June 22, 2017
LGBT Attacks Christian Charter School
Jack Kemp forwards this:
http://theresurgent.com/christian-school-under-fire-forbeing-christian/
Several years ago, the state of Indiana ushered in an aggressive school voucher program that allowed parents to take a portion of the tax dollars they were spending for the public education system and apply it towards tuition at a private school of their choice. It was aggressive because the Indiana legislature stipulated that those vouchers could be put towards explicitly Christian schools so long as the institution met or exceeded the state’s educational curriculum requirements and were accredited by the Indiana Department of Education.
To those that objected to such a practice on the basis of modern courts’ flawed application of a separation of church and state doctrine, Indiana replied with an important correction: these dollars are not "government dollars;†they belong to the individual. In other words, Indiana is not paying to run an explicitly Christian school. It is offering every citizen the opportunity to keep a portion of their own money that would otherwise be confiscated by the state, which the citizen could then use as they see fit within the educational boundaries established by the legislature.
As with all voucher systems, the opposition to Indiana’s program from the state teachers’ association and other progressive entities has been strong. To this point they have failed. But one Indiana Christian school now stands perhaps the most serious and alarming threat yet – a challenge that if successful could strangle the First Amendment rights of every Christian institution in the state.
READ THE REST
A NOTE FROM TIM:
This is the model used in the Soviet Union. The Soviet Constitution enshrined freedom of religion, only you couldn't have a christian school and couldn't prevent "anti-religious propoganda" meaning the State could drown you out. In the end this is the same strategy.
http://theresurgent.com/christian-school-under-fire-forbeing-christian/
Several years ago, the state of Indiana ushered in an aggressive school voucher program that allowed parents to take a portion of the tax dollars they were spending for the public education system and apply it towards tuition at a private school of their choice. It was aggressive because the Indiana legislature stipulated that those vouchers could be put towards explicitly Christian schools so long as the institution met or exceeded the state’s educational curriculum requirements and were accredited by the Indiana Department of Education.
To those that objected to such a practice on the basis of modern courts’ flawed application of a separation of church and state doctrine, Indiana replied with an important correction: these dollars are not "government dollars;†they belong to the individual. In other words, Indiana is not paying to run an explicitly Christian school. It is offering every citizen the opportunity to keep a portion of their own money that would otherwise be confiscated by the state, which the citizen could then use as they see fit within the educational boundaries established by the legislature.
As with all voucher systems, the opposition to Indiana’s program from the state teachers’ association and other progressive entities has been strong. To this point they have failed. But one Indiana Christian school now stands perhaps the most serious and alarming threat yet – a challenge that if successful could strangle the First Amendment rights of every Christian institution in the state.
READ THE REST
A NOTE FROM TIM:
This is the model used in the Soviet Union. The Soviet Constitution enshrined freedom of religion, only you couldn't have a christian school and couldn't prevent "anti-religious propoganda" meaning the State could drown you out. In the end this is the same strategy.
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Reality check for enviromentalists
Wil Wirtanen
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/448846/renewable-energy-national-academy-sciences-christopher-t-m-clack-refutes-mark-jacobson
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/448846/renewable-energy-national-academy-sciences-christopher-t-m-clack-refutes-mark-jacobson
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EPA’s suspect science
Paul Driessen
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been roundly criticized in recent years for numerous errors of omission and commission, for secret email accounts designed to hide questionable official dealings and activities, and for being increasingly dictatorial in implementing policies that are often rooted in highly "liberal†interpretations of federal laws and scientific research. What many people don’t realize is that problems like these have plagued the agency since its inception in 1970.
Energy and environmental consultant John Rafuse presents some of the unsavory details in this fascinating article. Thank you for posting it, quoting from it, and forwarding it to your friends and colleagues.
EPA’s suspect science
Its practices have defiled scientific integrity, but proposed corrections bring shock and defiance
John Rafuse
President Trump’s budget guidance sought to cut $1.6 billion from the Environmental Protection Agency’s $8.1 billion expectation. Shrieks of looming Armageddon prompted Congress to fund EPA in full until September 2017, when the battle will be joined again.
Then EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said he would prioritize Superfund cleanups based on toxicity, health-impact and other factors. The ensuing caterwauling suggested that EPA had no priorities since Bill Ruckelshaus (EPA’s first administrator, 1970-1975). But consider some standard EPA practices:
1. EPA advocates claim the US is unhealthy and dirty. They won’t admit that US water quality has improved dramatically since 1970. They deny that factories, cars and power plants are far more efficient and clean. They ignore that, while most nations continue to cut down forest habitats for fuel, the Lower 48 states have more forest coverage than when the Pilgrims landed in 1620.
They never mention that the US did not sign the 1992 Kyoto Accord, nor that it is the only nation to meet its Kyoto targets. Is it ignorance? malignance? eco-professional propaganda? Yes, yes, and yes.
The United States is one of the cleanest, healthiest nations on earth. Our progress will continue because we rejected the Paris Accord and thus will not cripple our economy, jobs or environmental progress. Other nations must work hard to catch us. They may work hard, but they won’t catch up, and they’ll blame us.
2. Eco-militants at EPA tricked the Supreme Court into letting it label plant-fertilizing carbon dioxide a pollutant. Meanwhile, professional enviros demand "zero tolerance†for pollutants – because they claim "any dose kills.â€
However, CO2 is plant fertilizer, the trace gas that makes plant and animal life possible on our planet. Atmospheric CO2 is just 400 parts per million (ppm), or 0.04% of the air we breathe, compared to 21% oxygen and almost 1% argon. Classrooms average 1,000 to 2,000 ppm; US nuclear submarines average 5,000 to 8,000ppm. We inhale 400 ppm and exhale 40,000 to 50,000 ppm.
That means 100 to 125 times the "fatal dose†of a "zero tolerance pollutant†is always in our lungs. We don’t die, because CO2 is not a pollutant and because real scientists know that dosage, not microscopic presence, is the key.
EPA keeps cheating, but dosage always determines poisonous impact. In fact, EPA experiments illegally exposed human test subjects to 10 and even 30 times the levels of fine soot particles that EPA claims are lethal. No one got sick or died, and yet EPA continues its "standards†and lies.
3. DDT saved millions in World War II from death by typhus. By 1970 DDT had helped wipe out malaria in 99 countries, including the USA. Administrator Ruckelshaus appointed a scientific committee to examine claims that the pesticide caused cancer and other problems. The experts said it did not, because dosage determines effect.
Ruckelshaus ignored them, never attended a minute of their hearings, never read a page of their extensive report. He simply banned DDT in 1972. He later said he had a "political problem†due to Rachel Carson’s misinformed book Silent Spring and pressure from the Environmental Defense Fund, and he needed to "fix it.â€
Other nations followed suit, banning DDT. Since 1972, some 40 million children and parents have needlessly died from malaria. Today DDT is partially reinstated, but P.A. Offit, Pandora’s Lab, Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong, quotes Michael Crichton, MD: "Banning DDT is one of the most disgraceful episodes in twentieth century America. We knew better, and we did it anyway, and we let people around the world die, and we didn’t give a damn.â€
4. EPA knowingly relies on fake science. Data from point-source "pollution†are used to "project†thousands of asthma cases and cancer deaths. EPA "validates†the analyses by "assuming†that each projected death and illness happened to someone who had spent every second of a 70-year life at the point-source – within 6 feet of the measurement point. But Newton’s Law of Inverse Squares proves that dosage wanes by the inverse square of the distance; 5 units of distance cuts dosage impact to 1/25 what it was at its source. At 10 units, the impact is 1/100th. EPA’s analysis is a dishonest, purposeful scam.
The 70-year/6-foot/no-movement assumption makes a joke of all its calculations and projections. EPA has relied on that scam for decades to "prove†need for a non-scientific regulatory remedy for every newly invented threat.
5. EPA colludes with professional environmentalists to "fix†"inadequate†draft regulations. EPA then "settles†cases, pays co-conspirators’ fees with taxpayer funds and wins excessive regulatory powers it sought from the beginning. Parties who oppose the decision never get a day in court, and the "sue-and-settle†cases ensure high costs but provide no health or environmental benefits.
6. EPA covers up crimes. As the auto industry cratered since 2000, Flint, Michigan has lost 25,000 citizens and become poorer and more minority. The 2010 Census Report concluded that 42% of the population was in a "level of poverty and health … not comparable to other geographic levels of these estimates.†Yet EPA (and state and local authorities) did nothing to protect them. What happened?
The 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act delegated compliance to EPA, which typically approves a State Compliance Plan, re-delegates authority, and oversees State and local enforcement. Flint’s drinking water has been lead-poisoned for three years – ever since state and local officials switched water sources to save money with no hearings, approvals or notifications to EPA or affected citizens.
Drinking, tasting and smelling nauseating newly-brown water alerted residents to potential dangers. An EPA expert tested the water in 2014 and wrote repeated warnings to Agency officials. A February 2015 Detroit News report said EPA’s Regional Administrator knew the facts but claimed her "hands were tied.â€
Then-EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy forbade the staff expert from meeting, writing or speaking about the issue, and reassigned him. Thus the two most senior and directly responsible EPA officials "washed their hands†of the problem.
But Flint Medical Center tested for lead in the water and sounded the alarm. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added powerful voices. Flint’s mayor and Michigan’s governor took heat until the state’s attorney general initially charged five Flint and Michigan officials with wrongful issuance of permits, and tampering, altering and falsifying evidence. That has now expanded to more than 50 criminal charges against 15 state officials; including one of involuntary manslaughter (an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease took 12 lives).
The two "clean-handed†EPA officials kept mum until June 12, 2016, when Gina McCarthy wrote to Michigan’s governor and Flint’s mayor. Citing "major challenges†and her "long-term†clean water goal, she blamed state and local staffs and old and (newly) over-large piping. She said EPA had no money to help. Will Michigan’s AG indict EPA officials involved in the EPA cover-ups? That would be logical, but don’t bet on it.
McCarthy’s was a nasty letter from a culpable official. Later in 2016, Congress voted $110 million to repair Flint’s drinking water, no thanks to EPA. The work will go on for years as Flint residents get bottled water from EPA and the state.
President Trump’s budget guidance exposed decades-old EPA abuses. The evidence exposes EPA’s lack of mission, commitment and integrity. If EPA would use honest, evidence-based science to protect the nation’s health, it would be a welcome and long overdue change – perhaps a miracle. What’s your bet?
Independent consultant John Rafuse worked for government agencies, a think-tank and an international oil and gas company on energy, trade, environmental, regulatory and national security issues.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been roundly criticized in recent years for numerous errors of omission and commission, for secret email accounts designed to hide questionable official dealings and activities, and for being increasingly dictatorial in implementing policies that are often rooted in highly "liberal†interpretations of federal laws and scientific research. What many people don’t realize is that problems like these have plagued the agency since its inception in 1970.
Energy and environmental consultant John Rafuse presents some of the unsavory details in this fascinating article. Thank you for posting it, quoting from it, and forwarding it to your friends and colleagues.
EPA’s suspect science
Its practices have defiled scientific integrity, but proposed corrections bring shock and defiance
John Rafuse
President Trump’s budget guidance sought to cut $1.6 billion from the Environmental Protection Agency’s $8.1 billion expectation. Shrieks of looming Armageddon prompted Congress to fund EPA in full until September 2017, when the battle will be joined again.
