Update no.1164

 Update from the Sunland

No.1164

29.4.24 – 5.5.24

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

 

To all,

 

The follow-up news items:

-- To clarify my note in last week’s Update regarding the foreign aid supplemental legislation [1162/3], the congressional record finally caught up with last week’s activity. The Senate collected the separate bills passed by the House under one title. President Biden signed the bill into law on the 24^th. For those who may be interested in the proper data, here ya go:

Making emergency supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, and for other purposes [PL 118-050; H.R.815; Senate: 79-18-0-3(0); House: agreed without objection; 138 Stat. xxx]. The salient provisions include:

>> Division A. – Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024 
[formerly H.R. 8034]

>> Division B. – Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024
[formerly H.R. 8035]

>> Division C. – Indo-Pacific Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024
[formerly H.R. 8036]

>> Division D. – 21^st Century Peace through Strength Act. [formerly H.R. 8038]

>> along with 16 other acts (Divisions E through T)

We can rest assured that the USG has already begun executing the provisions of the new law. I just hope the ammunition and equipment for Ukraine is not too late. Time shall tell the tale.

-- Judge Merchan finally issued his ruling (written) regarding the gag order violations by [the person who shall no longer be named] in People of New York v. Trump [NYSC, Cty of NY Indictment No. 71543/2023] [1107]. In the court order, the judge fined the defendant US$1,000.00 for each of nine violations so far. He dismissed one accusation. There are four more that he will hear arguments on Thursday. The judge also ordered the defendant to remove the offending posts by 14:15 [R] EDT, Tuesday, 30.April.2024. The judge further cautioned the defendant that he would not hesitate to incarcerate the defendant if he fails to comply with the court order and/or violations continue.

-- Well, well, well, surprise, surprise! The Arizona legislature passed House Bill 2677 [Senate: 16-14-0-0; House: 32-28-0-0] that simply repealed the 1864 anti-abortion law [1161]. The law was codified in contemporary law as ARS 13-3603, which read in its entirety:

A person who provides, supplies or administers to a pregnant woman, or procures such woman to take any medicine, drugs or substance, or uses or employs any instrument or other means whatever, with intent thereby to procure the miscarriage of such woman, unless it is necessary to save her life, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than two years nor more than five years.

Governor Katie Hobbs signed the repeal law on the 2^nd of May. The HB2677 actions leave Arizona women in a strange, ill-defined limbo where they do not know what the law provides. It is believed that the ARS 13-3603 statute will prevail until HB2677 takes effect in 90 days. Then, with the repeal of ARS 13-3603, the law reverts to a subsequent law that establishes a 15-week decision threshold; however, given the Mayes ruling [1161], some question whether that law is valid anymore. On top of all that, we have a referendum vote of the people in November that may change the applicable law entirely. I am glad the legislature passed the repeal, but it is predominantly a ceremonial action.

 

The DEA announced they will seek reclassification of cannabis from a Class I to a Class III drug. This is what the physicists call ‘progress by jerks.’ The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) {Title II [84 Stat. 1242] of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 [PL 91-513; 84 Stat. 1236; 27.10.1970]}is the controlling law. The DEA request is long overdue change and does not go far enough. Cannabis should not be covered by any class of the CSA. I have long held and advocated for cannabis to be removed from the CSA altogether. It does not belong.

I appreciate and acknowledge that some folks do not approve of and do not use cannabis in any form, which is their right. What they do not have a right to do is deny the freedom of choice to all other citizens. Cannabis is no different from other substances. Too much alcohol, tobacco, sugar, even water or oxygen can cause debilitating effects, injury, or even death.

I suspect the DEA request will not be high on the congressional agenda, but there is hope. I cannot imagine such action even being mentioned set aside considered just a few years ago, and CSA has been the law of the land for six decades. I do not know if the formal request has been made, but I, for one, hope they take up the legislation and pass the long overdue repeal.

 

My humble apologies are offered to all for my naivete. I have come to realize that the MAGA/far-right embrace white and Christian nationalism because they are afraid . . . fearful of non-white citizens becoming the majority in this country, and then imposing restrictions on whites in a form of reverse discrimination on them. The realization answers a lot of questions about what drives that bunch to be so zealous in their resistance to progress. I absolutely believe genetic and cultural diversity makes us stronger and more resilient like mixing manganese, nickel and chromium (among other elements) with iron to produced steel—a stronger, more durable metal than iron. Further, we are not producing children at a rate sufficient to sustain our population, set aside grow and strengthen our society. We need steel, not iron. We need immigrants. We do not need the status quo ante advocated for by the conservatives among us.

