Tracker

'Fascists are at the gates': Government watchdog delivers dire warning that the US 'is in grave danger’ Former Director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, Walter Shaub, is sounding the alarm on the current state of democracy in America. Prompted by two stories: the push for infrastructure legislation over voting rights, and Thursday night's bombshell New York Times report that both Trump Attorneys General Jeff Sessions and Bill Barr had spied on Democrats in Congress, including their staffs, family members and even children, Shaub went to work to wake Americans up about just how bad he thinks things are. And he's placing much of the blame on President Joe Biden's shoulders. "I think Biden's doing a good job with the pandemic and several other things," Shaub tweeted Friday morning. "But I'm increasingly alarmed that he seems clueless about the threat to democracy and doesn't seem to have any real commitment to pushing legislation on voting rights or corruption. That's dangerous." "I like him too," Shaub, who is now a Senior Ethics Fellow at the Project On Government Oversight, told a social media user who was defending Biden's popularity. "But I'm coming to the conclusion that he's clueless about the danger." What danger? "Grave danger." "Listen, your online friends can go back to sleep if they want, just tell them to set their alarm clocks for quarter to fascism so they don't miss the handover," he warns, suggesting the fascists are winning. "'LOSE THE HERO WORSHIP'," he tells Democrats, "and start pounding…folks in the White House & Congress [who] think it's enough to behave better than Trump. They've moved on from worrying about democracy and are spending all their political capital on fixing the roads and pipes."

This is what many predicted would happen as soon as Trump and his pack of hyenas were out of power- a series of leaks that might seem minor at first but soon swelling into a flood of disclosures as the honest civil servants began to test the resolve of the Biden administration to pursue the miscreants, followed by a rush of those implicated or fearing to be implicated saving their own hides. We ain't seen nothin' yet.

Top Democrats threaten to subpoena Bill Barr and Jeff Sessions over new bombshell: 'A gross abuse of power' Top Democratic lawmakers are calling for former U.S. Attorneys General Bill Barr and Jeff Sessions to testify over new revelations about the U.S. Department of Justice's targeting of Democratic lawmakers. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Democratic Whip **** Durbin (D-Ill.) on Friday released a joint statement in response to the reports about the Department of Justice's actions under the Trump administration. "The revelation that the Trump Justice Department secretly subpoenaed metadata of House Intelligence Committee Members and staff and their families, including a minor, is shocking. This is a gross abuse of power and an assault on the separation of powers," Schumer and Durbin said in their statement. "This appalling politicization of the Department of Justice by Donald Trump and his sycophants must be investigated immediately by both the DOJ Inspector General and Congress." They added, "This issue should not be partisan; under the Constitution, Congress is a coequal branch of government and must be protected from an overreaching executive, and we expect that our Republican colleagues will join us in getting to the bottom of this serious matter." They said they're prepared to subpoena the former officials if they refuse to testify voluntarily. Top Democrats threaten to subpoena Bill Barr and Jeff Sessions over new bombshell: 'A gross abuse of power' - Alternet.org

In Germany during the Nazi era, when they were rounding up Jews ( they had already done that with gays, the physically disabled and the mentally ill), they managed to find Jews who supported this, because, a) they were hoping to be eaten last and b) they just could not believe what was coming, even though Hitler laid out his agenda in Mein Kampf. I think many Americans, Democrats and Republicans cannot conceive that a fascist dictatorship could actually come to power in America. There will be more than Democrats who will suffer: unions, gays, environmentalists, Muslims, Semites, Hispanics, Jews, Asians, blacks, and the "wrong kind" of Christians.