Then EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said he would prioritize Superfund cleanups based on toxicity, health-impact and other factors. The ensuing caterwauling suggested that EPA had no priorities since Bill Ruckelshaus (EPA’s first administrator, 1970-1975). But consider some standard EPA practices:
1. EPA advocates claim the US is unhealthy and dirty. They won’t admit that US water quality has improved dramatically since 1970. They deny that factories, cars and power plants are far more efficient and clean. They ignore that, while most nations continue to cut down forest habitats for fuel, the Lower 48 states have more forest coverage than when the Pilgrims landed in 1620.
They never mention that the US did not sign the 1992 Kyoto Accord, nor that it is the only nation to meet its Kyoto targets. Is it ignorance? malignance? eco-professional propaganda? Yes, yes, and yes.
The United States is one of the cleanest, healthiest nations on earth. Our progress will continue because we rejected the Paris Accord and thus will not cripple our economy, jobs or environmental progress. Other nations must work hard to catch us. They may work hard, but they won’t catch up, and they’ll blame us.
2. Eco-militants at EPA tricked the Supreme Court into letting it label plant-fertilizing carbon dioxide a pollutant. Meanwhile, professional enviros demand "zero tolerance†for pollutants – because they claim "any dose kills.â€
However, CO2 is plant fertilizer, the trace gas that makes plant and animal life possible on our planet. Atmospheric CO2 is just 400 parts per million (ppm), or 0.04% of the air we breathe, compared to 21% oxygen and almost 1% argon. Classrooms average 1,000 to 2,000 ppm; US nuclear submarines average 5,000 to 8,000ppm. We inhale 400 ppm and exhale 40,000 to 50,000 ppm.
That means 100 to 125 times the "fatal dose†of a "zero tolerance pollutant†is always in our lungs. We don’t die, because CO2 is not a pollutant and because real scientists know that dosage, not microscopic presence, is the key.
EPA keeps cheating, but dosage always determines poisonous impact. In fact, EPA experiments illegally exposed human test subjects to 10 and even 30 times the levels of fine soot particles that EPA claims are lethal. No one got sick or died, and yet EPA continues its "standards†and lies.
3. DDT saved millions in World War II from death by typhus. By 1970 DDT had helped wipe out malaria in 99 countries, including the USA. Administrator Ruckelshaus appointed a scientific committee to examine claims that the pesticide caused cancer and other problems. The experts said it did not, because dosage determines effect.
Ruckelshaus ignored them, never attended a minute of their hearings, never read a page of their extensive report. He simply banned DDT in 1972. He later said he had a "political problem†due to Rachel Carson’s misinformed book Silent Spring and pressure from the Environmental Defense Fund, and he needed to "fix it.â€
Other nations followed suit, banning DDT. Since 1972, some 40 million children and parents have needlessly died from malaria. Today DDT is partially reinstated, but P.A. Offit, Pandora’s Lab, Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong, quotes Michael Crichton, MD: "Banning DDT is one of the most disgraceful episodes in twentieth century America. We knew better, and we did it anyway, and we let people around the world die, and we didn’t give a damn.â€
4. EPA knowingly relies on fake science. Data from point-source "pollution†are used to "project†thousands of asthma cases and cancer deaths. EPA "validates†the analyses by "assuming†that each projected death and illness happened to someone who had spent every second of a 70-year life at the point-source – within 6 feet of the measurement point. But Newton’s Law of Inverse Squares proves that dosage wanes by the inverse square of the distance; 5 units of distance cuts dosage impact to 1/25 what it was at its source. At 10 units, the impact is 1/100th. EPA’s analysis is a dishonest, purposeful scam.
The 70-year/6-foot/no-movement assumption makes a joke of all its calculations and projections. EPA has relied on that scam for decades to "prove†need for a non-scientific regulatory remedy for every newly invented threat.
5. EPA colludes with professional environmentalists to "fix†"inadequate†draft regulations. EPA then "settles†cases, pays co-conspirators’ fees with taxpayer funds and wins excessive regulatory powers it sought from the beginning. Parties who oppose the decision never get a day in court, and the "sue-and-settle†cases ensure high costs but provide no health or environmental benefits.
6. EPA covers up crimes. As the auto industry cratered since 2000, Flint, Michigan has lost 25,000 citizens and become poorer and more minority. The 2010 Census Report concluded that 42% of the population was in a "level of poverty and health … not comparable to other geographic levels of these estimates.†Yet EPA (and state and local authorities) did nothing to protect them. What happened?
The 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act delegated compliance to EPA, which typically approves a State Compliance Plan, re-delegates authority, and oversees State and local enforcement. Flint’s drinking water has been lead-poisoned for three years – ever since state and local officials switched water sources to save money with no hearings, approvals or notifications to EPA or affected citizens.
Drinking, tasting and smelling nauseating newly-brown water alerted residents to potential dangers. An EPA expert tested the water in 2014 and wrote repeated warnings to Agency officials. A February 2015 Detroit News report said EPA’s Regional Administrator knew the facts but claimed her "hands were tied.â€
Then-EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy forbade the staff expert from meeting, writing or speaking about the issue, and reassigned him. Thus the two most senior and directly responsible EPA officials "washed their hands†of the problem.
But Flint Medical Center tested for lead in the water and sounded the alarm. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added powerful voices. Flint’s mayor and Michigan’s governor took heat until the state’s attorney general initially charged five Flint and Michigan officials with wrongful issuance of permits, and tampering, altering and falsifying evidence. That has now expanded to more than 50 criminal charges against 15 state officials; including one of involuntary manslaughter (an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease took 12 lives).
The two "clean-handed†EPA officials kept mum until June 12, 2016, when Gina McCarthy wrote to Michigan’s governor and Flint’s mayor. Citing "major challenges†and her "long-term†clean water goal, she blamed state and local staffs and old and (newly) over-large piping. She said EPA had no money to help. Will Michigan’s AG indict EPA officials involved in the EPA cover-ups? That would be logical, but don’t bet on it.
McCarthy’s was a nasty letter from a culpable official. Later in 2016, Congress voted $110 million to repair Flint’s drinking water, no thanks to EPA. The work will go on for years as Flint residents get bottled water from EPA and the state.
President Trump’s budget guidance exposed decades-old EPA abuses. The evidence exposes EPA’s lack of mission, commitment and integrity. If EPA would use honest, evidence-based science to protect the nation’s health, it would be a welcome and long overdue change – perhaps a miracle. What’s your bet?
Independent consultant John Rafuse worked for government agencies, a think-tank and an international oil and gas company on energy, trade, environmental, regulatory and national security issues.
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Another Great Piece by VDH
Wil Wirtanen
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/448827/donald-trump-generals-relationship-mattis-kelly-mcmaster
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/448827/donald-trump-generals-relationship-mattis-kelly-mcmaster
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It Can Start You on Your Way (to Hell)
Timothy Birdnow
Looks like it really IS fun to stay at the YMCA, at least if you are a Friend of Dorothy:
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jun/20/ymca-partners-with-boy-george-to-embrace-eponymous-gay-anthem-for-first-time
"Christian youth organisation the YMCA unexpectedly found itself the subject of a gay anthem when the Village People released what was intended to be a "filler†track as a single, in 1978.
Soon, whether you were five or 50, you weren’t just humming it but could do the dance too. These days, somehow, each new generation seems born knowing it – yet in 1978, rather than embracing it, the YMCA in America threatened legal action.
"The YMCA that didn’t like [the song], and they were going to sue us,†Felipe Rose, the Native American in the band, told News Limited. "But they realised they didn’t own the copyright to four letters.â€
It’s taken almost 40 years for any branch of the organisation to capitalise on the enormous popularity of the song – but on Tuesday, YMCA Australia took the leap, partnering with British singer Boy George to rerecord the song in support of the Why Not? campaign which aims to shine a light on issues that are important to Australian young people: marriage equality, mental health and youth unemployment."
End excerpt.
Somebody forgot what the C in YMCA stands for, it seems.
Looks like it really IS fun to stay at the YMCA, at least if you are a Friend of Dorothy:
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jun/20/ymca-partners-with-boy-george-to-embrace-eponymous-gay-anthem-for-first-time
"Christian youth organisation the YMCA unexpectedly found itself the subject of a gay anthem when the Village People released what was intended to be a "filler†track as a single, in 1978.
Soon, whether you were five or 50, you weren’t just humming it but could do the dance too. These days, somehow, each new generation seems born knowing it – yet in 1978, rather than embracing it, the YMCA in America threatened legal action.
"The YMCA that didn’t like [the song], and they were going to sue us,†Felipe Rose, the Native American in the band, told News Limited. "But they realised they didn’t own the copyright to four letters.â€
It’s taken almost 40 years for any branch of the organisation to capitalise on the enormous popularity of the song – but on Tuesday, YMCA Australia took the leap, partnering with British singer Boy George to rerecord the song in support of the Why Not? campaign which aims to shine a light on issues that are important to Australian young people: marriage equality, mental health and youth unemployment."
End excerpt.
Somebody forgot what the C in YMCA stands for, it seems.
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Illegal Voting In 2008; Did the Russians Hack the Election Then?
Timothy Birdnow
Turns out that 5.7 MILLION illegal votes were cast in the 2008 election, effectively stealing the Presidency for Barack Hussein Obama (Peace Be Upon Him!)
According to the Washington Times:
"The research organization Just Facts, a widely cited, independent think tank led by self-described conservatives and libertarians, revealed its number-crunching in a report on national immigration.
Just Facts President James D. Agresti and his team looked at data from an extensive Harvard/YouGov study that every two years questions a sample size of tens of thousands of voters. Some acknowledge they are noncitizens and are thus ineligible to vote."
End excerpt.
Bear in mind Obama invited illegal aliens to vote. The chief law enforcer asked people to break the law for political gain - and we are supposed to be upset about some Russian hackers using the word Password as a password to get into the private e-mails of Democrats. Yah!
And the current President knows he won the popular vote in the November election, too:
http://thefederalistpapers.org/us/the-historic-facts-about-illegal-alien-voting-exposed
In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 27, 2016
"Trump could be referencing a series of fake stories on conspiracy websites that said he actually beat Clinton in the popular vote count,†CNN dismissed. "Trump’s transition team did not return requests for comment Sunday afternoon.â€
But rather than dismiss the claim outright, let’s look at this claim.
Over at The Conservative Treehouse, they cite a paper in the scholarly journal "Electoral Studies†that suggests as many as 2.8 million illegal immigrants may have voted in the 2008 election.
Do Non Citizens Vote in US Elections? Richman Research Study… by The Conservative Treehouse on Scribd
Here’s some of what the paper states:
"How many non-citizen votes were likely cast in 2008? Taking the most conservative estimate (those who both said they voted and cast a veriï¬ed vote) yields a conï¬dence interval based on sampling error between 0.2% and 2.8% for the portion of non-citizens participating in elections.
Taking the least conservative measure e at least one indicator showed that the respondent voted yields an estimate that between 7.9% and 14.7% percent of non-citizens voted in 2008.
Since the adult noncitizen population of the United States was roughly 19.4 million (CPS, 2011), the number of non-citizen voters (including both uncertainty based on normally distributed sampling error, and the various combinations of veriï¬ed and reported voting) could range from just over 38,000 at the very minimum to nearly 2.8 million at the maximumâ€â€¦
So while the press can deride Trump for his claim, it’s almost certain that there were illegal immigrants who voted in the election and I’m willing to bet you they didn’t vote for Donald Trump.
Was it more than 2 million? Who knows?
End excerpt.
So now we know that the 2008 election was rigged, a massive fake news story. Why would we think this last election was suddenly different?
Just Facts also says that 1.2 to 3 million illegal votes were cast in 2012, too.
No wonder they are so desperate to get rid of Trump; his push to clean up the vote will fundamentally alter the political landscape for decades to come. Remember, too, that it isn't just the Presidential elections impacted, but House and Senate races as well as state government offices and even county and municipal. If people are voting who are not eligible then countless elections are being stolen.
