Prosecution, the evidence developed during the Special Counsel’s investigation is not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense.”

I recognize and acknowledge that the prosecutor’s decision to prosecute is an extraordinarily difficult one to make with objective elements (evidentiary facts) and subjective components (juries, judgments, interpretations, and such). The deference displayed in the OLC memorandum for the president is staggering. I have far more questions than answers. Why was the AG review request confined to only Volume II? Why was the prosecutorial judgment limited to only obstruction of justice? There were no answers. I am left at the bottom line with an observation that [the person who shall no longer be named] may well be correct. The law does not apply to him. He (not the presidency) is above the law. Lastly, there is zero doubt in my mind that if any of us had done a mere fraction of what he had done as documented in graphic detail in the special counsel’s report, we would already be in prison enjoying the hospitality of the federal government.

-- On Friday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce E. Reinhart of the Southern District of Florida released the government’s redacted version of the FBI search warrant affidavit used to justify the search of the residence and office of [the person who shall no longer be named] at Mar-a-Lago [1074]. The document was heavily redacted and rightly so. After reviewing 15 boxes of retrieved documents by the National Archives in February 2022 that recovered “184 unique documents bearing classification markings, including 67 documents marked as CONFIDENTIAL, 92 documents marked as SECRET, and 25 documents marked as TOP SECRET. Further, the FBI agents observed markings reflecting the following compartments/dissemination controls: HCS, FISA, ORCON, NOFORN, and SI.” Several of the recovered documents had handwritten notes on them in what appeared to be the president’s hand. Subsequent testimony by what appears to be numerous direct witnesses indicated there were many more classified documents in the president’s residence and office. Judge Reinhart determined that the FBI had shown sufficient evidence to establish probable cause and thus signed the warrant.

Of particular note here, [the person who shall no longer be named] does NOT enjoy deference afforded him as a “sitting president” as in the 24.March.2019 memorandum noted above. Even the redacted version of the affidavit offers damning factual evidence that the fellow at issue here disobeyed and disregarded the law, and I will add wantonly defied the law.

The sheer hypocrisy by [the person who shall no longer be named] is mind boggling. He personally condemned and excoriated Hillary Clinton for her eMail fiasco [710]. I joined in the chorus against Clinton’s foolish, cavalier and injuriously poor judgement in the whole eMail affair [760]. Clinton made a dreadful mistake in mixing her personal and professional eMails that included what would normally be classified material. But, to my knowledge, she did not remove or attempt to hold marked classified documents of any level. Thus, to me, what [the person who shall no longer be named] has done is far more egregious and potentially injurious to the national defense of this once grand republic. And yet, these felonious crimes are only a fraction of the crimes he has committed against We, the People. No president in history, and hopefully ever again, has been accused of so many crimes before, during, and after he held office. Richard Nixon’s crimes pale in comparison to [the person who shall no longer be named], who deserves the notoriety of infamy for the rest of history.

 

An interesting and thought-provoking opinion article appeared in our local newspaper this week.

“When did America start to go to hell? A decade-old film has the answer – Opinion: 'Margin Call' is the story of the first small cadre of Americans to learn that the world was going to end.”

by Phil Boas

Arizona Republic

Published 7:00 a.m. MT Aug. 21, 2022 | Updated 9:21 a.m. MT Aug. 21, 2022

https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/philboas/2022/08/21/america-decline-margin-call-pinpoints-when-began/10343970002/?utm_source=azcentral-OpinionsNewsNow&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=baseline&utm_term=hero&utm_content=PPHX-1531AR-E-NLETTER39

As noted in the article, the author contends that the milestone occurred in 2008 during the banking collapse and beginning of the Great Recession. I cannot and will not argue with the premise. However, I will argue the milestone could easily pushed much earlier. From my perspective and knowledge, I would peg that terrible marker at 10.August.1964, when President Johnson used the Gulf of Tonkin resolution [PL 88-408; 78 Stat. 384] to send U.S. military forces into direct combat in the Republic of Vietnam, or perhaps more specifically 8.March.1965, when the president sent the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (9MEB) into Vietnam. We, the People, did not learn until the Pentagon Papers were published in 13.June.1971, the president’s justification was based on a stack of falsehoods that betrayed our trust in the president and cost the lives of 58,000 precious citizens. I might also put that infamous date at 1971 and the establishment of the Committee to Re-elect the President (popularly known as CREEP) coupled with Nixon’s inherent paranoia. The combination resulted in the felonious crimes of the Watergate Scandal [17.June.1972], and another president betrayed the Constitution and We, the People. We began to distrust the United States Government (USG). Since that era, far too many citizens have distrusted the USG. The last president made matters far worse when he sanctioned and encouraged white supremacist and fascist factions among us to come out of the shadows and into the mainstream. As much as I would like to blame [the person who shall no longer be named] for all of his chaos, deterioration, and disregard for the U.S. Constitution and the law, I cannot do so; he only exploited the adverse forces that have existed for decades.  President Biden is trying to restore the presidency to its appropriate status, but we have a long way to go to rebuild what has been destroyed. So, no, I do not agree with the author’s premise, but he offers good points.

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1074:

Comment to the Blog:

“I get a NYT summary of the news each day and read an article about Liz Cheney that really gives me hope and inspires me. I would love to get a bumper sticker that says, “Liz for Prez!” Liz Cheney is a person who gets it. She recognizes that this is her moment in history to stop the Trump train. (redaction mine) It’s each person’s moment in history to do his/her part. Here’s an excerpt from the article:

‘…What’s not complicated is Ms. Cheney’s view of this moment and her role. She not only believes that the country is at risk, but also that it can be pulled from its downward spiral only by those who answer history’s call.’

She says she is a firm believer in the ‘great man theory’ of history — the notion that America has been sustained by leaders who emerged at critical times to lead.

“‘It’s absolutely clear that the only thing that makes a difference is individuals,’ Ms. Cheney said in an interview this month. ‘It’s the only thing that makes a difference.’”

My response to the Blog:

While I agree with Liz Cheney’s position on some issues, I emphatically disagree with her on virtually all of her moral projection positions. That said, I have highlighted her stance in this humble forum against the tyranny and destructiveness of the BIG LIE from the outset of this fiasco. Cheney has stood, nearly alone, to the mark and not been found wanting. Her courageous actions will be recorded appropriately in the annals of history. As much as I admire her efforts to find justice in the January 6th investigation and praise her for the defiant opposition to her party to find justice for the latest criminal president we have endured, Cheney would have to significantly dampen her moral projection political positions to gain my vote for president. There is hope after she changed her hard right stance on LBGT matters to reconcile with her sister.

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1075:

“All arrived this side Cap. Do you think the day may come when you will not need to comment on ‘he who cannot be mentioned?’”