Noah’s Ark Replica Faces Biblical Fines For Return Voyage To Holland! The UK coastguard has “arrested” a 230-foot (70 meter) Noah's Ark replica ship in Ipswich, England. Without the correct paperwork and “anti-fouling paint” to deem it seaworthy, the $3.6million (3-million-Euro) vessel is going nowhere, fast. Noah's Ark was the vessel in the Genesis flood narrative through which God spared Noah, his family, and two of each of the world's animals from a world-threatening flood. Now, “Aad Peters Ark” has been impounded by the UK coastguard and cannot sail from England because it does not have the “proper” paperwork. Sounds bizarre doesn’t it? But the story of this enormous floating museum, full of sculptures of biblical characters, that was detained after being towed across North Sea, is in some ways as bizarre as the original story. The Dutch Noah’s Ark Replica: A Floating Biblical Museum Every crazy story has a central character, generally with more than a flash of color, and in this case it is Sir Aad Peters, a Dutch TV producer. Sir Peters is “failing” in his quest to return his Noah’s Ark replica to the Netherlands. He has been unable to get a license because the ship lacks the correct paperwork. Experts Uncover Rare Mosaics Showing Biblical Scenes in Ancient Synagogue in Galilee Ancient Greek Vase Artists Painted Images of Biblical Figures Noah and Nimrod Over 2,000 Years Ago While his predecessor, Noah, sailed after banging a few nails into timbers, Aad Peters's vessel has now been impounded by the UK coastguard and cannot be moved because it does not have the appropriate paperwork. Mr Peter is the owner of this remarkable and huge floating museum that is currently full of sculptures of characters in Biblical scenes . The bespoke version of the famous Biblical ship was detained after being towed across the North Sea from the Netherlands. According to a report in the Daily Mail , Mr Peters negotiations with coastguard officials “have reached a stalemate.” What that means in real terms is that this incredibly expensive vessel has been docked for almost 18 months atIpswich and doesn’t look to be going anywhere soon. An interior view of Sir Aad Peter’s Dutch Noah’s Ark replica ship. ( Ceinturion / CC BY-SA 3.0 ) Daily Ark Fines Could Prove Disastrous for Sir Peters The vessel measures just under half the size of the Biblical ark, which the good book says, “measured 300 cubits,” (510 feet; 155 meters). Noah had his own troubles getting to sea before the deluge, but one thing he didn’t have to deal with was complaints from angry land lubbers. Dockside residents in Ipswich have publicly “condemned” the replica ship as they have called it “a floating eyesore which blocks out sunlight and spoils the view from local homes,” according to the Daily Mail article. In the Biblical Book of Genesis the mountains of Ararat is the term used to designate the region in which Noah's Ark comes to rest after the Great Flood . The great thing with ancient Ararat, compared with modern Ipswich, is that there were no docking fees. Mr Peters is estimated to have stacked up port fines “of £500 (709 dollars or 582 Euros) a day since April 1 when a deadline to move it was missed,” according to an article in the BBC. The Biblical story of Noah’s Ark has a “happy ending” on top of a mountain in Ararat and no paperwork was required. Noah’s Ark replica ship may not be so fortunate. ( JavierArtPhotography / Adobe Stock) A Biblical Vision Frozen By UK Load Line Certificate! The British Maritime and Coastguard Agency told the BBC that they cannot release the ark until it has a “load line certificate.” According to My Sea Time load line certificates certify that vessels comply with the load line conventions. Load line conventions applies to ships of more than 79 feet (24 meters) in length and stipulate that basic limits be met for the ship’s minimum freeboard for buoyancy, plus a reserve addition to cover extreme circumstances.

Every indication is that the Democrats are naïve about the intent and willingness of at least some of the GOP to oppose and destroy American democracy by rigging the electoral process and using force to overturn legitimate results they do not like. They GOP is backed by corporate money and supported by rabid elements such as the Proud Boys, Oathkeeprs and "Christian" fundamentalists, to name a few.