Question; did the Russians steal these votes? Obama WAS awful chummy with Medvedev when he asked him to "tell Vlad - I'll have more flexibility after the election." Was that an invitation by Obama to hack the vote?
Turns out that 5.7 MILLION illegal votes were cast in the 2008 election, effectively stealing the Presidency for Barack Hussein Obama (Peace Be Upon Him!)
According to the Washington Times:
"The research organization Just Facts, a widely cited, independent think tank led by self-described conservatives and libertarians, revealed its number-crunching in a report on national immigration.
Just Facts President James D. Agresti and his team looked at data from an extensive Harvard/YouGov study that every two years questions a sample size of tens of thousands of voters. Some acknowledge they are noncitizens and are thus ineligible to vote."
End excerpt.
Bear in mind Obama invited illegal aliens to vote. The chief law enforcer asked people to break the law for political gain - and we are supposed to be upset about some Russian hackers using the word Password as a password to get into the private e-mails of Democrats. Yah!
And the current President knows he won the popular vote in the November election, too:
http://thefederalistpapers.org/us/the-historic-facts-about-illegal-alien-voting-exposed
In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 27, 2016
"Trump could be referencing a series of fake stories on conspiracy websites that said he actually beat Clinton in the popular vote count,†CNN dismissed. "Trump’s transition team did not return requests for comment Sunday afternoon.â€
But rather than dismiss the claim outright, let’s look at this claim.
Over at The Conservative Treehouse, they cite a paper in the scholarly journal "Electoral Studies†that suggests as many as 2.8 million illegal immigrants may have voted in the 2008 election.
Do Non Citizens Vote in US Elections? Richman Research Study… by The Conservative Treehouse on Scribd
Here’s some of what the paper states:
"How many non-citizen votes were likely cast in 2008? Taking the most conservative estimate (those who both said they voted and cast a veriï¬ed vote) yields a conï¬dence interval based on sampling error between 0.2% and 2.8% for the portion of non-citizens participating in elections.
Taking the least conservative measure e at least one indicator showed that the respondent voted yields an estimate that between 7.9% and 14.7% percent of non-citizens voted in 2008.
Since the adult noncitizen population of the United States was roughly 19.4 million (CPS, 2011), the number of non-citizen voters (including both uncertainty based on normally distributed sampling error, and the various combinations of veriï¬ed and reported voting) could range from just over 38,000 at the very minimum to nearly 2.8 million at the maximumâ€â€¦
So while the press can deride Trump for his claim, it’s almost certain that there were illegal immigrants who voted in the election and I’m willing to bet you they didn’t vote for Donald Trump.
Was it more than 2 million? Who knows?
End excerpt.
So now we know that the 2008 election was rigged, a massive fake news story. Why would we think this last election was suddenly different?
Just Facts also says that 1.2 to 3 million illegal votes were cast in 2012, too.
No wonder they are so desperate to get rid of Trump; his push to clean up the vote will fundamentally alter the political landscape for decades to come. Remember, too, that it isn't just the Presidential elections impacted, but House and Senate races as well as state government offices and even county and municipal. If people are voting who are not eligible then countless elections are being stolen.
Question; did the Russians steal these votes? Obama WAS awful chummy with Medvedev when he asked him to "tell Vlad - I'll have more flexibility after the election." Was that an invitation by Obama to hack the vote?
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June 21, 2017
Obama's Cholera Epidemic in Yemen
Timothy Birdnow
According to Pravda there have been over 101.820 suspected cases of CHOLERA in Yemen this year.
From the article:
"The war in Yemen has had a catastrophic effect on the population, with the virtual collapse of the healthcare system. 14.5 million people no longer have regular access to basic sanitation or clean water sources, health and sanitation workers have been unpaid for eight months and medical supplies are not entering the country at a rate which meets needs.
Dr. Meritxell Relano, the Representative of UNICEF in Yemen, says that "The cholera outbreak is making a bad situation for children drastically worse. Many of the children who have died from the disease were also acutely malnourished."
End excerpt.
Strange how the American media has nothing to say about this; they are too busy crying about the results of the last election.
The degrading of Yemen happend on Barack Obama's watch, so don't expect this to be newsworthy to the MSM.
And it WAS Obama's policy. From the Atlantic:
"At times, the Obama administration’s support for the Saudis has thrown diplomatic efforts to end the war into confusion. In August, Secretary of State John Kerry flew to Jeddah to meet with officials from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Britain, and the United Nations. Some Yemenis were cautiously optimistic that Kerry—who says the war in Yemen does not have a military solution—would use his leverage with Riyadh to push for an easing of airstrikes. Instead, he left them with a vague "roadmap†for peace that offered the Houthis certain concessions, angering some in Riyadh, but did little to pressure the Saudis to implement the plan. Within 24 hours, the Saudi-led coalition had intensified its aerial campaign, while its allies on the ground launched a renewed offensive on the Houthi-controlled northwest of the country. The Houthis responded by escalating their own attacks over the border into the kingdom."
[...]
"In Yemen, where Washington has outsized influence due to its political and military relationship with Gulf nations, the White House is unlikely to take the kind of gamble Kerry recently took on Syria: a ceasefire between the Russian and Iranian-backed Bashar al-Assad and the rebels supported by the United States and its regional allies. That deal now lies in tatters, in the wake of the U.S. bombing of Assad’s forces and a apparent Russian air strikes against a UN-coordinated aid convoy. It has severely diminished hopes for any similar attempt to end the conflict in Yemen.
Even if Yemen cannot be solved via diplomatic miracle, it is puzzling that Obama’s apparent distaste for the kingdom has had remarkably little influence. A critic of the U.S.-Saudi alliance as a senator, the president’s White House has had a troubled relationship with the absolute monarchy since the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011—which saw a number of Saudi allies, including Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, ousted from power—and more so since the Iranian nuclear deal. The once-improbable now seems imminent: unless the Obama administration ends refueling and logistical support for the Saudis, it appears all but certain to hand off the war in Yemen to his successor."
end excerpts.
Liberal U.S. News actually called the Obama policy lawless in a 2016 article:
"
Yemen is the much-ignored third (or maybe fifth?) wheel of the American imbroglio in the Middle East, but recent days have seen a marked escalation of hostilities in the impoverished country, and with it, an escalation of U.S. entanglement. What has not escalated is the Obama administration's authority to wage this imprudent war, which is by no possible stretch of legal imagination permitted by the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force the White House claims as flimsy legal cover for its other undeclared and endless conflicts.
The newest development of American intervention is a series of skirmishes between Shiite Houthi rebels (the militants the Sunni Saudi-led and U.S.-supported coalition opposes) and two U.S. Navy Destroyers. It began recently when the rebels fired two missiles in an American ship's direction but missed. In response, the Destroyer sent back three missiles and one decoy of its own. Then, after militants launched an additional failed missile, another U.S. Navy Destroyer launched three Tomahawk missiles, taking out three coastal radar sites used by Houthi forces to direct their strikes.
These missiles mark the first time the United States has directly intervened in Yemen's Saudi-manipulated civil war. Previously, all U.S. intervention came in the form of assistance to Saudi coalition troops. Those forces are still active with plenty of strikes of their own. In fact, Sunday's exchange of missiles came close on the heels a Saudi-led strike that killed more than 140 people and injured at least 525 more on Saturday when it made a direct hit on a funeral. "The place has been turned into a lake of blood," said one rescue worker on the scene."
End excerpt.
So, Obama's interventionist and incompetent policies has led to a hundred thousand cases of cholera.
According to Pravda there have been over 101.820 suspected cases of CHOLERA in Yemen this year.
From the article:
"The war in Yemen has had a catastrophic effect on the population, with the virtual collapse of the healthcare system. 14.5 million people no longer have regular access to basic sanitation or clean water sources, health and sanitation workers have been unpaid for eight months and medical supplies are not entering the country at a rate which meets needs.
Dr. Meritxell Relano, the Representative of UNICEF in Yemen, says that "The cholera outbreak is making a bad situation for children drastically worse. Many of the children who have died from the disease were also acutely malnourished."
End excerpt.
Strange how the American media has nothing to say about this; they are too busy crying about the results of the last election.
The degrading of Yemen happend on Barack Obama's watch, so don't expect this to be newsworthy to the MSM.
And it WAS Obama's policy. From the Atlantic:
"At times, the Obama administration’s support for the Saudis has thrown diplomatic efforts to end the war into confusion. In August, Secretary of State John Kerry flew to Jeddah to meet with officials from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Britain, and the United Nations. Some Yemenis were cautiously optimistic that Kerry—who says the war in Yemen does not have a military solution—would use his leverage with Riyadh to push for an easing of airstrikes. Instead, he left them with a vague "roadmap†for peace that offered the Houthis certain concessions, angering some in Riyadh, but did little to pressure the Saudis to implement the plan. Within 24 hours, the Saudi-led coalition had intensified its aerial campaign, while its allies on the ground launched a renewed offensive on the Houthi-controlled northwest of the country. The Houthis responded by escalating their own attacks over the border into the kingdom."
[...]
"In Yemen, where Washington has outsized influence due to its political and military relationship with Gulf nations, the White House is unlikely to take the kind of gamble Kerry recently took on Syria: a ceasefire between the Russian and Iranian-backed Bashar al-Assad and the rebels supported by the United States and its regional allies. That deal now lies in tatters, in the wake of the U.S. bombing of Assad’s forces and a apparent Russian air strikes against a UN-coordinated aid convoy. It has severely diminished hopes for any similar attempt to end the conflict in Yemen.
Even if Yemen cannot be solved via diplomatic miracle, it is puzzling that Obama’s apparent distaste for the kingdom has had remarkably little influence. A critic of the U.S.-Saudi alliance as a senator, the president’s White House has had a troubled relationship with the absolute monarchy since the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011—which saw a number of Saudi allies, including Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, ousted from power—and more so since the Iranian nuclear deal. The once-improbable now seems imminent: unless the Obama administration ends refueling and logistical support for the Saudis, it appears all but certain to hand off the war in Yemen to his successor."
end excerpts.
Liberal U.S. News actually called the Obama policy lawless in a 2016 article:
"
Yemen is the much-ignored third (or maybe fifth?) wheel of the American imbroglio in the Middle East, but recent days have seen a marked escalation of hostilities in the impoverished country, and with it, an escalation of U.S. entanglement. What has not escalated is the Obama administration's authority to wage this imprudent war, which is by no possible stretch of legal imagination permitted by the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force the White House claims as flimsy legal cover for its other undeclared and endless conflicts.
The newest development of American intervention is a series of skirmishes between Shiite Houthi rebels (the militants the Sunni Saudi-led and U.S.-supported coalition opposes) and two U.S. Navy Destroyers. It began recently when the rebels fired two missiles in an American ship's direction but missed. In response, the Destroyer sent back three missiles and one decoy of its own. Then, after militants launched an additional failed missile, another U.S. Navy Destroyer launched three Tomahawk missiles, taking out three coastal radar sites used by Houthi forces to direct their strikes.
These missiles mark the first time the United States has directly intervened in Yemen's Saudi-manipulated civil war. Previously, all U.S. intervention came in the form of assistance to Saudi coalition troops. Those forces are still active with plenty of strikes of their own. In fact, Sunday's exchange of missiles came close on the heels a Saudi-led strike that killed more than 140 people and injured at least 525 more on Saturday when it made a direct hit on a funeral. "The place has been turned into a lake of blood," said one rescue worker on the scene."
End excerpt.
So, Obama's interventionist and incompetent policies has led to a hundred thousand cases of cholera.