My reply:

I pray for that moment every single day. I want to be rid of him more than most. His malignant narcissism craves attention—good, bad, or ugly. He needs to be the headline—again, good, bad, or ugly. Prison will mute him, but his infected believers will make him a martyr, so it will likely take a generation and perhaps many generations to expunge him and his destruction from contemporary thought. Just look at the number of his believers who been selected by the fBICP to be the party candidates in the upcoming general election. He was, is, and still will be a clear and present danger to the very fabric and foundation of this once grand republic. In that capacity, I am obligated by my oath to oppose him and his movement to the best of my ability. The story continues.

 . . . Round two:

“Yes Cap-I did of course perceive that would be your opinion and your hope for the future. But optimism you must have, it is a very essential essence of the future. 

“Whilst searching through a rather large collection of books old and new in my possession I have come across a large and heavy volume that you will be I’m sure familiar with.

‘MEDAL OF HONOUR RECIPIENTS 1863-1978.’

Published on Feb 14th 1978.

“It came to myself through an auction for many books and is marked ‘STATION LIBRARY, U.S. NAVAL SECURITY GROUP ACTIVITY FPO NEW YORK 09518.’

It is without any doubt a recording of the stunning bravery by your armed forces and is 1113 pages in length.

“I expect if you needed to see such document you could find one but if you can’t give me a shout.”

 . . . my reply to round two:

Wow! Fantastic! I have not seen the book, but what a great compilation. Such a book is akin to a book of Victoria Cross recipients. Stunning bravery indeed. I know or have known some of those fellows. I will have to look in our local library, but it may well be an internal government document. Also, there have been more recipients since 1978. I hope they update it annually or at least periodically.

 . . . Round three:

“Yes all part of this auction I did once bid through. It was blind, everything just listed in groups. I don’t recommend doing it again, unless you have a manor and a personal library!

“We’re still dry here, what over two months without rain-somewhat unusual for this neck of the woods. That may change tomorrow.”

 . . . my reply to round three:

Sounds like something we might find at one of the many bookstores in Hay-on-Wye. I do not recall ever hearing of such an auction. Your find was a welcome success. Congratulations. BTW, are you aware of a comparable compilation of Victoria Cross recipients?

We are still in the monsoon season in the desert southwest. Rain is far too spotty. Yesterday evening, a good cell stalled and dumped its load of rain on our reservoir district. We could watch it, but we got nary a drop directly.

 . . . Round four:

“Strange that you should mention rain because we are having a dampish day over here-well overdue.

“No I’m not aware an answer to your question. There certainly should be so I have started by asking the RAF museum.

“Hay-on-Wye. Never made it there, perhaps I should set up a stall!”

 . . . my response to round four:

Excellent. Rain should keep England green. We are in a break of our Monsoon season. We are probably not done.

Please let me know if such a Victoria Cross compilation exists.

We spent a day in Hay-on-Wye and only touched a fraction of the village’s offerings. It was fascinating. We found several historic books. We wanted to go back to a longer exploration, but we never made it . . . at least not yet.

 

Comment to the Blog:

“Allen Weisselberg, the former CFO for the Chump, may change his mind about testifying against the Chump after he does a few months in jail. The culture shock is rather severe going from corner-office level to Rikers.

“Why is the largest consumer of the Colorado River, California, not restricted?

“The Manchin version of Build Back Better is too little, too late, with too much left out for the acclaim it’s receiving.

“The CHIPS Act is an outright bribe to Intel. There has to be a better way.

“I’m still very concerned with emergency preparedness. Not only COVID but various grid failures, floods, and heat/drought/wildfire events have exposed our vulnerabilities.

“I’ll note that the violent crazies such as the KKK have always had quiet financial support from a few oligarchs.”

My response to the Blog:

I sure hope you are correct on Weisselberg. His cooperation would make prosecution and likely conviction of the real culprit much easier and quicker. Rikers Island would be culture shock for anyone and especially an old guy used to the good life.

Very good question! I do not know. The Bureau of Reclamation did not offer an explanation. Until last week’s announcement, I would have though proportional reductions would have been appropriate. Hopefully, the next step will not be necessary. Even Bernie Madoff did not suffer that shock.

I understand and appreciate the criticism, but something is better than nothing. We need many of the features of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 [PL 117-169; 136 Stat. xxx]. I am grateful for what we got.

Again, another necessary start. It is not just Intel. Hopefully, the new law will break the logjam.

Oh my, you are not alone, my friend. I share your serious concern. We tend to focus on the good, because the bad costs more to be prepared. The failure of the last administration to simply stock N95 masks cost a million innocent citizens their lives. At least the current administration is trying to ensure preparedness, but we are not where we should be.

Your note is spot on and quite appropriate.

 . . . Round two:

“The problem with bribing the likes of Intel is that the money comes from higher priorities. We are having a teachers’ strike here, and the highest-priority demand is for HVAC in all school buildings. In the 21st Century. The county and state, as well as the CHIPS Act, have given away money we need for better purposes to corporations and developers that are already making money hand over fist. That’s not how FDR made the economy work.”

 . . . my response to round two:

Well said, and quite appropriate. The challenge in any democracy is the balance between conflicting forces. I cannot debate the needs within our education system for improvement, updating, refinement, and support for those who sustain education. Some of what we witness in Arizona is an embarrassment, e.g., teachers paying out of pocket for essential school supplies. It is not a question of this or that. We can do both but that depends upon who we elect to Congress. This is one of myriad reasons every citizen must vote and vote for candidates who share our priorities for spending.

That said, I think the CHIPS Act was necessary and worthy. We are far too vulnerable to the whims of the CCP & PRC.

 . . . Round three:

“Indeed! All of those items and more argue for manufacturing and storage in the USA. It's appropriate to ask, though, what is the best way to make it happen. We can't really afford bribery for all the necessary items.”

 . . . my response to round three:

Quite so! Most appropriate. The tension of conflicting or opposing forces is good to produce a reasonable compromise. I will note here that the internecine tribal combat so common to Congress of the last couple of decades has dramatically reduced pork-barrel mark-ups . . . at least that I am able to detect.

 

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

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)

22 August 2022

Update no.1075

 Update from the Sunland

No.1075

15.8.22 – 21.8.22

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

 

To all,

 

The follow-up news items:

-- U.S. Representative Elizabeth Lynne ‘Liz’ Cheney of Wyoming [992] was defeated this week in the Wyoming Republican primary election. I will note here that she handled her defeat with grace and dignity in dramatic contrast to the BIG LIE [1002] believers and ihr Anführer. Only two of the ten House Republicans who voted to impeach the former president made it through the primary gauntlet. Cheney will likely remain vice chair of the United States House of Representatives Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol {HSCJ6} [1020] until she leaves office on 3.January.2023. Liz is a long way from being done. More to come.