 

Some thoughts on these pro-Palestinian university campus protests might be useful to a vigorous public debate.

The energy and focus of these protests are honorable and well-intentioned, but with respect, they are misapplied. I am all for advocating for the Palestinian people, especially those trapped in the Gaza enclave. Yet, I am left with the nagging question, who advocates for those kidnapped, held hostage and killed by Hamas? Who protects the indiscriminate killing and raping of innocent civilians at the hands of Hamas terrorists? I would place more credence in the Pro-Palestinian protests if they took a more balanced approach to their protests. Alas, they do not, which in turn makes the protests appear anti-Israel and even antisemitic. Jews are NOT the problem in Palestine. The ultra-conservative government in Israel IS the problem, just like the Russians are NOT the problem in Ukraine, PUTIN and the ultra-conservatives that support Putin ARE the problem.

Then, as is so often the case with mass, peaceful, legitimate protests, they are contaminated and infected by extremist from both ends of the political spectrum for opposite purposes but the same objective—chaos. Who brings a hammer to a peaceful political protest? Answer: a troublemaker, an anarchist, a criminal; certainly not a peaceful protester. Damaging private or public property is absolutely not acceptable in any form for any reason; it is illegal, against the law. The New York Police Department has confirmed that those who broke into Hamilton Hall on the Columbia University campus were not students or faculty; they were outside agitators seeking to take advantage of the protest to cover their nefarious criminal activities. At Columbia, nearly half of those arrested inside Hamilton Hall were not affiliated with the university in any form; they were confirmed to be outside agitators. The same was true at UCLA. At Portland State University, they found makeshift weapons of various forms among those arrested for trespassing.

This is the silly season after all that Little Fingers has made orders of magnitude crazier. And, we have at least another six months of this insanity. The notion of college students, who are supposed to be educated, are protesting in favor of Hamas, a well-known terrorist organization, is the craziest. These so-called protests for Gaza Palestinians have long passed the threshold of intellectually validated or sustainable.

President Biden made a nationally televised speech on Thursday. He talked about our freedom of speech and our right to assembly in protest. The president was spot on the money in his message. However, I think he missed an important if not critical opportunity to address and clarify the government’s position on the Gaza situation. The very essence of these student protests was missing from his address. He did nothing to quell the protests by explaining the issues and the government’s actions. He needs to address the root matters since the protesters’ misconception about Gaza fueled much of the passion.

 

We have a new additional moniker courtesy of Michael Cohen for Little Fingers, AKA Tiny and [the person who shall no longer be named]—'von ShitzinPantz.’ Cute! But, I’ll stick with my current list of labels for that despicable man.

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1163:

Comment to the Blog:

“Little Fingers behaves exactly as expected for a (guilty) business fraud defendant.

“Nobody has a right to make medical (or other) decisions about vaginas but the person with the vagina.

“It’s truly bizarre that you have conflicting information about whether a bill has passed and been signed by the President.

“TV news tells me Little Fingers is an unindicted co-conspirator in Michigan as well as Arizona.”

My response to the Blog:

Oh so true. He behaves as he has done for all his adult years and probably most of his years on the planet, enabled by his now deceased parents. They created the monster he is today. He has no morality, conscience, or sense of respect for others. Yes, exactly, he acts precisely as a mob boss on trial for crimes denied. The court sorted out the facts with John Gotti; they will sort out the facts with Little Fingers as well. I remain guardedly optimistic that he will eventually feel the full weight of justice for his actions.

Amen, spot on, and precisely correct, which is strictly why I have long believed and espoused that Roe v. Wade [410 U.S. 113 (1973)] [319] was all about a woman’s fundamental right to privacy and freedom of choice rather than the popular emotional topic.

It was an artifact of Congress taking recess last week, so many normal functions were left undone. I have the data and have corrected the record in this week’s Update.

I have not read the Michigan indictment, only the Arizona and Georgia versions, but I suspect you are correct. Little Fingers must be at least a coconspirator of some form in the Michigan case, since he was and remains the principal voice and conductor of the false elector, election interference scheme.

 . . . Round two:

“Little Fingers’ parents make an interesting study. The corruption is generational, and so is the use of immigrants as mothers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Trump https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Anne_MacLeod_Trump.
Wikipedia notes that Fred Trump’s untaxed gifts to his children amounted to over $1 billion in 2018 dollars. Fred’s father, Friedrich, made the fortune all this was based on by running a brothel in the Klondike Gold Rush.

“Meanwhile, the Green Party’s likely nominee for President, Jill Stein, was violently arrested at one of the protests. If the two parties continue their path to failure, that could become a valuable credential.”

