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 6^th 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 16^th. 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

O Yes 
O 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                  :-)