-- On Thursday, Trump Organization chief financial officer (CFO) Allen Howard Weisselberg [1049] plead guilty to 15 counts of tax evasion and tax fraud in a New York state court in Manhattan. He has apparently agreed to testify against the company in an upcoming trial, but he also indicated he would refuse to testify against his boss—a loyal capo to the end. The judge has sentenced him to five months in the New York City Department of Correction prison at Rikers Island. Even a day incarcerated at Rikers Island. Weisselberg faced a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, which prosecutors will undoubtedly hold over his head as they pursue the criminal conduct at and associated with the Trump Organization. This was a Manhattan legal action. [The person who shall no longer be named] faces multiple other criminal investigations including New York State [1074], Georgia, and of course, federal [1074]. What does just the number of criminal investigations alone tell you about the man?

 

Mark Twain reportedly observed and stated, “Whiskey is for drinking. Water is for fighting.” For those of us who live within the Colorado River watershed, water is vitally important. We see Twain’s words in unique, personal terms. On Tuesday, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation within the U.S. Department of the Interior issued water restrictions (cuts) on the allocations assigned to “lower basin” states—Arizona = 21%, Nevada = 8%, Mexico = 7%, and California = 0%. Fortunately, Arizona has other water sources that are in better shape. However, the whole region needs a decade of great winter snowpack in the Rocky Mountains to refill Lake Powell and Lake Mead. Two decades ago, the reservoir was too full and more than normal amounts of water had to be released. We shall hope for a shift in the weather.

 

This was a very good week for Congress, the president, and We, the People. Three important bills became laws despite the political intransigence so common these days in Congress.

First among those new laws was the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 [PL 117-169; H.R.5376; House: 220-207-0-4(4); Senate: 50+1-50-0-0(0); 136 Stat. xxx], President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act [1073] into law on Tuesday. The title of the bill was changed from Build Back Better Act [1036]. The new law is a broad, multi-purposed legislative action. The vote was split right down the middle with no senator crossing party lines, and the vice president casting the deciding vote as required by the Constitution.

Next up was actually a law within a new law. The CHIPS Act of 2022 [136 Stat. xxx] is actually Division A [136 Stat. xxx] of the Supreme Court Security Funding Act of 2022 [PL 117-167; H.R.4346; House: 243-187-1-0(4); Senate: 64-33-0-3(0); 136 Stat. xxx]. The new law provides federal incentives for computer chip manufacturers to bring the manufacturing process, infrastructure, and facilities back to the United States. The situation with the PRC and Taiwan illuminated the vulnerability of American computer chips supply to the whim of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

The last of the landmark laws was what is popularly known as the Burn Pit Act to provide medical treatment and support services for veterans exposed to toxic substances while on duty in service to this once grand republic. The proper official title is the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022, or the Honoring our PACT Act of 2022 [PL 117-168; S.3373; Senate: 86-11-0-3(0); House: 342-88-0-1(4); 136 Stat. xxx]. In this law, I am reminded of the extraordinary personal efforts of Admiral Elmo Russell ‘Bud’ Zumwalt, Jr., USN (Retired) to gain federal recognition for its responsibility on the toxic exposure of military personnel to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. The Burn Pit Act is this generations version. As with Agent Orange, it is regrettable that it took a federal law to do what is the proper thing to do and should have been done without the law. 

 

The nonsense amplified by the previous fellow has reached our little village in the desert hills.

“A 'dirty' small-town election campaign shows how partisan politics seeps into Arizona communities”

by Sam Kmack

Arizona Republic

Published 6:00 a.m. MT Aug. 17, 2022 | Updated 8:49 a.m. MT Aug. 17, 2022

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/scottsdale/2022/08/17/small-town-election-shows-party-politics-seeping-into-local-races-in-arizona/10313772002/

This article is spot-on the money, and there is only one person I blame for the nastiness—surprise, [the person who shall no longer be named]. I would blame Arpaio, as the resident standing for election, but it was the former president who pardoned Arpaio, allowing him to avoid prison and run for mayor of our little ‘burg.’ Fortunately, there were enough of us who saw Arpaio for exactly what he is and voted against him. We dodged the bullet for now, but the vile seeds have been sown.

The garbage nonsense noted above, the incessant propaganda political advertisements, and the plethora of lies in furtherance of political objectives are precisely why this is called “The Silly Season.” As with all such episodes in the past, I will be boundlessly grateful when this rendition of the silly season is over . . . no matter what the outcome.

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1074:

Comment to the Blog:

“Attorney General Garland’s insistence on slow pacing and utterly correct procedure has shown its value. I have read those documents, and the property receipt is damning. No amount of bluster and bullshit can excuse some of those documents being at Mar-A-Lago.

“In our time, economics education has lost its balance, judging by the public statements of those so educated. It’s a lot of trickle-down drivel based on very limited excerpts from Adam Smith’s 1776 work Wealth of Nations. That’s a definite dumbing down from even a high-school education in the 1970s.”

My response to the Blog:

I do not think he is intentionally slowing the progress of the Justice Department investigations and prosecutions because he prefers slow. I think it is his insistence upon methodical, meticulous investigations and prosecutions that makes the process seem slow to us. I think [the person who shall no longer be named] should have been in prison a long time ago. If you or I had done just a mere fraction of what he has done, we would have been tried, convicted, sentenced, and enjoying the hospitality of the federal government by now. AG Garland knows he is going to face the Supreme Court’s judgment in the prosecution of [the person who shall no longer be named]. I imagine he is preparing as much for that as the base trial in district court.

Yes, the property receipt is damning. Item 2A alone puts the FBI/DoJ investigation in an entirely different realm. Being who and what he is, [the person who shall no longer be named] immediately began to do what he always does—lie, obfuscate, confuse, and otherwise flood the public with misinformation. [As Roy Cohn always said, “Deny, deny, deny.”] His claims (so far) have been outrageous, irrational, and irrelevant. It does not matter a hoot what he thinks. What matters is what is stamped on those documents; if any document is not stamped “Declassified” and by what authority and when, then it is NOT declassified. What I think he is doing is setting up some group of innocent civil servants to take the fall instead of him, i.e., he did not do what I told him to do (‘I am not to blame’). I do not expect that defense to float.

I agree. Trickle-down economics is a slight of hand con job. By the time the trickle reaches us peons, it does not even wet the ground—worthless. The wealth gap between entry level and CEO continues to widen as the wealthy suck off more profits for themselves. To me, what the executive ranks of business are doing is no different from the complete disregard for worker safety and welfare that was commonplace a century ago. I like the ‘share’ concept, i.e., an entry level employee would get one share and the CEO would get 35 shares. I am reticent to regulate such things via dictum from the federal government, but something must be done. Money is an important motivator, but money is just too damn corrupting of otherwise decent people. Add in an immoral bad fellow like you know who and you get destruction.