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Mueller, Comey Flubbed Anthrax Investigation
Timothy Birdnow
Here is something of which I was unaware; Robert Mueller (along with James Comey) completely bungled the Anthrax investigation in the aftermath of the attacks.
According to Carl M. Cannon of Real Clear Politics:
"The third and most important factor tempering my enthusiasm for the new special prosecutor is that Comey and Mueller badly bungled the biggest case they ever handled. They botched the investigation of the 2001 anthrax letter attacks that took five lives and infected 17 other people, shut down the U.S. Capitol and Washington’s mail system, solidified the Bush administration’s antipathy for Iraq, and eventually, when the facts finally came out, made the FBI look feckless, incompetent, and easily manipulated by outside political pressure.
This, too, was an enormously complex case. But here are some facts: Despite the jihadist slogans accompanying the mailed anthrax, it had nothing to do with Saddam Hussein or any foreign element; the FBI ignored a 2002 tip from a scientific colleague of the actual anthrax killer, who turned out to be a Fort Detrick scientist named Bruce Edwards Ivins; the reason is that they had quickly obsessed on an innocent man named Steven Hatfill; the bureau was bullied into focusing on the government scientist by Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy (whose office, along with that of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, was targeted by an anthrax-laced letter) and was duped into focusing on Hatfill by two sources — a conspiracy-minded college professor with a political agenda who’d never met Hatfill and by Nicholas Kristof, who put her conspiracy theories in the paper while mocking the FBI for not arresting Hatfill.
In truth, Hatfill was an implausible suspect from the outset. He was a virologist who never handled anthrax, which is a bacterium. (Ivins, by contrast, shared ownership of anthrax patents, was diagnosed as having paranoid personality disorder, and had a habit of stalking and threatening people with anonymous letters — including the woman who provided the long-ignored tip to the FBI).
So what evidence did the FBI have against Hatfill? There was none, so the agency did a Hail Mary, importing two bloodhounds from California whose handlers claimed could sniff the scent of the killer on the anthrax-tainted letters. These dogs were shown to Hatfill, who promptly petted them. When the dogs responded favorably, their handlers told the FBI that they’d "alerted†on Hatfill and that he must be the killer.
You’d think that any good FBI agent would have kicked these quacks in the fanny and found their dogs a good home. Or at least checked news accounts of criminal cases in California where these same dogs had been used against defendants who’d been convicted — and later exonerated. As Pulitzer Prize-winning Los Angeles Times investigative reporter David Willman detailed in his authoritative book on the case, a California judge who’d tossed out a murder conviction based on these sketchy canines called the prosecution’s dog handler "as biased as any witness that this court has ever seen.â€
Instead, Mueller, who micromanaged the anthrax case and fell in love with the dubious dog evidence, personally assured Ashcroft and presumably George W. Bush that in Steven Hatfill the bureau had its man. Comey, in turn, was asked by a skeptical Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz if Hatfill was another Richard Jewell — the security guard wrongly accused of the Atlanta Olympics bombing. Comey replied that he was "absolutely certain†they weren’t making a mistake.
Such certitude seems to be Comey’s default position in his professional life. Mueller didn’t exactly distinguish himself with contrition, either. In 2008, after Ivins committed suicide as he was about to be apprehended for his crimes, and the Justice Department had formally exonerated Hatfill — and paid him $5.82 million in a legal settlement — Mueller could not be bothered to walk across the street to attend the press conference announcing the case’s resolution. When reporters did ask him about it, Mueller was graceless. "I do not apologize for any aspect of the investigation,†he said, adding that it would be erroneous "to say there were mistakes.â€
End excerpt.
I have always suspected that the government was wrong on this being an act by either Hatfill or Ivins and suspected a real terrorist connection, but lost interest in the case when nothing seemed to happen. Now we know there was more happening.
And the Boss Hog of this was none other than Robert Mueller, the guy now persuing Donald J. Trump.
I am convinced Mueller is noting but a swamp creature, and a bad one. Read my thoughts on Mueller here here, and here.
Be prepared for a good old fashioned Charlie Foxtrot with this Mueller investigation.
Here is something of which I was unaware; Robert Mueller (along with James Comey) completely bungled the Anthrax investigation in the aftermath of the attacks.
According to Carl M. Cannon of Real Clear Politics:
"The third and most important factor tempering my enthusiasm for the new special prosecutor is that Comey and Mueller badly bungled the biggest case they ever handled. They botched the investigation of the 2001 anthrax letter attacks that took five lives and infected 17 other people, shut down the U.S. Capitol and Washington’s mail system, solidified the Bush administration’s antipathy for Iraq, and eventually, when the facts finally came out, made the FBI look feckless, incompetent, and easily manipulated by outside political pressure.
This, too, was an enormously complex case. But here are some facts: Despite the jihadist slogans accompanying the mailed anthrax, it had nothing to do with Saddam Hussein or any foreign element; the FBI ignored a 2002 tip from a scientific colleague of the actual anthrax killer, who turned out to be a Fort Detrick scientist named Bruce Edwards Ivins; the reason is that they had quickly obsessed on an innocent man named Steven Hatfill; the bureau was bullied into focusing on the government scientist by Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy (whose office, along with that of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, was targeted by an anthrax-laced letter) and was duped into focusing on Hatfill by two sources — a conspiracy-minded college professor with a political agenda who’d never met Hatfill and by Nicholas Kristof, who put her conspiracy theories in the paper while mocking the FBI for not arresting Hatfill.
In truth, Hatfill was an implausible suspect from the outset. He was a virologist who never handled anthrax, which is a bacterium. (Ivins, by contrast, shared ownership of anthrax patents, was diagnosed as having paranoid personality disorder, and had a habit of stalking and threatening people with anonymous letters — including the woman who provided the long-ignored tip to the FBI).
So what evidence did the FBI have against Hatfill? There was none, so the agency did a Hail Mary, importing two bloodhounds from California whose handlers claimed could sniff the scent of the killer on the anthrax-tainted letters. These dogs were shown to Hatfill, who promptly petted them. When the dogs responded favorably, their handlers told the FBI that they’d "alerted†on Hatfill and that he must be the killer.
You’d think that any good FBI agent would have kicked these quacks in the fanny and found their dogs a good home. Or at least checked news accounts of criminal cases in California where these same dogs had been used against defendants who’d been convicted — and later exonerated. As Pulitzer Prize-winning Los Angeles Times investigative reporter David Willman detailed in his authoritative book on the case, a California judge who’d tossed out a murder conviction based on these sketchy canines called the prosecution’s dog handler "as biased as any witness that this court has ever seen.â€
Instead, Mueller, who micromanaged the anthrax case and fell in love with the dubious dog evidence, personally assured Ashcroft and presumably George W. Bush that in Steven Hatfill the bureau had its man. Comey, in turn, was asked by a skeptical Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz if Hatfill was another Richard Jewell — the security guard wrongly accused of the Atlanta Olympics bombing. Comey replied that he was "absolutely certain†they weren’t making a mistake.
Such certitude seems to be Comey’s default position in his professional life. Mueller didn’t exactly distinguish himself with contrition, either. In 2008, after Ivins committed suicide as he was about to be apprehended for his crimes, and the Justice Department had formally exonerated Hatfill — and paid him $5.82 million in a legal settlement — Mueller could not be bothered to walk across the street to attend the press conference announcing the case’s resolution. When reporters did ask him about it, Mueller was graceless. "I do not apologize for any aspect of the investigation,†he said, adding that it would be erroneous "to say there were mistakes.â€
End excerpt.
I have always suspected that the government was wrong on this being an act by either Hatfill or Ivins and suspected a real terrorist connection, but lost interest in the case when nothing seemed to happen. Now we know there was more happening.
And the Boss Hog of this was none other than Robert Mueller, the guy now persuing Donald J. Trump.
I am convinced Mueller is noting but a swamp creature, and a bad one. Read my thoughts on Mueller here here, and here.
Be prepared for a good old fashioned Charlie Foxtrot with this Mueller investigation.
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Chu on this, Yale..."white trash" calling prof. fired
Jack Kemp
http://nypost.com/2017/06/20/yale-dean-who-called-people-white-trash-to-be-replaced/
Yale dean who called people ‘white trash’ to be replaced
By Fox News
June 20, 2017
The Yale University dean criticized for posting Yelp reviews that called people "white trash†is leaving her position, according to a report Tuesday.
June Chu, the dean of Yale’s residential Pierson College, had been placed on leave after her controversial postings surfaced.
Yale’s college paper, which broke the story about the Yelp reviews, reported on Twitter that Chu was leaving. The report didn’t say if she had resigned voluntarily or been fired.
In one review, she cited a restaurant as perfect for anyone who was "white trash.â€
"This establishment is definitely not authentic by any stretch of any imagination and perfect for those low class folks who believe this is a real night out,†Chu wrote.
In another post, she said she was surprised that a New Haven, Conn., movie theater had a lack of "sketchy crowds.â€
Many found her Yelp critiques elitist and offensive.
Pierson College Head Stephen Davis announced Chu was leaving in an email to members of the Pierson community, the Yale Daily News reported.
Davis said a new dean would be named before the fall semester, the college paper reported.
Davis announced in May that Chu had been placed on leave after initially sticking by her.
Read it all.
http://nypost.com/2017/06/20/yale-dean-who-called-people-white-trash-to-be-replaced/
Yale dean who called people ‘white trash’ to be replaced
By Fox News
June 20, 2017
The Yale University dean criticized for posting Yelp reviews that called people "white trash†is leaving her position, according to a report Tuesday.
June Chu, the dean of Yale’s residential Pierson College, had been placed on leave after her controversial postings surfaced.
Yale’s college paper, which broke the story about the Yelp reviews, reported on Twitter that Chu was leaving. The report didn’t say if she had resigned voluntarily or been fired.
In one review, she cited a restaurant as perfect for anyone who was "white trash.â€
"This establishment is definitely not authentic by any stretch of any imagination and perfect for those low class folks who believe this is a real night out,†Chu wrote.
In another post, she said she was surprised that a New Haven, Conn., movie theater had a lack of "sketchy crowds.â€
Many found her Yelp critiques elitist and offensive.
Pierson College Head Stephen Davis announced Chu was leaving in an email to members of the Pierson community, the Yale Daily News reported.
Davis said a new dean would be named before the fall semester, the college paper reported.
Davis announced in May that Chu had been placed on leave after initially sticking by her.
Read it all.
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‘Print’ your own AR-15 at home
Jack Kemp
http://www.theblaze.com/podcasts/print-your-own-ar-15-at-home/
Also audio file at the website. All is legal, the creator claims. He is working on a "make your own Glock handgun."
‘Print’ your own AR-15 at home
Chris Salcedo Jun 20, 2017 8:48 pm
Last Wednesday, the United States suffered from two mass shootings on both coasts. Republicans were targeted at a baseball field in Alexandria, Virginia, resulting in injury to House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) among others. In San Francisco, California, a shooting at a UPS facility left 4 dead, including the shooter. More were injured.
Cody Wilson of Ghost Gunner talked to Chris Salcedo today about abuse of Second Amendment rights, ways to enjoy them as a law abiding citizen, and historically how much easier it was exercise them on "The Chris Salcedo Show†today.
Wilson has created a technology that legally allows people to manufacture their own gun at home to protect themselves in these terrifying situations. It utilizes plug and play software for your computer that directs a machine to manufacture mil-spec parts for the AR-15 and AR-308. They will soon create technology to build common and popular handguns.
