Update no.1132

 Update from the Sunland

No.1132

18.9.23 – 24.9.23

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

 

To all,

 

On occasion, we are treated to an astronomical finding or dramatic launch into space. This week, it was the landing of the Sample Return Capsule (SRC) as part of the (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer) mission. The OSIRIS-REx vehicle landed successfully on the asteroid Bennu in October 2020, punched a collection probe into the surface, and then unloaded the sample into the SRC. Bennu is a loosely cohesive amalgamation of gravel, about 500 meters in diameter. The craft successfully took off and began its long journey back to earth. The SRC was dropped off as OSIRIS-REx passed by Earth and reentered Earth’s atmosphere on Sunday, 24.September.2023. The SRC landed safely and successfully at 14:52 [Z] UTC {07:52 [T] MST}on Utah Test and Training Range and Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. The SRC with its contents is headed to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, where it will be unloaded and the sample divvied up for scientists around the world to study and report findings. OSIRIS-REx fired its main engine and is now headed back out to the asteroid belt with a new name—OSIRIS-REx-APEX—for a close encounter with the asteroid Apophis. The mastery of physics and engineering is nothing short of dazzling, to travel more than 4.4 billion miles through space and land precisely at the SRC’s intended destination. The wonders of our space exploration continue to amaze. Well done to the team.

 

I listened attentively to Attorney General Garland’s testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. If you listened to the committee members without knowing any of the background facts, you might think the fBICP / MAGA bunch had uncovered some great conspiracy. A lot of questions from the right focused on the expiration of the statute of limitations on some of the accusations against Hunter Biden, when the majority of that time period was under POTUS45, not President Biden. They should be questioning former attorney General Bill Barr and now Special Counsel David Weiss; they were in charge at the Justice Department during the POTUS45 administration. To imply, as they have done with their questioning of Attorney General Garland, that somehow there is a conspiracy in favor of Hunter is outright fraudulent; they had four years under POTUS45, and only two years under President Biden. It was Weiss who consumed the majority of the statute of limitations and framed the plea deal with Biden that collapsed before a judge in court.

 

Budget funding negotiations in Congress are always a contentious endeavor and rightly so. Usually, it is the Democrats and Republicans fighting each other over annual federal budget appropriations, but this year, it is Republicans fighting each other, specifically the hard right minority within their ranks that threatens to shut down the government. Everyone else must sit back and watch this cat fight playing out before the world. 

The five resisters are:

Representative Ralph Warren Norman, Jr., of South Carolina,

Representative Andrew Steven ‘Andy’ Biggs of Arizona, 

Representative James Daniel ‘Dan’ Bishop of North Carolina, 

Representative Kenneth Robert ‘Ken’ Buck of Colorado and 

Representative Matthew Martin ‘Matt’ Rosendale, Sr. of Montana.

Standing in the wings on the far right are:
Representative Matthew Louis ‘Matt’ Gaetz of Florida,

Representative Charles Eugene ‘Chip’ Roy of Texas, and

a few others who are rattling the saber about ousting Speaker McCarthy of California if he makes any move to find a compromise solution with Democrats. And, of course, Gaetz, being the single-minded radical he is, blames McCarthy for the appropriations situation rather than himself and his fellow Freedom Caucus radicals, because McCarthy did not cave to their demands. McCarthy made a deal with the devil to become speaker on the 15^th round of voting nine months ago; now, the devil intends to extract his due. We are about to see graphic evidence of his how strong that radical minority is, and how weak McCarthy is. Stay tuned, sports fans. These are the times in which we live.

We need my generation to release the reins of power in Congress and in government in general. We have screwed things up bad enough as this despicable and disgusting appropriations kerfuffle exhibits. We need the younger generation to right the ship and get us back to stability.

 

Senator Robert ‘Bob’ Menendez of New Jersey was indicted again by U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York. Menendez and his wife Nadine along with two other named individuals are charged with three counts:

-- Count One – Conspiracy to Commit Bribery – 18 USC §§201(b)(1)(A) & (C) and (b)(2)(A) & (C)
-- Count Two – Conspiracy to Commit Honest Services Fraud – 18 USC §§1343 and 1346

-- Count Three – Conspiracy to Commit Extortion Under Color of Official Right – 18 USC §§1951(b)(2) & (3)

Menendez was indicted on similar corruption charges a decade ago and was acquitted at trial, and apparently, he did not learn his lesson back then. The details of the evidence against Menendez and his co-defendants is quite compelling. A legal search warrant was executed on the Menendez residence and bank safe deposit box. The indictment lists the property discovered in their searches, and the government’s intention to seek forfeiture of the defendants’ ill-gotten gains. It is quite a list. The items were seized during the search on or about 16.June.2022:

a. The Menendez residence in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey,

b. A 2019 Mercedes-Benz C-Class C300 automobile, worth more than $60,000,

c. A sum of US$486,461 in U.S. currency seized from the Englewood Cliffs Premises,

d. A sum of US$79,760 in U.S. currency seized from safe deposit box at Chase Bank in Englewood, New Jersey,

e. Two one-kilogram gold bars seized from the Englewood Cliffs Premises. Today's ask price per 1 Kilo Gold Bullion bar is: US$63,056.51. according to Monex Precious Metals.

f. Eleven one-ounce gold bars seized from the Englewood Cliffs Premises. Each one-ounce gold bar is valued at US$2,010 according to Monex Precious Metals.

g. Any and all funds on deposit in an account held in the name of Strategic International Business Consultants, LLC, at PNC Bank.