 . . . follow-up comment:

“I agree that Attorney General Garland isn’t deliberately slowing his process. That’s simply the result of diligence. However, giving the crazies more time to organize is a problem.

“That property receipt is indeed damning. I don’t believe the Chump would follow the correct procedure to declassify anything, and in some cases, he couldn’t actually do so anyhow.

“I have seen claims that the gap in wealth is worse today than it was during the Gilded Age. Many of the most wealthy want to make that worse. This is a class war, and most of us have been losing for decades.”

 . . . my follow-up response:

Yeah, the crazies have always been with us, but [the person who shall no longer be named] dramatically enhanced their voices and brought them out of the shadows. I think we have always known that white supremacists and fascists have been among us, just as socialists and communists, including Soviet and CCP brand communists, have been among us as well. It is the distortion enabled by [the person who shall no longer be named] that has made them seem much larger than they are. At least the crazies are out in the open, so we can see them, but they are emboldened.

I think you are spot on correct. Rules do not apply to him; he sets the tone for his vassals. The law usually catches up to such men. I trust it will do so in his case.

That is my understanding as well. Yes, agreed, some men have no conscience or morality; they know only greed. And, as I wrote earlier, greed is not good.

Our vigil and concern for the future of this once grand republic must continue. I will continue to condemn those who seek to dismantle what is what is left in favor of an autocracy or worse a dictatorship. I hold onto (tenuously) my belief that the U.S. Constitution shall prevail.

 

Another contribution:

“WE THE PEOPLE-is that how it starts Cap? 

“Your last blog carried some dreadfully frightening items.

“You have much work to do to ‘iron over’ these disturbances. 

“For him whose name I cannot mention and will not, the case looks extremely damaging- will he go to prison? What a disgrace to your nation to even imagine a former national leader being punished so.

“Ah well, your coming blogs will be most enlightening Cap. You must continue to speak with honesty and vibrancy regardless of the utter disgrace it may bring on your once grand republic. It is the way to recover your national status.”

My reply:

Yes, indeed, We, the People, is precisely the opening of the U.S. Constitution. That is also how we will overcome the disruption exploded by the last fellow. We have been through dark days before. We shall survive and become stronger—the temper of heat.

That fellow did not create ‘these disturbances.’ However, he most emphatically amplified and encouraged those destructive voices that have always been present. Fringe wannabe militias like the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, Three Percenters, and such, have always been among us in a wide variety of forms going back to at least the Ku Klux Klan [1866]. The Klan began as a quasi-guerilla group after the Confederacy lost their attempt at secession. Perhaps we did not take those fringe militias seriously and to a certain extent their words and activities were protected by the Constitution itself. January 6th changed all that, when [the person who shall no longer be named] stimulated them to violence with his BIG LIE. I will also note here that the vice of Justice continues to ratchet tighter on him.

I thought the evidence for impeachment, both times (historic), was overwhelming. Unfortunately, judgment was left to the politics of Congress and the degeneracy of the fBICP (the former Republican Party). In my humble opinion, one or a combination of criminal investigations will probably yield indictment(s). Whether we can find 12 unbiased jurors is a hurdle yet to be surmounted. He is certainly closer to prison, which is exactly where I was convinced long ago he belonged to contemplate the error of his ways.

Rest assured, I shall continue to write as long as I am able.

 

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

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)

15 August 2022

Update no.1074

 Update from the Sunland

No.1074

8.8.22 – 14.8.22

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

 

To all,

 

Lamentably, I have not seen the stars in more than a week. It is the monsoon season here in the southwest desert. We need the rain, although it is spotty. So, I suppose my altered nightscape is worthwhile.

 

The follow-up news items:

-- On Monday, the vice of justice ratcheted a couple notches tighter on [the person who shall no longer be named]. The FBI executed a valid search warrant in Case No. 9: 22-mj-08332-BER at the former president’s home of Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.

The warrant alleges:

* Violation of the Espionage Act [18 U.S.C. § 793]

* Obstruction of Justice [18 U.S.C. § 1519]

* Criminal mishandling of government documents and property [18 U.S.C. § 2071]

Of course, the malignant narcissist claimed foul and began his characteristic misinformation campaign. The one man who could clarify what happened on Monday chose not to do so. Why? Because his malignant narcissism is being fed by the confusion, doubt, uncertainty and distrust he has thrived on for more than seven years (and in reality, all of his adult life [and I use ‘adult’ quite loosely]). He does NOT want clarity. He wants muddy. Why? Because he can claim martyrdom in that he is being persecuted by the left. Attorney General Garland called his bluff and filed a petition with the court to unseal the search warrant and the property receipt, which was done by a federal judge on Friday. The Justice Department is governed by rules that evolved over decades. [The person who shall no longer be named] neither observes nor honors any rules. Rules are for the peons like me. He could have unilaterally disclosed the search warrant and the inventory receipt, but he has chosen not to do so. 

On Friday, with federal court approval, the search warrant and property receipt for the removed items were made public. If you would like to read it for yourself, here is the URL:

https://apps.npr.org/documents/document.html?id=22131380-trump-warrant-uns

One of the bevy of lawyer drones serving him apparently certified in writing that all classified government documents had been removed in June from the former president’s private residence. Ooopsy-daisy! Someone has a much bigger problem today.

If you, or me, or anyone other than him had been caught with Top Secret – Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS-SCI) in our private possession, we would have been arrested, held in jail, charged, convicted, sentenced, and imprisoned. Just to keep things in perspective, please read: 

“Ex-official who investigated Hillary Clinton's emails said the documents recovered by the FBI at Trump's Mar-a-Lago were particularly 'stunning' and 'egregious'”

by Hannah Getahun

Business Insider

Published: Sat, August 13, 2022, 11:30 PM

https://www.yahoo.com/news/ex-official-investigated-hillary-clintons-063033045.html

Of course, true to form, his army of blind, mindless minions have chosen to act on implied or indirect orders from ihr Anführer (see below) and threatened the judge and others associated with the search warrant and its execution.

If you do not thumb your nose at the law, you do not have to worry about the execution of a search warrant. [The person who shall no longer be named] has consistently and persistently acted in a manner that he believes the law does not apply to him in any form. You can only act like that for so long before the law catches up to you. He has eluded accountability for his criminal conduct for a long time, and he has gotten away with it . . . unlike any of the rest us of would be allowed to do.

Monday’s action was only about government document and property handling—felonious nonetheless, but there is so much more of the law he has violated. Perhaps naïvely, I still hold onto hope and faith that justice will prevail even in the case of a self-inflated malignant narcissist like that conman.