He explained that before the commercial regulation of guns, the government didn’t know who owned a gun, nor what kind of gun or how many. He said this information is "not their business, and it’s often inappropriate to insist that it is.â€
Amazon.com: Come and Take It: The Gun Printer's Guide to Thinking Free (Paperbac) by Cody Wilson (Author)
http://www.theblaze.com/podcasts/print-your-own-ar-15-at-home/
Also audio file at the website. All is legal, the creator claims. He is working on a "make your own Glock handgun."
‘Print’ your own AR-15 at home
Chris Salcedo Jun 20, 2017 8:48 pm
Last Wednesday, the United States suffered from two mass shootings on both coasts. Republicans were targeted at a baseball field in Alexandria, Virginia, resulting in injury to House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) among others. In San Francisco, California, a shooting at a UPS facility left 4 dead, including the shooter. More were injured.
Cody Wilson of Ghost Gunner talked to Chris Salcedo today about abuse of Second Amendment rights, ways to enjoy them as a law abiding citizen, and historically how much easier it was exercise them on "The Chris Salcedo Show†today.
Wilson has created a technology that legally allows people to manufacture their own gun at home to protect themselves in these terrifying situations. It utilizes plug and play software for your computer that directs a machine to manufacture mil-spec parts for the AR-15 and AR-308. They will soon create technology to build common and popular handguns.
He explained that before the commercial regulation of guns, the government didn’t know who owned a gun, nor what kind of gun or how many. He said this information is "not their business, and it’s often inappropriate to insist that it is.â€
Amazon.com: Come and Take It: The Gun Printer's Guide to Thinking Free (Paperbac) by Cody Wilson (Author)
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Black Helicopter Parenting
Wil Wirtanen
Article has some good points. He could not resist the chance to get a dig on Trump.
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Eric Holder Re-Emerging
Timothy Birdnow
Eric Holder, the former Attorney General who spearheaded the Fast and Furious program (giving high powered weapons to drug cartels in Mexico) and point man for Barack Obama, is talking about - drumroll please! - running for President!
According to Yahoo News via Frontpagemag:
"More than two years after leaving the Obama administration, former Attorney General Eric Holder is reentering the political fray.
His goal: to lead the legal resistance to Donald Trump’s agenda — and perhaps even run against the president in 2020.
[...]
"But the most intriguing — and perhaps most consequential — aspect of Holder’s ambitious new effort is a scheme, still in its early stages, to create a national, privately funded, PAC-like organization that would develop and coordinate legal resistance strategies among various states and localities that are determined to stymie Trump.
For now, Holder will continue to set the stage in California. (Earlier this month, the state Assembly decided not to renew his $25,000-a-month contract; the state Senate, however, plans to retain his services indefinitely.)
End excerpt.
This is the man who helped foment the rioting in Ferguson Mo. This is the guy who refused to prosecute the New Black Panthers when they blocked white people from voting at the polls with billy clubs. (Holder had been a member of the Black Panthers in college.) This is the guy who encouraged emptying out the prisons for "minor crimes" like drug dealing. This is the only AG in history to be found guilty of Contempt of Congress for both civil and criminal offenses on June 28, 2012. Under Holder's watch the government spied on Fox News, on the Associated Press, on journalist Sharyl Attkisson, and many others. Under Holder we had foreign terrorists granted Constitutional rights. Under Holder we had concealed carry lists composed in violation of law. Under Holder we had the DOJ legally challenge attemppts to purge voter rolls of bad registrations. We had the Feds attacking any state that tried to make illegals prove they had a right to vote. He admitted to lying to Congress in 2011. Holder approved and endorsed the Obama policy of killing American citizens with drone strikes (denying them their due process rights.) He refused to prosecute minorities for hate crimes (such as the knockout game). He protected Harry Reid from prosecution.
This is just the tip of the iceberg; the man belongs in jail. If he wants to continue his vandalization of America he should be put with the convicts he so loves.
It's time for the Trump Administration to start cracking heads. Eric Holder has the thickest.
Eric Holder, the former Attorney General who spearheaded the Fast and Furious program (giving high powered weapons to drug cartels in Mexico) and point man for Barack Obama, is talking about - drumroll please! - running for President!
According to Yahoo News via Frontpagemag:
"More than two years after leaving the Obama administration, former Attorney General Eric Holder is reentering the political fray.
His goal: to lead the legal resistance to Donald Trump’s agenda — and perhaps even run against the president in 2020.
[...]
"But the most intriguing — and perhaps most consequential — aspect of Holder’s ambitious new effort is a scheme, still in its early stages, to create a national, privately funded, PAC-like organization that would develop and coordinate legal resistance strategies among various states and localities that are determined to stymie Trump.
For now, Holder will continue to set the stage in California. (Earlier this month, the state Assembly decided not to renew his $25,000-a-month contract; the state Senate, however, plans to retain his services indefinitely.)
End excerpt.
This is the man who helped foment the rioting in Ferguson Mo. This is the guy who refused to prosecute the New Black Panthers when they blocked white people from voting at the polls with billy clubs. (Holder had been a member of the Black Panthers in college.) This is the guy who encouraged emptying out the prisons for "minor crimes" like drug dealing. This is the only AG in history to be found guilty of Contempt of Congress for both civil and criminal offenses on June 28, 2012. Under Holder's watch the government spied on Fox News, on the Associated Press, on journalist Sharyl Attkisson, and many others. Under Holder we had foreign terrorists granted Constitutional rights. Under Holder we had concealed carry lists composed in violation of law. Under Holder we had the DOJ legally challenge attemppts to purge voter rolls of bad registrations. We had the Feds attacking any state that tried to make illegals prove they had a right to vote. He admitted to lying to Congress in 2011. Holder approved and endorsed the Obama policy of killing American citizens with drone strikes (denying them their due process rights.) He refused to prosecute minorities for hate crimes (such as the knockout game). He protected Harry Reid from prosecution.
This is just the tip of the iceberg; the man belongs in jail. If he wants to continue his vandalization of America he should be put with the convicts he so loves.
It's time for the Trump Administration to start cracking heads. Eric Holder has the thickest.
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June 20, 2017
Wishful Thinking on our Side
Timothy Birdnow
Here is yet another example of wishful thinking on the part of conservatives. Howard J. Warner defends Robert Mueller and thinks we are in full panic for nothing.
Well, why didn't the Democrats complain? They - and the mainstream media - heartily approved his appointment. If you get support from them you know you are going to get the shaft. It really is that simple.
And he was Comey's best bud. That should disquiet you.
I don't know why so many on our side are unwilling to face the truth, but it is a sad truth.
Here is yet another example of wishful thinking on the part of conservatives. Howard J. Warner defends Robert Mueller and thinks we are in full panic for nothing.
Well, why didn't the Democrats complain? They - and the mainstream media - heartily approved his appointment. If you get support from them you know you are going to get the shaft. It really is that simple.
And he was Comey's best bud. That should disquiet you.
I don't know why so many on our side are unwilling to face the truth, but it is a sad truth.
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The Winds of Civil War
Wil Wirtanen
I see this happening especially in urban centers. The libs mimic the Gestapo.
http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2017/06/bleeding_america.html
A NOTE FROM TIM:
Mr. Smith is entirely correct here. James Hodgkinson may be the equivalent of John Brown, who precipitated the Civil War by massacering southern settlers at Pottawatomie Creek in Kansas. Brown would eventually try to incite a slave uprising and would meet his Waterloo at Harper's Ferry. But even though he would be executed his acts of violence would spur the hatred of the North for the South and vice versa. That hatred is still alive today to a degree, and part of the modern political landscape is a disdain by the east coast elites for the "confederates" in the heartland.
I see this happening especially in urban centers. The libs mimic the Gestapo.
http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2017/06/bleeding_america.html
A NOTE FROM TIM:
Mr. Smith is entirely correct here. James Hodgkinson may be the equivalent of John Brown, who precipitated the Civil War by massacering southern settlers at Pottawatomie Creek in Kansas. Brown would eventually try to incite a slave uprising and would meet his Waterloo at Harper's Ferry. But even though he would be executed his acts of violence would spur the hatred of the North for the South and vice versa. That hatred is still alive today to a degree, and part of the modern political landscape is a disdain by the east coast elites for the "confederates" in the heartland.
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11:31 AM
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can liberals be trusted to do science?
Wil Wirtanen
Best line is at the end. Paraphrasing that should allow liberals to do scientific research.
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2017/06/another-left-wing-science-scandal.php
From the article:
"Glyphosate is the active ingredient in RoundUp, the most widely used herbicide in the world. Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide, meaning it will kill just about any plant. Since it would kill the crop as well as the weeds, for quite a few years it couldn’t be used over the top of an emerging crop. Instead, its use was restricted to lower-value burndown situations, where weeds in a field would be killed prior to planting, or, e.g., to keep down weeds on railroad rights of way.
The first commercially successful genetic modification, carried out by Monsanto, which owned the patents on glyphosate, was to make plants tolerant of glyphosate. A GMO variety, commonly referred to as "RoundUp Ready,†would survive a glyphosate application while the weeds in the field would die. The development of glyphosate tolerant crops (soybeans, corn, cotton, eventually others) was a marvel: farmers could apply RoundUp over the top of crops, killing weeds while the crop was unaffected. The result was cheaper food and clothing.
As a bonus, glyphosate was remarkably benign from an environmental standpoint. In general, insecticides are toxic to humans because humans are quite a bit like bugs. Herbicides, on the other hand, are generally not very toxic to humans, because we aren’t a lot like plants. But even in this context, glyphosate stood out as a harmless chemical. It targets an enzyme that is found in plants, but not in humans or animals. Moreover, glyphosate breaks down easily and does not persist in the environment. It is pretty much the perfect herbicide (until resistance starts to develop, but that’s another story).
This sounds like a win-win situation–cheaper food, better health, longer lifespans–but some people irrationally hate genetically modified crops, even though the modification–in this case, making the corn or soybean plant tolerant of glyphosate–has nothing to do with its nutritional value. After decades of world-wide experience with glyphosate, it was accepted that the product was safe. So it was a bombshell when the International Agency for Research on Cancer declared, in March 2015, that glyphosate is "probably carcinogenic,†based on tests on rodents.
Hundreds of cancer patients promptly sued Monsanto, claiming the company had concealed the danger of carcinogenicity, notwithstanding the fact that it would be hard to find a farmer who hadn’t been exposed to glyphosate. The European Union said it would consider IARC’s finding when deciding whether to continue to allow glyphosate to be used in Europe. "Environmentalists†had scored a major coup.
But the whole thing turned out to be a fraud. Reuters has investigated, aided by access to deposition testimony in one or more of the lawsuits against Monsanto, which evidently was not subject to a protective order. Briefly put, the author of the IARC’s carcinogenicity study, Aaron Blair, an epidemiologist from the U.S. National Cancer Institute, covered up his own research showing that exposure to glyphosate did not lead to a higher incidence of cancer in humans. The story, as reported by Reuters, is astonishing:"
READ THE rEST!
Best line is at the end. Paraphrasing that should allow liberals to do scientific research.
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2017/06/another-left-wing-science-scandal.php
From the article:
"Glyphosate is the active ingredient in RoundUp, the most widely used herbicide in the world. Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide, meaning it will kill just about any plant. Since it would kill the crop as well as the weeds, for quite a few years it couldn’t be used over the top of an emerging crop. Instead, its use was restricted to lower-value burndown situations, where weeds in a field would be killed prior to planting, or, e.g., to keep down weeds on railroad rights of way.
The first commercially successful genetic modification, carried out by Monsanto, which owned the patents on glyphosate, was to make plants tolerant of glyphosate. A GMO variety, commonly referred to as "RoundUp Ready,†would survive a glyphosate application while the weeds in the field would die. The development of glyphosate tolerant crops (soybeans, corn, cotton, eventually others) was a marvel: farmers could apply RoundUp over the top of crops, killing weeds while the crop was unaffected. The result was cheaper food and clothing.
