Tracker

There is a federal election looming and considering how much stimulus/survival money is being thrown around, 9 million dollars is almost negligible.

I spoke to the Costco manager at the St. James Street store a couple of years ago. He told me that the plan was to build a new Costco somewhere on Portage Avenue west in "a few years". That would mean the closure of the St. James store.

New report exposes Trumpworld connections to a plot to 'strong-arm' elections officials in Michigan Michigan is one of the states where former President Donald Trump and his lawyers, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, unsuccessfully tried to overturn Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election. Reporter Mardi Link, in an article published by the Traverse City Record Eagle this week, discusses events in Michigan in late November — when some pro-Trump GOP operatives showed up to examine election data. The operatives, according to Link, went to Antrim County, where they "identified themselves to township officials as representing Rudy Giuliani's legal team" and "accessed official election data in at least one township, according to local officials." On Nov. 27, Link notes, they examined "two separate paper totals tape" from a precinct tabulator. Antrim County Clerk Sheryl Guy told the Record Eagle, "They made calls to township people on Thanksgiving Day to set all this up. They were strong-arming local clerks to get in and see those machines. Some clerks said 'no' or didn't answer their phones. And as soon as we could, we sent out an e-mail telling the clerks not to let them in. Then, we learn after the fact, they'd already been in three different locations." One of the Republican operatives who showed up in Antrim County on Nov. 27, according to Link, was Katherine Friess — a Washington, D.C.-based attorney known for her connection to Trump allies Roger Stone and Paul Manafort (both of whom were prosecuted on multiple criminal charges and sentenced to prison during Trump's presidency but received presidential pardons from him. Link reports that according to local Antrim County officials, Friess "bragged" about dining with Trump and Giuliani. The attorney serves as CEO of the lobbying firm, Global Policy Partners, and she previously worked for BKSH & Associates — a Washington-based lobbying firm that was created when, in 1996, two firms merged: Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly (abbreviated as BMSK) and attorney Martin B. Gold's Gold & Liebengood. Long before Trump's presidency, Manafort and Stone worked together at BMSK during the 1980s. Link explains, "The operatives who visited Antrim County on Nov. 27 included some of the same people who performed a court-sanctioned forensic exam of the county's voting equipment on Dec. 6, as part of a lawsuit filed by Central Lake Township resident Bill Bailey against the county, citing its use of Dominion Voting Machines equipment." New report exposes Trumpworld connections to a plot to 'strong-arm' elections officials in Michigan - Alternet.org

Time knows no master and we cannot halt or delay it. My mother in law died a few years ago at age 99- two months short of her 100th birthday. She often said that everyone she knew in her adult life as peers had already died, and most of her familiar community and church had changed over time where she felt almost an alien in her own world- two of her children had died also. We are not permanent residents here. We are passing through and all of the accumulated losses are meant to let us know that our days, like the days of all those who have come before and all those who will come after, are numbered. A novice monk asked his master which was more important- the journey or the destination. The master replied," Neither. It is who we journey with." I have come to see that it is not the length of our days that matters but the quality of those days. May you be well and at peace.

Ireland/Ulster is a wonderful example of what can happen when there is sufficient good will and enough pain and disgust over the past. There is a parallel between Ulster and the US to a degree. In both cases, what may have started out as legitimate protests over real grievances got coopted by essentially criminals who used and are using the veneer of protest to both exacerbate and profit from them to increase their power and wealth. In Ireland, when enough people saw that the IRA had become a criminal organization, dealing in extortion, selling drugs and so forth with no real concern for people, change became possible. I do not see that awareness in America today, and a low-grade civil war and fracturing of the country is almost inevitable. A poll quoted by CNN reported that a growing percentage of moderate Americans are willing to tell the redneck states to leave. Impossible? An American seer Edgar Cayce predicted racial violence in the US but that the breaking of America would come from class warfare, and I interpret that to mean the wealthy against the poor and that gap has been growing for some 60 years. A political economist about ten years ago stated that so long as the "Communist" in Russia alternative existed to Capitalism, the rich and powerful were careful to not grind the working and middle classes. Once the USSR collapsed along with its pretend socialist government, the field was seen as clear for the 3% to begin to erode the other 97% of their incomes and political power, and that has been growing since 1989.