-- On Wednesday, 10.August.2022, as ordered by the court, [the person who shall no longer be named] travelled to New York City with his bloated entourage of lawyers and Secret Service agents to be deposed by the attorney general of New York. The deposition was associated with a criminal investigation regarding fraudulent claims in a wide variety of areas including state taxes. He spent six hours and answered one question—his name. He claimed his constitutional 5thAmendment protection 440 times. Quite odd after he railed for years against others who have claimed the 5thAmendment protection. I considered including several instances of his words with citations, but I decided such recounting was not worth my time. The man needs to go to prison never to be heard from again.

-- After his damning testimony to the United States House of Representatives Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol [1020] {HSCJ6}, Arizona State House of Representatives Speaker Russell ‘Rusty’ Bowers [1067] was “primaried” by the fBICP minions in his district in favor of a candidate endorsed by [the person who shall no longer be named]. Bowers is a life-long Republican and successful politician, dedicated conservative, and valuable leader. For those who might wish to read a little more beyond the headline, this article should suffice.

“Reflecting on election loss to Trump-backed candidate, Rusty Bowers invokes the Dark Ages – Arizona House Speaker describes GOP’s trajectory as ‘frightening’”

by Ray Stern

Arizona Republic

Published 6:35 p.m. MT Aug. 3, 2022 | Updated 1:56 p.m. MT Aug. 8, 2022

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/08/03/arizona-house-speaker-rusty-bowers-reflects-primary-election-loss-trump-farnsworth/10229891002/

The newly selected fBICP candidate is a BIG LIE advocate. He will face an independent candidate in the general election with no Democrat candidate. Bowers was not from my Arizona House district, so I will not get to vote against the fBICP candidate.

 

A friend and frequent contributor to this humble forum sent along the following article for the reading pleasure of you and me.

“Inside the War Between Trump and His Generals - How Mark Milley and others in the Pentagon handled the national-security threat posed by their own Commander-in-Chief.”

[redaction mine, for obvious reasons]

by Susan B. Glasser and Peter Baker

The New Yorker

Published: August 15, 2022 Issue

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/08/15/inside-the-war-between-trump-and-his-generals

Live and learn!

 

The same friend and frequent contributor noted above sent another interesting article.

“The worst memo in American history - It came from Lewis Powell

by Robert Reich

Published: Aug 11 [2022]

https://robertreich.substack.com/p/the-worst-memo-in-american-history?r=a27i&s=r&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

With that introduction, I had to read “The Memo.” To be candid and forthright, I had never heard of or read the object of Reich’s opinion. It became a must-read.

Two months before he was nominated to fill Hugo Black’s vacant seat on the U.S. Supreme Court, attorney Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr., wrote a 34-page Confidential Memorandum dated: 23.August.1971; and titled: Attack on American Free Enterprise System. He wrote the memorandum to Eugene Beauharnais Sydnor, Jr., Chairman, Education Committee, U.S. Chamber of Commerce. 

As is my practice, I began writing my thoughts as I read the memo. After the first five pages, I wrote, “Powell was absolutely, categorically, and broadly wrong as he displayed his ideological parochialism. Yes, there have always been socialists and communists in our midst; that is the very nature of democracy and indeed a free society. We need diverse voices, thoughts, ideas, opinions, and recommendations.” After reading the remainder of the memorandum, I wrote the word ‘soften.’ In toto, the best I can say is, Powell’s premise is biased, colored, and otherwise woefully incomplete. The word ‘balance’ only appears twice, and it is on p.13 in a section about college campuses.

Powell’s opinion begins with the very first sentence. “No thoughtful person can question that the American economic system is under broad attack.” He chose the word ‘attack’ to imply an armed, violent struggle. He uses the term ‘American Free Enterprise System’ to label the structure that he is defending, but he does not define what he means. This is all too common in contemporary tribal isolationism. The technique leaves the definition to the reader. Powell rails against the Left, socialism, communism, and other leftist ideologies. Since he left the definition up to the reader, I shall offer my definition as I read implied in his essay. What is the American Free Enterprise System? I assume by Powell’s treatise, he means an Ayn Rand style economy driven by free (wide open) market forces unbridled by regulation—true, pure capitalism. Anything beneath that state is ‘an attack’ on the system itself. 

Contrary to what Gordon Gekko so famously declared, Greed is not good. Greed is inhumane. It is ruthless. The profit motive is essential to encouraging innovation, advancement, improvement, and even ambition. Without the profit motive, the energy of any economic system is sapped from the sinew. That is the principal failing utopian ideology of Marxist communism. To a true capitalist, labor is no different from a cow to be butchered, or a horse to be harnessed; labor is an expendable—to be consumed to maximize profit, cast aside when no longer productive, and a replacement laborer hired. He talks about the left and labor as adversaries, virtually as enemies in war, rather than as partners. Labor unions came into existence with the Industrial Revolution. Collective bargaining organizations grew to find balance with the industrial barons in the mold of Gordon Gekko.

Powell argues against what he sees as the political bias in universities primarily, and especially the social science departments, but in fact, his target is the entire education system. It is under the education section of “The Memo” that he mentions the word ‘balance.’ That is where my opinion of his memorandum began to soften. His argument for balance in education is spot on the money, it seems to me. In thinking through Powell’s words, recurring thoughts kept coming back to me. What are we if we cannot tolerate other views, ideas, opinions, and perspective? Are our concepts of governance, public debate, progression, and evolution so fragile and soft that we cannot possibly debate our way of life? To me, we must compete with views, ideas, opinions, and perspective. If we believe our concepts are truly the best, then those thoughts should prevail in the forum of public debate. Why is our system better? What makes it better? Standing on it’s claim as the best just because it’s the best is not a functional argument. Powell tries to advocate for balance, and yet it is hardly balance they seek; they want to preserve dominance.

Conservatives seek to preserve the societal “system” as they know it, as it was at some particular moment of time, it is perfect in every respect. They believe there is no need to change the system. They abhor progress. They seek the status quo (as they define it) or the status quo ante (as they imagine it). Progress is unacceptable unless sanctioned by them. “The Memo” might well be the manifesto for the contemporary conservative movement. If that is what it means to be conservative, I say, no thank you.

 

An armed man tried to attack the FBI Field Office in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Thursday. His cyber-glimpses suggest he thought he was acting on orders from sein Anführer. It did not end well for the fellow.

This is exactly what has been unleashed by [the person who shall no longer be named] with his BIG LIE. I suspect this is only the top snowflake on top of the tip of the iceberg. And the BIG LIE persists to this very day, nearly two years after the 2020 election, without a single verifiable fact—only accusations, imaginings, and hallucinations.