The items seized at the residence were found in clothing, closets, and safe. The response to the indictment was swift. The senator was also removed as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee pending the outcome of his trial. Numerous calls have come from both parties for him to resign his seat. He has declared his innocence and vowed to fight the charges.

I have not gone back to the previous indictment or trial record. But, after reading the current indictment, I suspect Bob Menendez has put himself in a bit of a pickle. He is likely to lose the remainder of his ill-gotten gains and to spend some time in confinement as a guest of the federal government. Of course, he is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law beyond a reasonable doubt, but I may say the indictment is quite convincing. Menendez has been participating in this corruption for some time, which means what the FBI confiscated is likely just the tip of the iceberg. They have probably spent more than they have left. Reading the indictment drips in slime.

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1131:

Comment to the Blog:

“Arithmetic tells me 83 years ago was 1940. Without England, the US probably would have maintained neutrality until attacked. We did that in the actual event.

“The Republicans’ infighting was bound to happen sometime. I’m not so concerned with the impeachment as I am with the budget. A government shutdown threatens my income along with millions of others on Social Security, government employees and contractors, and national functions/payments of various kinds. On the political side, though, such an event would harm the party more than all the shouting about Tiny put together.

“Mitt Romney tries his best to live out his moral/ethical values. The most he can do now is provide a good example of withdrawing gracefully and passing the baton to a younger generation. I respect that. You’re correct about the history of the far right. Tiny is simply the right/wrong personality in a key place at the right time.

“The common good is lost in this country for the moment.

“Hunter Biden’s problems are due to the extreme political climate.”

My response to the Blog:

Yep, that’s it . . . 15^th  of September, 1940; RAF Fighter Command was literally within days of collapse when Hitler turned his wrath on London rather than the embattled Fighter Command; they caught a breath and turned the tide. We did that although FDR had secretly begun ramping up cautious support for the British. I could go on and on . . . and epic period & events in human history.

Yeah, because there are loyal, dedicated Americans in the Republican Party who have NOT swallowed or even tasted his damnable, worthless, snake-oil elixir, we are seeing more voices of sanity and reason, but the MAGA bunch still hold grip on a substantial portion of the electorate. I share your concern. McCarthy’s impeachment inquiry will divert needed attention from the constitutionally mandated annual budget and funding process. We all need the government to run smoothly. The MAGA bunch want chaos and dysfunction to validate their vanity. You are not alone in the potential disruption of our lives at the most basic level. Indeed it would; it is one thing for Tiny to shout his lies, it is all together another thing to seriously jeopardize the private lives of many millions of American citizens. In fact, a government shutdown would seal their fate, I suspect.

I also agree . . . we have lost sight of the common good. This damnable tribalism had done incalculable damage to our society and structural foundation. There was damage before Tiny, but he has incited infinitely more destruction just to feed his malignant narcissism. Far too many good people believe without question in the curative properties of his worthless snake-oil elixir that he has been peddling for years. This has got to stop.

Yes, the political climate has amplified Hunter’s problems, but his difficulties were of his own generation, no one else. He has done some very foolish and shady things; some of those things have been illegal. I have always worried about selective prosecution by any zealous prosecutor. Weiss is tiptoeing on the line. We shall see how this goes.

 

Another contribution:

“Thanks very much for your piece on the BofB. Indeed a vital and essential part of the major effort to stun and eventually defeat the Nazi inhuman world domination drive. I was born in July of that year so I am totally grateful that my early years were dominated by the drive of our nations to supress this dreadful and ghastly attempt to rule us and our allies across the world.

“Is the human race really fit to live on this beautiful green planet? If you believe the answer is yes, then could someone explain the dreadful behaviour of certain individuals who are currently killing and destroying Ukraine and its population.”

My reply:

You are most welcome. It is a story and history that must be remembered rather than relegated to a single sentence in a history book. You have a far more personal view of those historic events.

The answer to your query is debatable. I believe most people regardless of nationality, language, ethnicity, or any other of the social factors share common goals . . . to live in peace, to prosper and live a comfortable life, and to provide for their children to have a better life than they had. I have seen and felt those shared values firsthand in my travels around the world. Unfortunately, as is the nature of human beings, there are bad men who grow up among us with visions of grandeur. Putin is one of those bad men. He is just as much a dictator as Stalin or Hitler, but he is supported by a bunch of hardline ultra-right conservatives within Russia. The Russian people do not want any of this war nonsense. But, the conservatives want to go back to the days of the Soviet Union when everyone feared them, and they dominated their neighbors. If we fail to stand up to that bunch, they will continue to do what they are doing. We did not create this war. We did not want this war. Ukraine did not ask for or incite this war. Ukraine is not without inherent problems and flaws, but at its root, they sought to be free; and, that sense of freedom, goes back many decades . . . long before Putin and the current crop of Russian conservatives. There are many voices in this country (conservatives) who want to give Putin what he wants. We must confront those voices.

 

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

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)