As a bonus, glyphosate was remarkably benign from an environmental standpoint. In general, insecticides are toxic to humans because humans are quite a bit like bugs. Herbicides, on the other hand, are generally not very toxic to humans, because we aren’t a lot like plants. But even in this context, glyphosate stood out as a harmless chemical. It targets an enzyme that is found in plants, but not in humans or animals. Moreover, glyphosate breaks down easily and does not persist in the environment. It is pretty much the perfect herbicide (until resistance starts to develop, but that’s another story).
This sounds like a win-win situation–cheaper food, better health, longer lifespans–but some people irrationally hate genetically modified crops, even though the modification–in this case, making the corn or soybean plant tolerant of glyphosate–has nothing to do with its nutritional value. After decades of world-wide experience with glyphosate, it was accepted that the product was safe. So it was a bombshell when the International Agency for Research on Cancer declared, in March 2015, that glyphosate is "probably carcinogenic,†based on tests on rodents.
Hundreds of cancer patients promptly sued Monsanto, claiming the company had concealed the danger of carcinogenicity, notwithstanding the fact that it would be hard to find a farmer who hadn’t been exposed to glyphosate. The European Union said it would consider IARC’s finding when deciding whether to continue to allow glyphosate to be used in Europe. "Environmentalists†had scored a major coup.
But the whole thing turned out to be a fraud. Reuters has investigated, aided by access to deposition testimony in one or more of the lawsuits against Monsanto, which evidently was not subject to a protective order. Briefly put, the author of the IARC’s carcinogenicity study, Aaron Blair, an epidemiologist from the U.S. National Cancer Institute, covered up his own research showing that exposure to glyphosate did not lead to a higher incidence of cancer in humans. The story, as reported by Reuters, is astonishing:"
READ THE rEST!
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Scott Pelley vs. "The True Scotsman"
Jack Kemp
Steve Berman at the Resurgent had an intellectual and almost clinical psychology rebuke for CBS's Scott Pelley's vulgar, obnoxious and feral remarks about Rep. Scalise's shooting as something Scalise "had coming."
http://theresurgent.com/shame-on-scott-pelley-for-suggesting-scalises-shooting-was-self-inflicted/
James Hodgkinson brought an SKS rifle, 7.62mm ammunition, and a list of six Republican House Freedom Caucus members to a suburban Virginia ball field. Rep. Steve Scalise brought his glove and a bat. But CBS New anchor Scott Pelley publicly pondered in his nightly newscast if Scalise’s shooting–which frankly, he was fortunate to survive–was "self-inflicted.â€
SECTION OMITTED
But let’s first circle back to why Pelley would ask it in the first place.
Liberals like those at CBS New can’t fathom that other liberals would embrace violence and killing. They posit what philosophy majors call the "no true Scotsman†fallacy. The left incorrectly painted Jared Loughner as a "Tea-partier†then it turns out he was a liberal, and a nutter. "Well, he had to be a nutter, because no true liberal would shoot a member of Congress.â€
Then along comes Hodgkinson, who makes Loughner look like Mary Poppins. Of course, that means Hodgkinson wasn’t a liberal, "because no true liberal would do such a thing.†It had to be incited by the right’s incendiary rhetoric.
Steve Berman at the Resurgent had an intellectual and almost clinical psychology rebuke for CBS's Scott Pelley's vulgar, obnoxious and feral remarks about Rep. Scalise's shooting as something Scalise "had coming."
http://theresurgent.com/shame-on-scott-pelley-for-suggesting-scalises-shooting-was-self-inflicted/
James Hodgkinson brought an SKS rifle, 7.62mm ammunition, and a list of six Republican House Freedom Caucus members to a suburban Virginia ball field. Rep. Steve Scalise brought his glove and a bat. But CBS New anchor Scott Pelley publicly pondered in his nightly newscast if Scalise’s shooting–which frankly, he was fortunate to survive–was "self-inflicted.â€
SECTION OMITTED
But let’s first circle back to why Pelley would ask it in the first place.
Liberals like those at CBS New can’t fathom that other liberals would embrace violence and killing. They posit what philosophy majors call the "no true Scotsman†fallacy. The left incorrectly painted Jared Loughner as a "Tea-partier†then it turns out he was a liberal, and a nutter. "Well, he had to be a nutter, because no true liberal would shoot a member of Congress.â€
Then along comes Hodgkinson, who makes Loughner look like Mary Poppins. Of course, that means Hodgkinson wasn’t a liberal, "because no true liberal would do such a thing.†It had to be incited by the right’s incendiary rhetoric.
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June 19, 2017
Jesuit scholar rips Pope's concencessions to Islam
Jack Kemp
http://www.wnd.com/2017/06/jesuit-scholar-explains-why-islam-is-terroristic/
Jesuit scholar rips pope for concessions to Islam
A Jesuit scholar with expertise in Islam is explaining why Muslims are terroristic and is warning members of his faith not to be taken in by the "liberal-left ideology†that advocates "tolerance†and "concessions.â€
The verdict and warning comes from Egyptian Greek Melkite Jesuit Father Henri Boulad, who was interviewed by the National Catholic Register.
First, the reason for the terrorism is simple, said Boulad, 85, whose relative, Father Samir Khalil Samir, also is a Jesuit scholar of Islam.
The Quran orders Muslims to inflict "terror.â€
He cites specific instructions from Islam’s holy book, such as Quran 8:12, which instructs, "Terrorize and behead those who believe in scriptures other than the Quran†and Quran 8:60, which states, "Muslims must muster all weapons to terrorize the infidels.â€
Read the rest at WND
http://www.wnd.com/2017/06/jesuit-scholar-explains-why-islam-is-terroristic/
Jesuit scholar rips pope for concessions to Islam
A Jesuit scholar with expertise in Islam is explaining why Muslims are terroristic and is warning members of his faith not to be taken in by the "liberal-left ideology†that advocates "tolerance†and "concessions.â€
The verdict and warning comes from Egyptian Greek Melkite Jesuit Father Henri Boulad, who was interviewed by the National Catholic Register.
First, the reason for the terrorism is simple, said Boulad, 85, whose relative, Father Samir Khalil Samir, also is a Jesuit scholar of Islam.
The Quran orders Muslims to inflict "terror.â€
He cites specific instructions from Islam’s holy book, such as Quran 8:12, which instructs, "Terrorize and behead those who believe in scriptures other than the Quran†and Quran 8:60, which states, "Muslims must muster all weapons to terrorize the infidels.â€
Read the rest at WND
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Advancing scientific integrity on bees
Paul Driessen
Second Lady Karen Pence and Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue recently installed a honeybee hive at the Vice President’s residence, claiming it will show how people can help "reverse the decline†in honeybee colonies. The hive is a neat idea, but continuing to talk about a "decline†reflects the misinformation that has long fueled misplaced public anxiety about bees.
Discussing the hive should begin with recognizing that honeybee populations are actually increasing. It should also focus on preventing the biggest single threat to honeybees, especially in small-scale hobbyist hives: infestations of Varroa mites. Otherwise this beehive gambit will play right into the hands of anti-pesticide environmentalists, who try to blame every bee problem on neonicotinoid pesticides, the widely used, safe seed treatments that protect both crops and bees. It will also undermine administration efforts to restore integrity to scientific and regulatory processes, promote modern technologies, and support crop production and exports.
My article lays it all out, and offers specific suggestions for actions Mrs. Pence and Secretary Perdue can take
Advancing scientific integrity on bees
Putting a beehive at the VP’s residence could spur people’s understanding of bee problems
Paul Driessen
Second Lady Karen Pence and Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue recently teamed up to install a honeybee hive on the grounds of the Vice President’s residence at the Naval Observatory in Washington, DC. This will serve as a "great example†of what people can do to help "reverse the decline†in managed honeybee colonies around the country, the secretary said.
Helping bees and educating people about bee problems is a good idea. However, if the hive is an attempt to reduce media and environmentalist criticism of Trump Administration policies – or put the Pences and Ag Department on the "right†side of the "bee-pocalypse†issue – it will backfire. It will also undermine administration efforts to advance evidence-based science, restore integrity to scientific and regulatory processes, promote safe modern technologies, and support continued crop production and exports.
A steady stream of misinformation has fueled misplaced public anxiety about bees. Being on the "right†side must therefore begin with recognizing that honeybee populations are actually increasing, as the decline in managed honeybee colonies reversed in recent years. Attention to the vice presidential hive should instead focus on preventing and controlling the biggest single threat to honeybees, especially in small-scale hobbyist hives: infestations of Varroa mites.
Anti-pesticide zealots and headline-seeking news media have been talking for years about domesticated bees (and now wild bees) serving as "the canary in the coal mine,†whose health problems portend yet another man-made environmental calamity. The future of agriculture, human nutrition, perhaps all life on Earth could be at risk if bees and other important pollinators "disappear,†they ominously intone.
That is nothing more than fear-mongering. Honeybee populations have been bouncing back nicely since the days when many worried about mysterious large-scale deaths in hives. In fact, the "crisis†was seriously (and sometimes deliberately) overblown, and honeybee populations are now at or near 20-year highs in North America and every other continent, except Antarctica.
Assiduous scientific investigation helped identify the mites, viruses and fungal pathogens that can infest hives, and beekeepers are learning to treat infestations without inadvertently killing bees or entire hives. That process has underscored the hard reality that, for professional and hobbyist beekeepers alike, maintaining healthy hives is complicated and difficult, especially when multiple pathogens invade.
However, in another sense, honeybees truly are canaries in the coal mine. They are harbingers of the ways environmentalist attacks on modern agriculture can damage one of the most productive, competitive and globally vital sectors of the American economy. American agriculture feeds the USA and world, while generating trade surpluses and supporting rural and small town communities across the country.
Unfortunately, determined anti-pesticide zealots have been trying for nearly a decade to use the alleged "bee crisis†to prevent farmers from using advanced-technology neonicotinoid pesticides that boost agricultural yields, reduce the need for other crop-protection insecticides that can harm bees, and reduce risks to humans, birds, other animals, non-pest insects, and bees.
Neonics are now the world’s most widely used pesticide class. They are mainly (some 90%) applied as seed coatings, which lets crops absorb the chemicals into their tissue and allows minuscule amounts to target only pests that feed on and destroy crops. Radical greens have tried for years to blame neonics for higher-than-normal over-winter hive losses, "colony collapse disorder†(in which bees mysteriously abandon their colonies, leaving the queen, food and unhatched eggs behind) and other bee problems.
The mere fact that neonics may be detected in negligible, below-harmful levels in the nectar and pollen of neonic-treated crops, in foliage near neonic-treated cropland, or in the food stored in honeybees hives, has fueled emotional campaigns to ban these crop protection products. The activists simply ignore large-scale field studies that have consistently shown no adverse effects on honeybees at the colony level from field-realistic exposures to neonics. They ignore the fact that bees thrive among and around neonic-treated corn and canola crops in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and elsewhere.
Anti-pesticide crusaders are determined to take neonics out of farmers’ pest-control "tool-kits.†They will not let scientific facts stand in their way.
This is the tug-of-war that Mrs. Pence’s beehive has plunged her into. What if her bee colony collapses and dies? Whatever embarrassment this may bring to her skills as a beekeeper (and those of USDA staff who will be charged with keeping the hive alive), activists will claim the bee deaths further confirm that the Trump Administration’s enviro-critics are right – and America’s farmers are wrong.