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1073:

Comment to the Blog:

“I didn’t really need the detailed explanation of how the government kills someone.

“Alex Jones’s punitive damages may be reduced on appeal, but let’s hope it’s enough to really send a message to others. In the meantime, whatever methods are available to keep the money available will be wise.

“I’m not looking to Dick Cheney for wisdom, insight, or anything else.

“Kansans have spoken, loudly, in favor of healthcare rights and in favor of democracy.

“The Texas story is hilarious from a safe distance. I’ll note that their budget has risen to $27 million in a county of 57 people, so that might be a factor despite the denials.

“People would appear out of the woodwork to apply for those jobs you mentioned if they offered decent pay and working conditions.”

My response to the Blog:

My apologies. I get carried away sometimes.

Perhaps. The message from the jury and the court are fairly clear. I suspect he is going to face criminal charges for lying under oath in court. Further, if he is found to be siphoning money off to hide it from his damages penalty, he will likely face additional criminal charges that could send him to prison to contemplate the error of his ways. In addition, he has other pending defamation cases in the process. That man deserves everything coming his way with the mass outright false vile bile he has spewed on innocent gullible people.

OK. ‘Nuf said. He was still spot on correct.

Yes, they have, but I suspect conservative Kansans will not go quietly into the good night.

Yeah, exactly . . . a safe distance. That is the nepotism that we find in Hollywood movies, but I suspect Loving County, Texas, would be too rich for even Hollywood. Yep, quite true . . . always follow the money.

The debate of labor & wages is an unwinnable affair. We cannot pay everyone from ditchdiggers to CEOs US1M/hour, so they can live comfortably. Yes, every worker deserves dignity, respect, and a fair wage for labor performed, but the difficulty is where is the balance point?

 

Another contribution:

“Our political turmoil is miniscule compared to your comments Cap. At the moment your country seems somewhat devoid of ‘putting the nation first’ and producing agreement on these ghastly infantile disagreements. But who am I suggesting to you how to improve your political landscape.

“What is the solution then Cap?”

My reply:

I can only imagine how others outside this once grand republic view the political nonsense going on here. Devoid of ‘nation first’ is spot on—an accurate observation. There are very few among our political leadership who are putting the nation first. One exception that is clearly in public view is Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming. She has stood to the mark and not been found wanting. She faces a bitter fBICP primary next week. I do not agree with much in her staunchly conservative politics, but she has struck the nail squarely and buried it with her contributions to the HSCJ6 (the insurrection investigation). I would add Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois to that short list, but he has chosen not to run for re-election given the blatantly obvious fBICP condemnations in his district.

“Ghastly infantile disagreements” is a precise, eloquent description of what we are enduring now. We are no longer a worthy example for fledgling democracies, but hopefully, one day, we will return to that status. The fBICP’s blind defense of ihr Anführer is disgusting in the extreme. That man (and I hate to use that descriptor) is a yet-to-be-convicted felonious criminal, and yet the fBICP defends him like Mafia capos defending their don.

A few years ago, I would have answered your query with a simple . . . expunge my generation from the body politic. Unfortunately, we witness that they are breeding a new generation of malcontents. Now, I am afraid the solution is to lean into the long fight. This once grand republic is not and never has been a Caucasian, Christian, exclusive nation. Those who wrap themselves in the flag and claim patriotism for their actions to regress all of us 154+ years are not American citizens; they are tribal minions striving to retain the political power they perceived they once enjoyed.

 . . . follow-up comment:

https://www.ft.com/content/3eb878a9-bd37-44a3-82c9-014bd0571001

“I’m certain you’ll be aware of this Cap. But who are these supporters, what are their political aims for the future? Calling the republicans ‘Commies’. It is a time of great unrest Cap-I trust your grand Republic will gather the strength and willingness to eventually overcome these disturbing attitudes. You are a ‘one important nation’ not a divided muddle as we daily see you. Is this really democracy?”

 . . . my follow-up reply:

The answer to your query is far more complex than I can address in an eMail reply or in this humble forum. I shall try to summarize my opinion.

I still believe that if you want to unite Americans, you have but to attack the nation, e.g., Pearl Harbor & 9/11.

What we are experiencing today is an admixture of many elements and forces. At the bottom line, and at the center, we have a political party that is waning, and they are desperate to hold onto power to dictate their values to the remainder of the country. At the periphery, we have white supremacist groups of many forms and ultra-right evangelical Christians all of which seek to impose their values, beliefs, opinions, and imaginings on every citizen. Some of these forces go back to before the Revolution and have been passed down from parents to children for many generations. We cannot ignore the dissatisfaction represented by the Tea Party movement that exploded with the election of President Obama. The movement has roots going back into the 90’s as resentment over the performance of Congress. Throw in conspiracists who see the boogeyman under every bridge, and things begin to stink quickly. I also believe the ultra-fast communications enabled by cellphones, text-messaging, the Internet, YouTube, et al ad infinitum, and the gullibility of a population unprepared and unwilling to learn the skills necessary to assess information, we have an exponentially amplifying effect on those far-right fringe voices. They now appear far bigger than they are. [The person who shall no longer be named] was enough of a huckster and conman to recognize those corrosive forces to successfully sell his worthless snake-oil elixir as a cure-all to that gullible population so willing to believe. And, as we say almost every day, they truly and deeply believe.

I could go on but that is a simple incomplete summary of what I see today.

Because of that man’s malignant narcissism and the corruption of the once Grand Old Party (GOP, Republican Party), we have a very destructive corrosive cesspool that has degenerated a once grand political party into what I now refer to as the fBICP—former Bully In Chief Party. He owns it. He controls it. Those former Republicans who recognize the truth and reality are most often too afraid to shout, “The emperor has no clothes.”

I am sad to say, it is going to take generations to unravel and overcome what that malignant narcissistic man has unleashed on American society.

I apologize for taking so long to answer, but these feelings seriously stir my oath of office as a Marine officer to “. . . support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic . . .” I rarely imagined ‘domestic’ enemies would actually present themselves, but alas, they have.

 

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

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)

08 August 2022

Update no.1073

 Update from the Sunland

No.1073

1.8.22 – 7.8.22

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

 

To all,

 

The follow-up news items:

-- On Monday, 1.August.2022, President Biden publicly announced the targeted assassination of al-Qa’ida leader Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri [11.8.1988]. Zawahiri was an Egyptian-born, educated physician, and for the last several decades, he was an Islamo-fascist terrorist who became the second emir of al-Qa’ida. He bore the same responsibility for multiple attacks including 9/11. What was not in the president’s statement was how they got him. The Intelligence Community (IC) had been watching him for some time, waiting for the correct moment, and that moment arrived on 31.July.2022, in Kabul, Afghanistan. As he stepped out on the third-story balcony to read a book in the early morning air, he was hit by two (2) AGM-114R9X variants of the Hellfire missile. The R9X is also known as Ninja Bomb, or Flying Ginsu. The missile has no explosive warhead; it is just a 45kg mass travelling at near Mach 1.5 and sporting six (6), 18-inch, snap-out blades attached to the seven-inch diameter missile body. Kinetic energy transfer alone would do the trick on a human body, but those six blades . . . well . . . just the tip of one of those blades at that speed anywhere on a human body would most likely be sufficient for mission accomplishment. 