'Out of control': Legal experts weigh in on Trump DOJ's seizing of Adam Schiff's phone records Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) is not pleased with the latest development suggesting the Trump-led U.S. Department of Justice seized his phone records and targeted Democratic lawmakers. Now, legal experts are weighing in with their take on the dangers such actions pose to America's democracy. According to The New York Times, David Laufman, a former official for the Justice Department official who worked a number of leak investigation cases, expressed concern about the situation given former President Donald Trump's apparent vendetta against Schiff. "Notwithstanding whether there was sufficient predication for the leak investigation itself, including family members and minor children strikes me as extremely aggressive," Laufman said, adding, "In combination with former President Trump's unmistakable vendetta against Congressman Schiff, it raises serious questions about whether the manner in which this investigation was conducted was influenced by political considerations rather than purely legal ones." 'Out of control': Legal experts weigh in on Trump DOJ's seizing of Adam Schiff's phone records - Alternet.org Republicans Push To Export Absurd Arizona-Style Election Audits To Other States; GOP lawmakers from Pennsylvania, Michigan and Georgia want to conduct unnecessary, conspiratorial audits of the 2020 election in their home states. Arizona state Senate Republicans’ “audit” of 2020 election results in Maricopa County is so unprofessional and illegitimate that many election officials won’t even refer to it as an audit. But the GOP’s audit fever is spreading nevertheless: Driven by the same lies about election fraud that underpin the Arizona audit, Republican lawmakers and conservative activists in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are clamoring for their states to launch their own sham reviews. Another so-called forensic audit ― a term veteran election officials have not used before ― could soon begin in Georgia’s largest county. Embattled Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz (R) visited Arizona last week with dreams of convincing his state ― which, unlike the others, former President Donald Trump won ― and others to replicate the process. Other GOP lawmakers, including several with plans to seek higher office next year, have flocked to Phoenix too. Republicans Push To Export Absurd Arizona-Style Election Audits To Other States | HuffPost

I wonder if they will include the son who was obsessed with athletics: Gym-boy.

Damn. We are stuck at the mid-200's. I was hoping for well below 200 this week.

The purpose of Capitalists and businesses in general is to make money- as much as possible as quickly as possible, and to leave the future wellbeing of the societies they exist in to others. The disregard of many corporations for the environment, the wellbeing of their employees and even customers are prime examples. The managers of these corporations typically do not give a damn about anything except the profits of the current year, as that is where their compensations are determined. The problem is the system they exist in and the rules by which they are allowed to operate. A simple change that produces profound effects in the corporate world is basing the bonus payouts and retirement incomes of corporate executives on the ongoing profitability of their former employers after they retire.

I disagree. The PCs have been at least as venal as anyone else- probably worse. The reason there are as few examples as there are is, I suggest, because they have behaved so poorly as to usually disqualify themselves from power. The book "On The Take" describes the rampant corruption in the Mulroney government, in Saskatchewan, I believe 12 PCs- most cabinet ministers were convicted and here in Manitoba, there is the example of former PC cabinet minister Eric Stefanson and there are others. The PCs have a very low opinion of those who vote them in and see them as sheep to be shorn.

Keystone XL Pipeline Sponsor Abandons Project After Biden Permit Block BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The sponsor of the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline said Wednesday it is pulling the plug on the contentious project after Canadian officials failed to persuade President Joe Biden to reverse his cancellation of its permit on the day he took office. Calgary-based TC Energy said it would work with government agencies “to ensure a safe termination of and exit from” the partially built line, which was to transport crude from the oil sand fields of western Canada to Steele City, Nebraska.

What matters is that the placebo effect can be very powerful. During WW2 a shipment of what was supposed to be morphine to the ETO was actually saline solution by mistake, but the analgesic effects were very nearly as powerful- surgeries were performed while the patients were anaesthetized and unconscious while sedated by saline solution.