So what can we learn from the fate of one bee colony on the bucolic grounds of the Naval Observatory in the middle of urban Washington, DC? Potentially plenty – if Mrs. Pence and her USDA aides put on their thinking caps, learn more about "bee issue†realities, use this otherwise empty gesture to dramatize the real issues facing honeybees and their keepers, and help advance the cause of scientific integrity.
In recent weeks, the USDA-supported Bee Informed Partnership at the University of Maryland published its annual survey of honeybee colony losses for 2016-17. Although lower than last year and among the best since the decade-old survey began, over-winter losses of 21% and in-season (summer) losses of 18% are still troublesome numbers. However, a vitally important point must be kept in mind.
Those losses were suffered overwhelmingly by small, backyard, hobbyist beekeepers. (Barely 1% of respondents to the BIP survey are large-scale commercial beekeepers, which skews the survey.) This parallels other studies that show small-scale, hobbyist, backyard beekeepers suffer much higher rates of colony loss than do large-scale professionals, who handle the vast majority of US bees and hives.
Those other studies also show that small-scale beekeepers have the greatest difficulty keeping their bees alive in the face of the scourge of Varroa destructor mites. Epidemic since its 1987 arrival in the USA, this bee parasite is a triple threat. Bee larvae often hatch with Varroa mites already attached to them, and these parasites: (1) suck the bee’s hemolymph blood-equivalent out of them, (2) thereby compromising the bees’ immune systems, and (3) vectoring a dozen or more viruses and diseases into honey bees and colonies, turning what were just nuisance infections before Varroa arrived into devastating epidemics.
This has produced a striking paradox – which Mrs. Pence’s new bee colony could help explain. In the wake of widespread publicity about the supposed bee crisis, tens of thousands of well-meaning people across the USA – from the rural countryside to rooftops in densely populated urban areas – have set out to "help the bees†by setting up hobbyist beekeeping operations of one or a few hives. The problem, studies show, is that these well-intentioned initiatives often end up making things worse for honeybees.
Many newly-minted, nature-loving hobbyist beekeepers believe – contrary to the overwhelming bulk of beekeeping literature and practice – that treating their hives chemically for Varroa mites is "against nature,†and thereby hasten the inevitable disaster to their hives. When those hobbyist hives collapse under the weight of uncontrolled or poorly controlled Varroa mites and related diseases, surviving bees migrate in search of new homes, frequently among the healthy hives of some neighboring professional beekeeper – carrying Varroa mites with them. That’s how hobbyist beekeepers inadvertently contribute to the spread of this honeybee epidemic – and to the spread of misinformation about bee losses.
Mrs. Pence’s colony won’t provide lessons on supposed harmful effects on honeybees from exposure to neonic pesticides. The nearest neonic-treated canola and cornfields are well beyond her bees’ roughly 3-mile flight. However, it’s a golden opportunity to use the colony as an object lesson in what small-scale beekeepers should do to keep their hives alive and thriving: above all, control Varroa mites.
Mrs. Pence’s bee colony could become an exemplar for small-scale beekeepers on how to do right by honeybees. By implementing sound beekeeping practices (particularly properly timed Varroa counts and controls), live-streaming those practices and daily hive activity via the bee equivalent of the Panda Cam, and posting short how-to videos, she could teach millions about bees … and advance hobbyist efforts to help bees. That would help replace failure and disappointment with rewarding fun and satisfaction.
Paul Driessen is senior policy analyst for the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (www.CFACT.org) and author of Eco-Imperialism: Green power - Black death.
Second Lady Karen Pence and Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue recently installed a honeybee hive at the Vice President’s residence, claiming it will show how people can help "reverse the decline†in honeybee colonies. The hive is a neat idea, but continuing to talk about a "decline†reflects the misinformation that has long fueled misplaced public anxiety about bees.
Discussing the hive should begin with recognizing that honeybee populations are actually increasing. It should also focus on preventing the biggest single threat to honeybees, especially in small-scale hobbyist hives: infestations of Varroa mites. Otherwise this beehive gambit will play right into the hands of anti-pesticide environmentalists, who try to blame every bee problem on neonicotinoid pesticides, the widely used, safe seed treatments that protect both crops and bees. It will also undermine administration efforts to restore integrity to scientific and regulatory processes, promote modern technologies, and support crop production and exports.
My article lays it all out, and offers specific suggestions for actions Mrs. Pence and Secretary Perdue can take
Advancing scientific integrity on bees
Putting a beehive at the VP’s residence could spur people’s understanding of bee problems
Paul Driessen
Second Lady Karen Pence and Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue recently teamed up to install a honeybee hive on the grounds of the Vice President’s residence at the Naval Observatory in Washington, DC. This will serve as a "great example†of what people can do to help "reverse the decline†in managed honeybee colonies around the country, the secretary said.
Helping bees and educating people about bee problems is a good idea. However, if the hive is an attempt to reduce media and environmentalist criticism of Trump Administration policies – or put the Pences and Ag Department on the "right†side of the "bee-pocalypse†issue – it will backfire. It will also undermine administration efforts to advance evidence-based science, restore integrity to scientific and regulatory processes, promote safe modern technologies, and support continued crop production and exports.
A steady stream of misinformation has fueled misplaced public anxiety about bees. Being on the "right†side must therefore begin with recognizing that honeybee populations are actually increasing, as the decline in managed honeybee colonies reversed in recent years. Attention to the vice presidential hive should instead focus on preventing and controlling the biggest single threat to honeybees, especially in small-scale hobbyist hives: infestations of Varroa mites.
Anti-pesticide zealots and headline-seeking news media have been talking for years about domesticated bees (and now wild bees) serving as "the canary in the coal mine,†whose health problems portend yet another man-made environmental calamity. The future of agriculture, human nutrition, perhaps all life on Earth could be at risk if bees and other important pollinators "disappear,†they ominously intone.
That is nothing more than fear-mongering. Honeybee populations have been bouncing back nicely since the days when many worried about mysterious large-scale deaths in hives. In fact, the "crisis†was seriously (and sometimes deliberately) overblown, and honeybee populations are now at or near 20-year highs in North America and every other continent, except Antarctica.
Assiduous scientific investigation helped identify the mites, viruses and fungal pathogens that can infest hives, and beekeepers are learning to treat infestations without inadvertently killing bees or entire hives. That process has underscored the hard reality that, for professional and hobbyist beekeepers alike, maintaining healthy hives is complicated and difficult, especially when multiple pathogens invade.
However, in another sense, honeybees truly are canaries in the coal mine. They are harbingers of the ways environmentalist attacks on modern agriculture can damage one of the most productive, competitive and globally vital sectors of the American economy. American agriculture feeds the USA and world, while generating trade surpluses and supporting rural and small town communities across the country.
Unfortunately, determined anti-pesticide zealots have been trying for nearly a decade to use the alleged "bee crisis†to prevent farmers from using advanced-technology neonicotinoid pesticides that boost agricultural yields, reduce the need for other crop-protection insecticides that can harm bees, and reduce risks to humans, birds, other animals, non-pest insects, and bees.
Neonics are now the world’s most widely used pesticide class. They are mainly (some 90%) applied as seed coatings, which lets crops absorb the chemicals into their tissue and allows minuscule amounts to target only pests that feed on and destroy crops. Radical greens have tried for years to blame neonics for higher-than-normal over-winter hive losses, "colony collapse disorder†(in which bees mysteriously abandon their colonies, leaving the queen, food and unhatched eggs behind) and other bee problems.
The mere fact that neonics may be detected in negligible, below-harmful levels in the nectar and pollen of neonic-treated crops, in foliage near neonic-treated cropland, or in the food stored in honeybees hives, has fueled emotional campaigns to ban these crop protection products. The activists simply ignore large-scale field studies that have consistently shown no adverse effects on honeybees at the colony level from field-realistic exposures to neonics. They ignore the fact that bees thrive among and around neonic-treated corn and canola crops in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and elsewhere.
Anti-pesticide crusaders are determined to take neonics out of farmers’ pest-control "tool-kits.†They will not let scientific facts stand in their way.
This is the tug-of-war that Mrs. Pence’s beehive has plunged her into. What if her bee colony collapses and dies? Whatever embarrassment this may bring to her skills as a beekeeper (and those of USDA staff who will be charged with keeping the hive alive), activists will claim the bee deaths further confirm that the Trump Administration’s enviro-critics are right – and America’s farmers are wrong.
So what can we learn from the fate of one bee colony on the bucolic grounds of the Naval Observatory in the middle of urban Washington, DC? Potentially plenty – if Mrs. Pence and her USDA aides put on their thinking caps, learn more about "bee issue†realities, use this otherwise empty gesture to dramatize the real issues facing honeybees and their keepers, and help advance the cause of scientific integrity.
In recent weeks, the USDA-supported Bee Informed Partnership at the University of Maryland published its annual survey of honeybee colony losses for 2016-17. Although lower than last year and among the best since the decade-old survey began, over-winter losses of 21% and in-season (summer) losses of 18% are still troublesome numbers. However, a vitally important point must be kept in mind.
Those losses were suffered overwhelmingly by small, backyard, hobbyist beekeepers. (Barely 1% of respondents to the BIP survey are large-scale commercial beekeepers, which skews the survey.) This parallels other studies that show small-scale, hobbyist, backyard beekeepers suffer much higher rates of colony loss than do large-scale professionals, who handle the vast majority of US bees and hives.
Those other studies also show that small-scale beekeepers have the greatest difficulty keeping their bees alive in the face of the scourge of Varroa destructor mites. Epidemic since its 1987 arrival in the USA, this bee parasite is a triple threat. Bee larvae often hatch with Varroa mites already attached to them, and these parasites: (1) suck the bee’s hemolymph blood-equivalent out of them, (2) thereby compromising the bees’ immune systems, and (3) vectoring a dozen or more viruses and diseases into honey bees and colonies, turning what were just nuisance infections before Varroa arrived into devastating epidemics.
This has produced a striking paradox – which Mrs. Pence’s new bee colony could help explain. In the wake of widespread publicity about the supposed bee crisis, tens of thousands of well-meaning people across the USA – from the rural countryside to rooftops in densely populated urban areas – have set out to "help the bees†by setting up hobbyist beekeeping operations of one or a few hives. The problem, studies show, is that these well-intentioned initiatives often end up making things worse for honeybees.
Many newly-minted, nature-loving hobbyist beekeepers believe – contrary to the overwhelming bulk of beekeeping literature and practice – that treating their hives chemically for Varroa mites is "against nature,†and thereby hasten the inevitable disaster to their hives. When those hobbyist hives collapse under the weight of uncontrolled or poorly controlled Varroa mites and related diseases, surviving bees migrate in search of new homes, frequently among the healthy hives of some neighboring professional beekeeper – carrying Varroa mites with them. That’s how hobbyist beekeepers inadvertently contribute to the spread of this honeybee epidemic – and to the spread of misinformation about bee losses.
Mrs. Pence’s colony won’t provide lessons on supposed harmful effects on honeybees from exposure to neonic pesticides. The nearest neonic-treated canola and cornfields are well beyond her bees’ roughly 3-mile flight. However, it’s a golden opportunity to use the colony as an object lesson in what small-scale beekeepers should do to keep their hives alive and thriving: above all, control Varroa mites.
Mrs. Pence’s bee colony could become an exemplar for small-scale beekeepers on how to do right by honeybees. By implementing sound beekeeping practices (particularly properly timed Varroa counts and controls), live-streaming those practices and daily hive activity via the bee equivalent of the Panda Cam, and posting short how-to videos, she could teach millions about bees … and advance hobbyist efforts to help bees. That would help replace failure and disappointment with rewarding fun and satisfaction.