-- The American far-right radio show host and highly prominent conspiracy theorist, Alexander Emerick ‘Alex’ Jones, lost his second defamation defense case— Pozner v. Jones [Cause No. D-1-GN-18-001842 (2021)] [1029], stemming from Jones’s public claims that the Sandy Hook massacre [574] was a hoax perpetrated to confiscate firearms in the United States. This week, a jury decided to award the plaintiffs US$4.1M in compensatory damages, and the following day they added US$45.2M in punitive damages.

Jones filed for bankruptcy during the trial and reportedly has been siphoning money from his company in an attempt to hide his money from the court’s judgment. Forensic financial examination will take time, but justice will be served. If the investigation finds probable cause of malfeasance, Jones could face additional criminal charges stemming from contempt of court. Jones is not the first culprit to attempt to hide his money, and he will not be the last. I would not be surprised if Jones’s hero—[the person who shall no longer be named]—has been or will soon be attempting the same malfeasance.

-- Former Vice President Richard Bruce ‘Dick’ Cheney recorded an eyeball direct, stern campaign message for his daughter, Representative Elizabeth Lynne ‘Liz’ Cheney of Wyoming, who is in the middle of a difficult re-election campaign.

"In our nation's 246-year history, there has never been an individual who was a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump. He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him. He is a coward. A real man wouldn't lie to his supporters. He lost his election and he lost big. I know it, he knows it, and deep down, I think most Republicans know it.

"Lynn and I are so proud of Liz for standing up for the truth, doing what's right, honoring her oath to the Constitution, when so many in our party are too scared to do so. Liz is fearless. She never backs down from a fight. There is nothing more important she will ever do than lead the effort to make sure Donald Trump is never again near the Oval Office. And she will succeed. 

"I am Dick Cheney. I proudly voted for my daughter. I hope you will too."

12:03 [T] MDT; 4.August.2022 [redaction mine]

The fBICP has sought to punish Representative Cheney for her criticism of ihr Anführer, and her participation in the United States House of Representatives Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol {HSCJ6}[1020]. Cheney has been in an uphill fight ever since. The Wyoming primary election will be conducted on the 16th. Dick was spot on the money with his statement. Will Wyoming voters listen and heed?

-- The Arizona primary election was held on Tuesday this week, and the results very discouraging. The election deniers and spreaders of the BIG LIE [953] won virtually all of the so-called Republican primary positions. Even the rogue Arizona Members of Congress—Biggs, Gosar, and Lesko—won their primaries despite the outrageous lies and especially their participation in and support for the insurrection [991]. The primary election results say much more about “Republican” voters in Arizona than about the malcontents in Congress. Now, we turn to the November general election to see whether the BIG LIE succeeds, again. Those results will give us a clue as to how long this struggle will last to change our attention to the future rather than this tragic turn to the past.

 

With the Arizona primary, the fBIC, and the continued presence of the BIG LIE advocates, the Maricopa County attorney had to order a Republican (actually fBICP) candidate to cease and desist encouraging voters to remove pens from polling sites. A felt-tipped pen was provided to mark the ballot properly. The fBICP was not satisfied with spiking all of the county’s voting machines and forcing the county to use manual paper ballots, and passing laws to restrict access to voting, especially for the less well-off among us. No, they actually tried to prevent citizens from voting.

I must note here that these are Republican (fBICP) actions. This is not to say that Democrats are not practitioners of gerrymandering in an attempt to influence election outcomes and other restrictive actions to prevent third, fourth, et al, party qualifying to even be on the ballot.

Yet, I must ask, why is it that most of these instances are Republican (fBICP)? Like our fBICP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and ihr Anführer, elections are only rigged if they lose . . . never the other way around?

 

I filled up our automobile on Wednesday. The pump price has dropped around one dollar in the last couple of months. The political right was very quick to condemn President Biden for the rise of fuel prices after the Russian unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Will those same right-wing critics give him credit for reducing the gasoline price now? Rhetorical question . . . sorry!

 

Voters in Kansas cast their votes in the state’s primary election on the same day as Arizona. More importantly, a state constitutional amendment was also on the ballot. The Value Them Both Amendment was the sole question beyond the party selection votes for various local, state, and federal positions. It is instructive and informative to read the exact ballot wording to appreciate the difficulty of such questions.

Explanatory statement. The Value Them Both Amendment would affirm there is no Kansas constitutional right to abortion or to require the government funding of abortion, and would reserve to the people of Kansas, through their elected state legislators, the right to pass laws to regulate abortion, including, but not limited to, in circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest, or when necessary to save the life of the mother.

A vote for the Value Them Both Amendment would affirm there is no Kansas constitutional right to abortion or to require the government funding of abortion, and would reserve to the people of Kansas, through their elected state legislators, the right to pass laws to regulate abortion.

A vote against the Value Them Both Amendment would make no changes to the constitution of the state of Kansas, and could restrict the people, through their elected state legislators, from regulating abortion by leaving in place the recently recognized right to abortion.”

Shall the following be adopted? 

§ 22. Regulation of abortion. 

Because Kansans value both women and children, the constitution of the state of Kansas does not require government funding of abortion and does not create or secure a right to abortion. To the extent permitted by the constitution of the United States, the people, through their elected state representatives and state senators, may pass laws regarding abortion, including, but not limited to, laws that account for circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest, or circumstances of necessity to save the life of the mother

Yes 
No 

Making the matter worse, an anonymous text message was posted the evening before the big referendum this week seemed clear enough. 

Voting YES on the Amendment will give women a choice.

The blatantly false text message may have added confusion in the minds of some voters, but it was not sufficient to affect the outcome. Kansas amendment vote was: 41% – Yes; 59% – No. In a Red state like Kansas, the vote was shocking. To me, I am encouraged, but I must say the vote tells us there is hope. Knowledge will exceed ignorance, and the future attract more attention than the past.

 

In these days of election denial, Jim Crow v2.0, restrictive voting laws, and the disintegration of American society, the following article offers a troubling view of how far some folks are willing to go.

“Big Trouble in Little Loving County, Texas”

by J. David Goodman

New York Times

Published: Wed, August 3, 2022, 4:59 AM

https://www.yahoo.com/news/big-trouble-little-loving-county-115932346.html

Does anyone want to guess the political affiliation of Judge Skeet Jones and his associates?