 . . . my response to round two:

Little Finger’s ancestors certainly made lots of money. Judging from the destructive traits of the man we see today, they did a lousy job of raising children. Little Fingers grew up with a sense of entitlement that enabled his malignant narcissism.

I have not seen Stein’s arrest. I do not know the circumstances of the incident. I suspect she failed to comply with police instructions. She is the presumptive Green Party nominee; we’ll see how she fairs in November.

Crazy times in which we live.

 . . . Round three:

“Ms. Stein's version of her arrest, backed up by video, is that she was simply standing together with the other protesters and was attacked. Among other things, a police bicycle was used against her. If the Democrats continue failing, look to see that video on a TV near you.”

 . . . my response to round three:

I did find different versions of the Jill Stein incident. None of those clips give me enough context. We cannot hear the commands being issued to the protesters or why those commands were issued. The visual alone suggests they were told repeatedly to disperse. They refused to do so, and the police did what they were trained to do. It looked like the protesters grab the police bicycle, which brought the object into play.

Your words suggest you are falling victim to the MAGA/far-right propaganda . . . if there is lawlessness, it must be the Democrats fault. How do you explain these protests in Republican states like Texas?

 . . . Round four:

“What do the Democrats have to do with police violence?”

 . . . my response to round four:

The answer to your query, nothing. My points was, the Republican talking points against Democrats among other things is they are “defund the police,” anti-law-enforcement, bleeding heart liberals who allow and enable lawlessness. The Republican political rhetoric is not only false in every respect, but also destructive to their ends—a sort of scorched earth policy meant to favor them. Worse, a large chunk of our voting populations actually believe their drivel. Thus, the mantra comes out every time there are large scale protests that are subverted by radical anarchists, which by the way, I believe are right-wing agents of various forms. The peaceful pro-Palestinian protests did not break into Hamilton Hall; criminals did, and my guess they are affiliated with right-wing groups. That observation seems to be true for virtually every large-scale protest.

 . . . Round five:

“‘Subverted by radical anarchists’ is another phrase/concept I've always heard used against protesters. The fact is, the current protests were 100% peaceful until the police arrived. University administrators brought the police in knowing they commit brutality, and I hold the administrators responsible.

“I wouldn't ‘defund’ the police exactly, but I would restrain, retrain, and otherwise change them.”

 . . . my response to round five:

The protests may have been peaceful, but they became illegal. It is the latter factors that caused universities to seek police assistance. It is similar to the latest “I can’t breathe” fatality. If they abided the law, respected other people and property, they could protest all they want. They have no right whatsoever to occupy land or property. I do not know what the university administers thought, but having been one of those administrators, I highly doubt they knew or even imagined there would be violence. Further, if the protesters simply complied with lawful instructions and dispersed, there would have been no violence. If they had not resisted, there would have been no violence. This is not a chicken-or-egg conundrum. I hold the resisters and agitators responsible.

I am all for training. It is hard to get too much.

 . . . Round six:

“Of course the protests became illegal. The Establishment can always find a legal maneuver so they don’t have to consider other viewpoints. I’m really not interested in the false comparison to other police brutality. Furthermore, we’ve had plenty of police brutality in the U.S.A. for everyone to realize it’s a default mode. The protesters are doing nonviolent resistance as best they can, and I’m not interested in whether the Establishment can use a law against them.

“We can’t afford to give up law enforcement, but we need a long look at what society wants from it and how to go about getting that, not merely another hour’s classroom training.”

 . . . my response to round six:

Pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses this spring morphed from political protests to occupations; that is the moment they became illegal. In most cases I am aware of, the police did not initiate the clearing action; the owner or supervisor of the property did so. In such discussions, it seems we emphasize the outcome rather than the stimulating event(s).

You are casting a very wide net with all law enforcement. Most jurisdictions never have to deal with mass assemblies set aside occupations. I think the large jurisdictions have learned and improved a great deal from Chicago 1968 and Kent State 1970 to today. The videos I have seen display considerable restraint and clever ingenuity in dealing with criminal conduct. But hey, that’s just me.

 . . . Round seven:

“The phrase ‘criminal conduct’ covers a great deal of territory. As I already explained, in the current events, it doesn't concern me. In any case, it's difficult for me to see significant improvement in police conduct since Kent State, other than the State of Ohio has not yet called in the National Guard this time.”

 . . . my response to round seven:

Indeed, quite so; nature of the beast. Criminal conduct does concern me, even criminal conduct in the guise of peaceful political protests. Please do not take my observations as truth. I only offer my observations and opinions as juxtaposition for debate.

 

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

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)