Paul Gosar Spoke At A White Nationalist Conference. The GOP Doesn't Care. Last week a sitting U.S. congressman delivered a keynote speech at a white nationalist conference in Florida. “Wow, what a group,” Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) said as he took his place behind a podium emblazoned with the letters “AFPAC” — an acronym for America First Political Action Conference, the second annual gathering of the white nationalist “groyper” movement. After speaking about “cancel culture,” Big Tech’s supposed censorship of right-wingers, and the need for a big border wall to keep “America First,” Gosar said goodbye to the AFPAC crowd, who’d traveled from across the country to attend the secret gathering inside the Hilton Orlando. “May God bless you,” Gosar said. “And may God bless the United States of America.” The crowd — a motley crew of unabashed racists and anti-Semites — broke into a chant of “Gosar! Gosar!” to which the congressman responded with a wave, a smile and what looked like an earnest, heartfelt “Thank you.” Paul Gosar Spoke At A White Nationalist Conference. The GOP Doesn't Care. | HuffPost Canada (huffingtonpost.ca)

Still has the acting ability of a stop sign.

Trump aide with top secret clearance beat officers with riot shield at Jan. 6 Insurrection: report A Trump-appointed State Dept. aide allegedly beat officers at the U.S. Capitol with a stolen riot shield, used it to force open a Capitol Hill door, verbally engaged with police, and led insurrection rioters into the building, shouting, "We need fresh people, need fresh people." These new details come from The Washington Post, after Politico Thursday night broke the news that the State Dept. aide, Federico Klein, appointed by Trump in 2017 after working on the Trump campaign, was arrested by the FBI in connection with the deadly January 6 insurrection. The New York Times adds Klein was arrested on charges "including unlawful entry, violent and disorderly conduct, obstructing Congress and law enforcement, and assaulting an officer with a dangerous weapon." Klein was "seen in video footage and other images dressed in a red 'Make America Great Again' hat, slacks and a dress shirt as he tries to break past a line of Metropolitan Police officers in a tunnel near the west terrace, according to the [court] document." Klein, 42, previously worked as a researcher for the anti-LGBTQ hate group Family Research Council, according to Politico. That group's president, a close informal religious advisor to President Donald Trump, was appointed to the the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom by then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. He served as chairman and later vice chair. "Klein was still employed at the State Department as a staff assistant on Jan. 6 when he joined a mob in a tunnel leading into the U.S. Capitol, the FBI said," The Washington Post reports. "Then he allegedly 'physically and verbally engaged with the officers holding the line' at the building's entrance, according to the complaint. After ignoring officers' orders to move back, he assaulted officers with a riot shield that had been stolen from police, the complaint said, and then used the shield to wedge open a door into the Capitol." Trump aide with top secret clearance beat officers with riot shield at Jan. 6 Insurrection: report - Alternet.org

Things under the Tsars were at least equally dire. For a brief period, Russia was a democracy and things improved until Lenin seized on Marxist philosophy and altered it to fit his agenda. The cannibalism and such was under the Stalin regime. The western democracies very briefly supported the "white Russians" but quickly decided that they didn't want to be in the middle of another war. Did you know that the US actually landed troops in Russia at that time? Lenin decided that democracy was too slow and beyond the understanding of the peasants and chose to exterminate anyone who disagreed with him and Trotsky. Again, in France, the revolution initially produced a wave of optimism but all too soon it went from liberty, equality and fraternity to revenge. We humans seem to be overly fond of revenge for offences real or imagined.

Georgia Republicans push a draconian bill to criminalize giving food and water to people in voting lines On Monday, the GOP-controlled Georgia House passed, by a 97-72 margin, a voter suppression bill that would greatly restrict absentee voting, early voting, weekend voting and ballot drop boxes in that state. And on top of that, North Carolina law professor Carissa Byrne Hessick notes in a Twitter thread, the bill "makes it a crime to give food or water to anyone standing in line to vote." Hessick, who teaches criminal law at the University of North Carolina, tweets, "The idea that this should be a crime is completely outrageous." The bill states that at voting places, "No person shall….. give, offer to give or participate in the giving of any money or gifts, including but not limited to, food and drink, to an elector." Georgia Republicans push a draconian bill to criminalize giving food and water to people in voting lines - Alternet.org

Revolutions improved life for people in France, Viet Nam,Cuba, the US (arguably) and in Russia- for a time. The problems occur when one side or the other (sometimes both) is being used to fight proxy wars

What does not seem to be talked about is the huge cost of heating with electricity as opposed to gas. In the 80's I built a new home and was told that the gas supply was nearly run out and that the cost of natural gas heating would soon reach or exceed the cost of electricity. So I installed an electric forced-air furnace but no gas shortages ever happened and it turned out that the cost of electrical heating was more than 150% of gas. When it came time to see the house, I really took a beating because of the electric heating.