GOP congressman asks if US Forest Service can 'change the course of the moon's orbit' to fix climate change The good news is a Republican U.S. Congressman appears to believe climate change is real and can be fixed. The bad news is he thinks the federal government can somehow alter the orbit of the moon – or the earth – to do so. "Is there anything that the National Forest Service or BLM [Bureau of Land Management] can do to change the course of the moon's orbit or the Earth's orbit?" Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) asked Jennifer Eberlien, the Associate Deputy Chief at the U.S. Forest Service, as the Daily Dot reports. "Obviously that would have profound effects on our climate." His "profound effects" remark seemed to be an afterthought. For those who will say the Congressman from Texas was just kidding, he began his query by saying, "I was informed by the immediate past director of NASA that they've found the moon's orbit is changing slightly and so is the earth's orbit around the sun. We know there's been significant solar flare activity." Eberlien politely did her best to hold back a guffaw, replying, "I would have to follow up with you on that one, Mr. Gohmert." "Yeah, well if you figure out a way that you and the Forest Service can make that change, I'd like to know," Gohmert said. *sigh* This idiot ought not to be allowed out in public without a responsible adult.

We will probably never know if Andrew Harris's positive test result was the result of an accidental ingestion or a deliberate one. The high level that he produced in the playoff and Grey Cup game does not resolve the question. Lots of people take supplements to improve performance (over the counter "testosterone enhancers" for example) and report improvements anecdotally even though there is no clinical evidence to indicate that these libido enhancers actually work. Its called "the placebo effect".

Now you've gone and ruined it for all the chortlers out there. Shame on you.

Would have preferred Morgan Freeman.

I'm guessing that the Tories have decided that they are probably going to lose the next election, so Palister & Co. have decided to enrich their buddies. I saw that in the last days of the Devine government in Saskatchewan and in the last days of Gary Filmon's Reign of Error. They're PCs. That's what they do.

And ER bills.

Testimony from an anti-vaxxer goes 'off the rails' Ohio lawmakers debating a bill Tuesday that would allow anyone to refuse any vaccine for any reason and would give them the "right" to not be "discriminated" against or even asked about their vaccination status, heard from Dr. Sherri Tenpenny, recognized as one of the world's top spreaders of vaccine disinformation. After falsely claiming that 5000 Americans have died from the coronavirus vaccine, Dr. Tenpenny told lawmakers that the injections, which have saved countless lives around the world, make people magnetic. "Right now we're all kind of hypothesizing," a fast-talking Tenpenny said, after being asked about the "EMF frequencies," also known as electromagnetic frequencies, she "hypothesizes" are associated with the COVID-19 vaccine. "I mean what is it that's actually being transmitted that's causing all of these things? Is it a combination of the protein which now we're finding has a metal attached to it?" Tenpenny posited to lawmakers. "I'm sure you've seen the pictures all over the internet of people who've had these shots and now they're magnetized, and put a key on their forehead, it sticks, they can put spoons and forks all over them and they can stick because now we think that there's a metal piece to that," she claimed, not saying who "we" refers to. There is exactly zero proof this is legitimate. She also pushed the false claim that vaccinated people are shedding unknown properties onto unvaccinated people. "There has been people who've long suspected that there was some sort of an interface," she continued, using air quotes, "yet to be defined in the interface between what's being injected in these shots, and all of the 5G towers. Not proven yet, but we're trying to figure out what is it that's being transmitted to these unvaccinated people." The name of the Ohio bill, HB 248, is the "Vaccine Choice and Anti-Discrimination Act," to protect science-denying unvaccinated Ohioans from discrimination. As far as Dr. Tenpenny goes, the Center for Public Integrity reports "Dr. Sherri Tenpenny, who offers a $595, eight-week course in anti-vaccine talking points despite a federal judge having found her 'unqualified' to weigh in as an expert witness on a vaccine-related lawsuit Watch: Testimony from an anti-vaxxer goes 'off the rails' - Alternet.org

Soooo...business as usual in Cowgary?

No one has ever accused Clint Eastwood of being a great actor.

Did you enjoy his one-man show talking to an empty chair at the Republican convention that elected Trump?

Sad, but true.

Clint Eastwood turned 90 on the weekend. Safe to say, the only riding he's gonna be doing is on his Laz-Y-Boy.