Paul Driessen is senior policy analyst for the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (www.CFACT.org) and author of Eco-Imperialism: Green power - Black death.
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The War We are in....
Joseph D. Leatherwood
We are in the midst of a governmental and constitutional crisis
and the outcome of this crisis is not going to end well. It will not
end well for someone or members of some group but it will not be DJT
or his supporters.
The establishment - defined loosely as:
A. the socialist party (aka democrats),
B. the deep state bureaucracy,
C. the propaganda based media (Reich ministry of propaganda and enlightenment),
D. crony socialists/capitalists,
E. assorted globalists/ mercantilists/ internationalists and
F. turn coat "republicans/ conservatives" -
and their supporters are in for a real surprise.
The American people are basically a people of fair play and good will; but what they are witnessing is:
(1) a brutal, unrelenting attack on an individual - DJT - and by extension his supporters;
(2) a purposeful effort within the political establishment to
stymie (deny) that individual's rights and agenda and, at the same
time,
(3) using the instrumentalities of the government to effect a coup d'etat through the "intelligence agencies."
This is why our nation is embroiled in a crisis of government, a
crisis in governance and, de facto, a constitutional crisis. We are
here for no other reason than elements of the government and its
purveyors (statists) believe they can successfully bully a duly elected
president and his movement into capitulation and submission.
II.
The same mechanisms and assets used by our government, yes the
United States of America, to overthrow foreign governments around the
world are now being turned against a duly elected president of the
United States. The deep state bureaucracy is engaged in a despicable
campaign of leaks and other actions to undermine and bring down
(overthrow) a duly elected president.
For their part, the propaganda based media are engaged in a
classic Alinskyite operation. It is their job in this campaign to
target the subject - DJT and his movement, isolate the subject,try their best to smear and degrade the subject
and then annihilate the subject. The purpose is to turn public
sentiment against a duly elected president, his movement and its agenda.
To supplement these actions, the socialists party and its minions
(George Soros) have attempted to use political and violent intimidation
to reinforce the overall campaign strategy. They organize "protest"
and "demonstrations" to try and present a perception of popular unrest.
For example, the "antifa" is supposed to be a "popular front" to
portray widespread dissatisfaction and discontent among the American
people. But the "antifa" is little more than a clearinghouse
(collection of) for socialist auxiliaries: the John Brown militia,
Black Lives Matters, the Black Panther Party, the New Black Panther
Party, La Raza and the Ku Klux Kian, all used and employed to inflame
hate, division and intimidation.
Add to these tactical actions, the republican establishment (the
Fabian socialist rinos - Bushes) and so-called conservatives (the
McConnell- Ryan do nothings) are sitting on their hands as DJT, his
voters and supporters and agenda are vilified and smeared daily. This
is pure cowardice in the face of attack failing to stand and take
actions for those who enabled their power; it is a clear dereliction of
duty tacitly assisting those who seek to overthrow this government.
Non-action is taking action on behalf of the opposition.
III.
This gang is taking these actions primarily because they are
being deprived of power, perks and access to the State. They can not
tolerate someone from outside the establishment to come in and truly
reform government and rein in its power.
These are people of plunder. Consider this
gang is accustomed to getting its way, they have basically run (or
accessed) the government unopposed for the past 28 years (in reality
much longer) under varying socialists-of-the-chair.
These are people who have passed laws and regulations to justify,
cover and enable their plunder (and lawlessness) of the nation and the
taxpayers. They have reconfigured the law to justify and glorify their
new world moral code (cultural destruction). That is why these
gangsters are so bent on opposing DJT, his movement and policies
because he, his movement and agenda are designed to roll back their
perks, access, policies and power.
What is becoming readily apparent is the State (that would be
elements of the United States government) has become a power and entity
unto itself and is the force (power) attempting this coup to protect
itself and its benefactors and its agenda.
Stated plainly, the State does not want anything or anyone outside
of its masters - the gang of oligarchs cited above - telling it what it
should be doing. The State and its allies seek to maintain power and
both are pursuing whatever means to achieve their end. The United
States government and its allies (the State) have become a rogue State
- or elements thereof.
These gangsters do not like the idea they were beaten in November
2016 and they are not accepting it as this nation has historically.
These oligarchs have abandoned all protocols for a peaceful transition
of power and obedience to the tenets of a constitutional republic.
What we are watching and experiencing is unprecedented and, quite
frankly, anti-American and the entity carrying out this attempted coup
is the State and its allies (establishmentarians). Their actions and
rhetoric expose them for what they truly are, traitors to the very
ideals of the United States of America. They have abandoned those
ideals for their own selfish (socialist) ends. The nation and its
people no longer matter to the oligarchs.
They are becoming more unpopular with each passing day and they
are shocked their campaign of destruction and deception has not
accomplished its objective - turning the American people against DJT.
From the onset, they believed they could manipulate the American
people. But to their great surprise the people have not abandoned DJT
and for one simple reason - they voted for him to do exactly what he
is doing and do what needs to be done in Washington DC - fight these
people and take back our government.
We no longer have a government "of, for and by" the people, we
have a government (State) "of, for and by" itself and those who benefit
from (live off) it.
The establishment does not understand the precarious position they
are placing themselves; the position they have placed the government;
and the position the people are taking. They - the oligarchs - are
slowly and surely isolating themselves with each action and lie.
IV.
The collaborators in this affair are placing themselves squarely in the category of treason. They are:
(1) subverting a duly elected government (representatives);
(2) using the instrumentalities of that government to deny that representation; and
(3) seeking to overthrow those duly elected representatives and the government they have formed.
Elements within the State and its allies are attempting something unheard of in the history of this republic. That is,they are attempting a coup in order to establish the supremacy of the State over the constitution and We the People.
In their perceived "wisdom," this gang would rather destroy the
nation, shred constitutional government, ignore history and basically
subjugate the people to socialist (statist) rule than accept the will
of the American people.
What we are experiencing is a battle between the State (under the
control of a rogue oligarchy) verses the people and our republic. The
status quo verses the people and the constitution, the imposition of
socialism verses liberty and what the traitors seek is the triumph of
statism over freedom.
These socialists are becoming more and more unpopular. Growing
numbers of Americans are simply fed up with the government, the
rhetoric employed to justify its fraudulent and nefarious actions and
its actions to undermine the electoral process. If we as a nation are
truly looking for the forces interfering with the electoral process, we
need only look at the rhetoric and the actions of this reactionary
faction.
Under the governance of these reactionaries the
government has drifted so far from its founding principles and powers,
that the moorings have busted. The ship of State, under the varying
socialists-of-the-chair, has been set adrift after many years of
malgovernance by these socialists. Because someone calls for a
restoration of those principles and a limit to those powers, like DJT
or his supporters, the socialists paranoidly react by condemning such
rhetoric and actions as hate filled and uninformed.
The one movement standing in opposition to this unfolding travesty
is the same tea party movement that sprang into action in late 2008
opposing the turncoat GWB and the State power he imposed over the
government, economy and the nation. The movement's progression will
continue and, in the end, it will be the people of the United States
who will prevail - triumph - thanks in large part to DJT and the Tea
party. It is the same movement that founded this nation in 1776. It
is the same movement that will start the restoration and healing
process for this nation and insure its future.
Make no mistake, this is a revolution to take back a government
that rightfully belongs to the people not to statists, socialists,
corporatists and internationalists...
The End.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
08:56 AM
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I dream of Jeannie - and not Megyn Kelly
Jack Kemp
I did not watch the Megyn Kelly-Alex Jones interview on NBC but very much liked the fact that Jones secretly recorded all conversations with her as well as the unedited interview itself, thus making it easy for him to prove she is a liar and manipulator.
But previous to the interview, one of my favorite writers at American Thinker, Jeannie DeAngelis, wrote a piece about Megyn Kelly and her character where she sliced and diced Kelly as a predatory opportunist, akin to a black widow spider and praying mantis. It was called "Is Megyn the Man-Eater Receiving Her Just Reward?" http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2017/06/is_megyn_the_maneater_receiving_her_just_reward.html It was masterful (mistressful?). I recommend it to all readers for a deeper understanding of Megyn Kelly's character - or lack thereof.
I exchanged remarks in the comments section of the Amer. Thinker piece with Jeannie and here they are.
JackKemp • a day ago
There are true things that Jeannie DeAngelis says here that few if any male writers would either feel comfortable about saying (i.e., they'd fear a backlash of being called a chauvanist) - or capable of phrasing as elegantly as a woman. You nailed it, Jeannie.
Regarding the photo of Me-Again Kelly with Putin and the article's remark that "for a state dinner at Konstantin Palace in St. Petersburg Megyn showed up in a thigh-high slit skirt and stiletto heels," I'll attempt to be a bit blunter, although the previous words from this article are easy enough to understand as to the implied meaning of Jeannie DeAngelis's words.
When I previously saw that photo of Kelly meeting Putin in that dress with her somewhat disheveled hair, she looked to me like a woman who had just hopped a cab after hastily leaving a liason with Bill Clinton, Charlie Sheen or the late Sen. Ted Kennedy. Or all three men at once. Me-Again Kelly has gone from trying to look like Brigitte Nielson to trying to look like Amy Schumer.
Jeannieology (the blog piece's author) to JackKemp • 18 hours ago
Thank you sir.
JackKemp to Jeannieology • 17 hours ago
You're welcome, Jeannie. I think that Me-Again Kelly's tv show should use as her theme song "Big Spender" from the Bob Fosse musical "Sweet Charity." See https://www.youtube.com/wat... It would be most fitting.
I did not watch the Megyn Kelly-Alex Jones interview on NBC but very much liked the fact that Jones secretly recorded all conversations with her as well as the unedited interview itself, thus making it easy for him to prove she is a liar and manipulator.
But previous to the interview, one of my favorite writers at American Thinker, Jeannie DeAngelis, wrote a piece about Megyn Kelly and her character where she sliced and diced Kelly as a predatory opportunist, akin to a black widow spider and praying mantis. It was called "Is Megyn the Man-Eater Receiving Her Just Reward?" http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2017/06/is_megyn_the_maneater_receiving_her_just_reward.html It was masterful (mistressful?). I recommend it to all readers for a deeper understanding of Megyn Kelly's character - or lack thereof.
I exchanged remarks in the comments section of the Amer. Thinker piece with Jeannie and here they are.
JackKemp • a day ago
There are true things that Jeannie DeAngelis says here that few if any male writers would either feel comfortable about saying (i.e., they'd fear a backlash of being called a chauvanist) - or capable of phrasing as elegantly as a woman. You nailed it, Jeannie.
Regarding the photo of Me-Again Kelly with Putin and the article's remark that "for a state dinner at Konstantin Palace in St. Petersburg Megyn showed up in a thigh-high slit skirt and stiletto heels," I'll attempt to be a bit blunter, although the previous words from this article are easy enough to understand as to the implied meaning of Jeannie DeAngelis's words.
When I previously saw that photo of Kelly meeting Putin in that dress with her somewhat disheveled hair, she looked to me like a woman who had just hopped a cab after hastily leaving a liason with Bill Clinton, Charlie Sheen or the late Sen. Ted Kennedy. Or all three men at once. Me-Again Kelly has gone from trying to look like Brigitte Nielson to trying to look like Amy Schumer.
Jeannieology (the blog piece's author) to JackKemp • 18 hours ago
Thank you sir.
JackKemp to Jeannieology • 17 hours ago
You're welcome, Jeannie. I think that Me-Again Kelly's tv show should use as her theme song "Big Spender" from the Bob Fosse musical "Sweet Charity." See https://www.youtube.com/wat... It would be most fitting.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
05:27 AM
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