All this crap makes me wonder if the American political system and society can be salvaged or whether change can only come with a massive uprising and bloodshed.

Here's why the Pentagon lied about Michael Flynn's brother's role in the Capitol riots response: report In the aftermath of the insurrection on the U.S. Capitol, many questions loomed about the Pentagon's delayed response as a mob of angry Trump supporters stormed the federal building. In fact, one aspect that really raised concerns was the fact that the Pentagon lied about Lt. Gen. Charles Flynn's involvement in the military's response. At the time, Flynn, also the brother of former United States National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, was said to not have been involved in the decisions made amid the Capitol riots. So why would the Pentagon lie about this? On Wednesday, March 3, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow provided answers. On Wednesday, March 3, security officials testified before the joint Senate Committee where they were asked about the disturbingly slow response to the Capitol riots. One day prior to the Capitol insurrection, security officials had received intelligence warnings of possible civil unrest in the wake of the Electoral College certification and expressed the desire to employ a "quick-reaction force in the event of an attack." But despite the warning, security officials were informed that the D.C. National Guard would still need special permission directly from the Secretary of the Army, himself, in order to receive backup. When civil unrest did erupt at the Capitol on Jan. 6, the military refused to give that special permission which contributed to the federal building being overrun for more than three hours. The hearing also revealed that Lt. Gen. Flynn was one of the officials who fielded the call for the National Guard's special request and opposed the idea of the National Guard being deployed. Pressed by Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Maj. Gen. William J. Walker confirmed that Lt. Gen. Flynn and Lt. Gen. Walter Piatt were more concerned about the "optics." "It wouldn't be their best military advice to send uniformed guardsmen to the Capitol because they didn't like the optics," Walker said, adding, "And they had also said that it could 'inflame' [the protesters]." The Pentagon previously claimed that Flynn had no role in the Jan. 6 military response. Here's why the Pentagon lied about Michael Flynn's brother's role in the Capitol riots response: report - Alternet.org

Three Republicans accused of ethics violation after they attempted to alter colleague’s votes Something strange happened in Congress last night that may tag three Republican members with an ethics violation. The House held an overnight session so that they could avoid the U.S. Capitol amid the fears of another attack on the building from militia members and conspiracy theorists. Punchbowl News' John Bresnahn explained that during a vote for HR 1280: The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021, Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX) cast a vote for the bill. His Republican colleagues freaked out, saying that it needed to be changed. Three of them protested, attempting to change the vote in with the Tally Clerk. When members vote they have a card they can insert into voting stations and cast their vote. If they want to change their vote they can do so at any time, but if they want to change the vote in the last five minutes of the count, they have to go to the Tally Clerk and take a "red card," sign it, and hand it to the Clerk. At no point did Gooden use the red card option, but three other Republicans attempted to, signing Gooden's name to it. According to Bresnahn, "The cards were rejected by House clerks. A possible ethics violation by [Reps.]Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Randy Weber (R-TX) and Kelly Armstrong (R-ND)." Reporter Jamie Dupree went back to CSPAN to look at the tape seeing a man in a blue suit racing down the center aisle of Congress. "That person keeps running past the dais, but reaches out with his right hand and leaves a Red voting card for the clerk," said Dupree. "That person continues running past the dais - a very unusual way to vote - and heads toward the Speaker's Lobby door upper left in the photo. The voting clerk picks up the Red card - you can clearly see it in his hand - as the person who left it exits the chamber upper left." Three Republicans accused of ethics violation after they attempted to alter colleague’s votes - Alternet.org

Apparently no less than four of Trump's secretaries (equivalent to our ministers) were identified as potentially having committed illegal acts during their tenures and were referred to the Department of Justice but the DOJ under Bill Barr declined to prosecute. These cases are being reviewed now.