 

The Senate voted [Senate: 95-1-1-3(0)] to ratify Treaty Document 117-3 – Protocols to the North Atlantic Treaty of 1949 on the Accession of the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden. Senator Paul of Kentucky was Present but did not vote. Only Senator Hawley of Missouri voted no. Why did Hawley vote NO? We do not know. Oh well, I suppose it does not matter unless you live in Missouri and have to vote with Hawley on the ballot.

 

The latest national labor report documented more than half a million jobs were filled and the unemployment rate has dropped to 3.5%—the best report since the pandemic disruption. Will President Biden get any credit?

We cannot visit a store, restaurant, or other commercial facility that does not have a “Now Hiring” sign posted at the entrance. Some signs present the tone of a more desperate employer. We have more than a few restaurants that have still not opened their dining room(s) due to a paucity of servers; they maintained their takeout service through the pandemic but have not returned to full service, yet.

 

Over a handful of decades of observing the American political landscape, and of course, voting in local, state and federal elections, I have come to a few insights . . . at least from my perspective, for what that is worth. So-called conservatives, by the very definition of the descriptor, seek to preserve society as they see it, and in the case of progression, they strive mightily to reverse progress to maintain society as they wish it to be. What the Dobbs case did was further divide the nation by referring an American citizen’s rights to state discretion. To me, there is no difference between abortion and slavery. Imagine if the Supremes of the day had said that slavery was a state matter. I recognize and acknowledge that the medical procedure known as abortion drives some folks bat-shit crazy. As a medical procedure, it disturbs me as well. However, relegating a citizen’s rights to state regulation is unacceptable in every possible way. The conservatives on the Court Bench were so blinded by their political and personal ideology that they refused or perhaps were incapable of seeing the greater, over-arching issue in their Dobbs ruling. Those same conservatives and their conservative successors are now going to strive mightily to establish Dobbs as a new precedent and invoke stare decisis to protect their position. We have regressed decades into the past, and now, we have an even longer bumpy road ahead to achieve progress. Nescientia super scientia.

 

[The person who shall no longer be named] has apparently decided the law does not apply to him—law, sch-ma-law, who needs the law; the law only applies to the peons. He has filed suit in the Southern District of Florida, claiming that “[a]cting in concert, the Defendants maliciously conspired to weave a false narrative that their Republican opponent, Donald J. Trump, was colluding with a hostile foreign sovereignty.” He also claimed the statute of limitations [four years] does not apply to him. He was too busy as president. The law offers no exception for a lethargic and complacent president. The suit is a political stunt that has absolutely nothing to do with findings of fact. The case is Trump v. Clinton, 22-cv-14102, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida. I trust U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks will see this suit exactly as it is. I trust he will dismiss the suit with prejudice for the nonsense it is.

 

Just when you think things could not get any worse, I read the following article:

“Contraception and the Supreme Court: Why CVS, Walgreens allow pharmacists to deny birth control”

by John Fritze and Sara Edwards

USA Today

Published: Wed, August 3, 2022, 7:42 AM

https://www.yahoo.com/news/contraception-supreme-court-why-cvs-090100009.html

This nonsense is an extension of the Dobbs ruling that allows a pharmacist to impose his beliefs on the private choices of another citizen. Why or how is birth control a matter for public debate or concern? By what right does any person have to intervene in any citizen’s private choices? I sure hope someone with standing challenges this practice in court as a direct violation of a citizen’s fundamental right to privacy and freedom of choice. Oh wait, the conservative Supremes quickly tell us, there is no privacy in the Constitution; it is not mentioned once.

 

Sunday afternoon, after a marathon debate session through the night, the Senate finally passed H.R. 5376 – Build Back Better Act, after the House passed the bill on 19.November.2021 [1036]. The Senate vote was 50-50 along strict party lines. There were no crossers—not a single one! Vice President Harris cast the deciding vote for passage. It is not yet clear, but I do believe the Senate version must go back to the House for a reconciliation process before it goes to the president for approval.

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1072:

Comment to the Blog:

“Congratulations on voting. I’m in Ohio, where the primaries (two of them) were distorted due to Republicans’ refusal to comply with a referendum passed by the voters that intends to make districts fairer. Looking forward to the general election, I may hope I don’t have the stressors I had at the last attempt. I envy your jurisdiction’s elimination of voting machines. I’m not a data expert, but most of the machines seem easily hacked.

“I wish you well with your remodeling project. That’s one more reason I’ll avoid home ownership.

“Learn more about the culture war aspects of U.S. politics by searching “Christian Nationalism”. The people with the most money help the radicals to finance that to get votes for their financial projects.

“The prior ban on weapons used for mass killings reduced such killings by, I believe, over half. Since the repeal of that ban, mass killings have multiplied.

“I don’t have the money for foreign travel (or any travel). From the tone of your interaction about that, I’d encounter the usual worker shortages and whiny customers.”

My response to the Blog:

The fBICP (former Republican Party) are desperate to do anything to hang onto their waning power. In Maricopa County, Arizona, fBICP candidates have been encouraging voters to steal pens at polling stations to exceed supplies and prevent people from voting. The general broad efforts by fBICP vassals to create doubt, confusion, suspicion, apathy, complacency, et al, exists in virtually every state including California and New York. To me, that is sufficient justification to reject any fBICP (former Republican) on the ballot. In Arizona, they voted for the election deniers touted by [the person who shall no longer be named]. We must send them all to the dustbin of history. I have (or rather had) faith in the security of the Maricopa County voting machines in previous elections. I have heard nothing regarding the replacement of devices, servers, and networks for future elections, so we may remain relegated to paper ballots, manual voting for a while, thanks to the fBICP here in Arizona. I am more confident in voting machines; human hands do not touch them. Humans are corruptible; machines less so.

Quite understandable. The process is going to be a demonstrable trauma, but we both believe we will feel better when it is done. Thank you for your well wishes.

There is a meme going around that seems quite observant and apropos. “There is no HATE like Christian LOVE.” While it is inappropriate to generalize, there are far too many so-called evangelical Christians who hide their hate behind the façade of their religious beliefs. The contemporary version is not particularly different from the pre-Revolution religious parochialism in several colonies. “Christian nationalism” is not new, but those so inclined have monumentally greater tools today to spread their exclusivity.

I do not dispute your observations. Yet, once again, I emphatically state that prohibition in a free society will never work. We must abandon Liberty to have a façade of safety, e.g., the Controlled Substances Act.

We encounter worker shortages and whiny customers everywhere these days. That reality makes public interactions rather undesirable and the peace of retirement all the more attractive.

 

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

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)