National Guard chief's disturbing testimony blames top Pentagon officials for crucial delay on Jan. 6 Maj. Gen. William Walker, the commander of the National Guard in Washington, D.C., delivered disturbing new testimony on Wednesday about the delay in deployment of his forces during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. He was prepared to send a large number of troops to the Capitol immediately at 1:49 p.m. when he received a "frantic" call for backup from then-Chief of the Capitol Police Steven Sund. Sund was desperate for support as his officers' perimeter had been breached by the mob of Trump supporters, gravely endangering members of Congress counting the votes of the Electoral College. Walker said Sund's voice was "cracking with emotion" and pleaded that there was a "dire emergency at the Capitol." "He requested the immediate assistance of as many available National Guardsmen that I could muster," Walker said. It wasn't until three hours and 19 minutes later that Walker would get permission from the Pentagon to deploy the troops, he said. Because D.C. is not a state, the district's National Guard is under the control of the president, who has delegated his command to the Department of Defense. Christopher Milley was serving as the acting secretary of the department after President Trump had removed Secretary Mark Esper following the 2020 election. In the time between Sund's call to Walker and the arrival of the National Guard, rioter Ashli Babbitt was killed by an officer for breaching a barrier within the building separating the mob from the lawmakers. Officer Brian Sicknick of the Capitol Police was also killed in the clash with protesters, though the exact cause of his death remains unknown. As the Capitol was breached, the news media watch on with horror as the Capitol Police were overwhelmed, and people quickly began calling for the National Guard to intervene. But scattered reports indicated that there was an unexplained delay in their deployment, raising the disturbing prospect that political influence was responsible for denying Congress necessary protection. Walker's testimony indicates that this was, indeed, the case. "It required me to seek authorization from the secretary of the Army and the secretary of Defense to essentially protect my guardsmen," he said. In an "unusual memo," he said, "the secretary of defense, told me I needed his permission to escalate to have that kind of protection." During the previous summer's racial justice protests, Walker said, he had been able to get immediate approval to activate his forces. And on a call with his supervisors after hearing Sund's pleas, the request was stalled: "The Army senior leaders did not think it would look good." National Guard chief's disturbing testimony blames top Pentagon officials for crucial delay on Jan. 6 - Alternet.org

TODAY THE GOVERNOR OF TEXAS DECLARED ALL RESTRICTIONS ON PUBLIC GATHERINGS AND BUSINESSES REVOKED. BUT.......

Much ado about nothing. These books do contain the offensive images but I cannot see them provoking racism. Moreover, all of these books have doubtlessly been digitized and, with the consent of Geisel, they can be seamlessly edited to be appropriate. Tis has certainly given Faux News a reason to be righteously apoplectic.

Just keep getting crazier and crazier in the Excited States. All of which serves Putin's goal- to undermine Americans' faith in their political systems and lay the groundwork for a dictatorial government to come that will be amenable to Russian influence.

Having Uncle Milt to throw to didn't hurt Khari's confidence, either. Khari could lob the ball in the general direction of Milt and he would go get it more often than not.

The government has been subsidizing businesses that employ Americans for decades, in the petroleum and manufacturing industries as only two examples.

It is news because the GOP is no longer trying to pretend that they are a party of the people.

A Republican lawyer made a stunning admission to the Supreme Court about a voting rights case At the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday an attorney for the Republican National Committee admitted GOP candidates need voter suppression laws, especially those that target minority voters, to win. The high court was hearing arguments related to the historic Voting Rights Act of 1965, which under Chief Justice John Roberts was gutted to be almost useless in 2013 when he infamously announced, "Our country has changed." The Guardian and HuffPost have written he was suggesting that racism is pretty much over. It is not. Tuesday's arguments discussed the landmark Voting Rights Act and "an Arizona law that disqualified ballots cast in the wrong precinct," as Mother Jones reports. The Brennan Center, as The Washington Post, reporting on today's Supreme Court hearing notes, is tracking over 250 bills Republicans are pushing in more than half the states across the country that are designed to take the "voter fraud" lies Donald Trump and his supporters have been pushing for nearly a year and turn them into "legal" voter suppression. The Supreme Court has changed dramatically in the nearly eight years since it suggested racism isn't a big deal anymore – and not for the better. But it was the court's newest member, and one of the most right-wing yet, who asked a revealing question. "What's the interest of the Arizona RNC here in keeping, say, the out-of-precinct ballot disqualification rules on the books?" That law forces the state to throw out voter ballots if cast in the wrong precinct. The question was asked by Justice Amy Coney Barrett. The answer stunned many. "Because it puts us at a competitive disadvantage relative to Democrats," the lawyer, Michael Carvin, responded, as Mother Jones reports. "Politics is a zero-sum game," he added. "It's the difference between winning an election 50-49 and –" he continued, but Justice Barrett wouldn't even let him finish his sentence, perhaps for fear of what else he would say.