What goes through my my mind when I read the news with my morning coffee. …Or for the Simon's Rockers in the group, this is my response journal.
via How for-profit prisons have become the biggest lobby no one is talking about – The Washington Post
(An old article but it is circulating again.)
How? For starters, I’m going to go with the fact that advocating for convicted criminally isn’t the sexiest job out there….
And yes, Rubio is a bought and paid for hack. Not exactly breaking news. Even back in 2015, not exactly breaking news. Why is this a surprise to anyone? Have they never watched him speak???!
Chicago has the country’s third-largest school system with more than 400,000 students including preschoolers. At least 15 of those students have died by gunfire this school year.
…Last year a total of 70 children of school age, including dropouts and non-public school students, were killed by guns. More than 600 were wounded.
…For individuals who witness violence, the consequences can be severe. University of Chicago researcher Dexter Voisin studies the response to community violence. He says it is far worse for survivors.
Voisin says common aftereffects are aggression, depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress.
Teens Exposed To Gun Violence Face Tough Road : NPR
hmmmm
When it was visible in 1958, locals speculated that it might be the remains of a “pink,” a term used to describe a small, square-rigged vessel with a flat bottom and a narrow stern.
But the wreck was again examined after a spring nor’easter uncovered it in 1980. Based on the type of construction, marine archaeologist Warren Riess hypothesized that the vessel is a sloop of about Revolutionary War age. The remains have been mapped and identified by the Maine Historic Preservation Commission as archaeological site ME 497-004.
…This past weekend’s storm also uncovered ancient tree stumps all over Gooch’s Beach. Similar roots and stumps hide under the sand at Wells Beach. Radiocarbon dating performed on those in 1959 by geologist Arthur M. Hussey indicates that about 3,000 years ago, the white pine trees were growing in a wooded upland. They were gradually drowned by the rising sea level.
During the Archaic period, Maine’s shoreline was much farther out to sea than it is today. From about 5,000 years ago to 3,600 years ago the rate of sea-level rise in this area was 5.5 inches per century. The rate of sea-level rise then slowed to 2 inches per century. The current rate of rise, as measured by the Portland tide gauge, is 7.5 inches per century — nearly four times faster than the rate over the last few thousand years.
…Soon the sand will reclaim these vestiges of the past and the usual views will be restored until the next perfect storm thrills onlookers with another peek.
Skeleton of sunken ship laid bare at York’s Short Sands Beach
cool
The Maine Historic Preservation Commission maintains an inventory of historic sites that includes shipwrecks. The inventory includes measured drawings of the ships to document as much information as possible.
Shipwrecks are usually left where they lie because moving and preserving them is expensive and only limited information can be gleaned from the process, according to Leith Smith, a historic preservationist with the commission.
Seldom seen shipwreck re-emerges from York beach sands – Portland Press Herald
hmmmm
…Cummins reported that when the sunken ship skeleton was uncovered in 1958, locals believed it was the remains of a so-called pink, a small flat-bottomed square-rigger. But in 1980, when a spring storm revealed the mysterious ruins again, a marine archaeologist said it was likely a Revolutionary War-era sloop.
Elsewhere in York County, Cummins wrote that the weekend storm uncovered the outline of at least one other ship on the east end of Gooch’s Beach in Kennebunk as well. The identity of that vessel is uncertain, she wrote, but it may have been one of two ships known to have run aground in the area in the early 19th century.
wild
Erik Prince Told Russian Banker That Trump and Putin Should Be Like Roosevelt and Stalin
All of the cold , empty heart of his sister, with none of the out-of-her-depth, completely and embarrassingly unqualified, moronic idiocy.
Coal mining is a messy business. In parts of West Virginia, Kentucky, and Virginia, mining companies often get at underground coal seams by blowing up the tops of mountains — a process known as mountaintop removal mining. Once that’s done, they’ll dump the debris into the valleys below, which can contaminate streams and waterways with toxic heavy metals.
Appalachian Voices, an environmental group, estimates that coal companies have buried over 2,000 miles of streams in the region through mountaintop removal mining since the 1990s. And there’s growing evidence that when mining debris and waste gets into water supplies, the toxic metals can have dire health impacts for the people and mostly rural communities living nearby.
…Community groups across Appalachia and environmentalists had long pushed to update the regulations here, especially since mining practices have changed drastically over the past three decades and scientists have learned more about the harmful effects of water pollution from coal mining.
…Trump signed the bill, which means the stream protection rule is now dead. Coal companies will have a freer hand in dumping mining debris in streams.
Why Trump just killed a rule restricting coal companies from dumping waste in streams – Vox
hmmmm
Kushner is currently facing potentially massive ramifications for a disastrous $1.8 billion real estate deal he struck a decade ago. The slew of new stories suggest that he may have orchestrated a foreign policy crisis to pressure Qatar to bail him out. Months later, a firm linked to Qatar gave him a staggeringly large loan. All of these events suggest how Russia might have delivered a possible quid—a potential payment from a huge oil sale through back channels—in return for a Trump administration quo—a reported promise of reduced sanctions.
…All of this should be considered an incredible scandal in its own right, worthy of serious congressional inquiry. Once you factor in, however, the portions of this that are consistent with some of the allegations in the Steele dossier, the stories potentially become even more explosive.
…The Steele dossier alleges that Russians made a deal with Carter Page in the summer of 2016 to sell 19 percent of fossil fuel giant Rosneft, a multibillion dollar deal, and secretly transfer benefits to Trump officials. The dossier alleged that Page was a campaign intermediary to meet personally with Russians, and that Igor Sechin—the CEO of Rosneft and a close Putin ally—and Page had held a “secret meeting” to discuss “the issues of future bilateral energy cooperation and prospects for an associated move to lift Ukraine-related western sanctions against Russia.” The dossier further alleged that Sechin offered Page the brokerage of a 19 percent stake in the company in exchange for the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Russia.
…The Rosneft sale was right after Trump’s victory but before the inauguration. It was also right after Kushner’s push for a secret communications link to the Kremlin through the Russia embassy that U.S. intelligence couldn’t access, and right before Kushner’s meeting with Putin’s banker and confidant Gorkov.
…Page contradicted himself on whether sanctions were ever discussed. Page first said nothing Baranov “said to me ever implied or asked for anything related to sanctions.” In his very next breath, he confesses “there may have been some general reference” to sanctions.
…His testimony and his emails confirm that Page got advance approval from high-ranking Trump officials like Sam Clovis to go to Russia for that July trip, and he communicated with Trump officials immediately after the trip congratulating them for a stunning pro-Russia change in the Republican Party platform on Ukraine policy.
…The bottom line is that all this new Kushner news connects more dots in the Steele dossier’s core allegation: that there may have been a quid-pro-quo of Russian oil money for Trump policy change on sanctions. There are still obviously a lot of loose and unknown threads here and no direct evidence yet that Russia is behind any of the Qatari deals. Depending on which dots Mueller is himself able to connect, however, the latest evidence would also strengthen any possible charges against Kushner and a slew of Trump officials, as well as any potential case of obstruction of justice against the president himself. Finally, there is still the even more alarming question about whether the Trump family businesses’ conflicts of interest almost led the president to escalate a regional dispute to the brink of armed conflict. In light of the Steele dossier and how Qatar might implicate Russia, Kushner and Trump have even more to answer for.
hmmm
The teens from Parkland who’ve volunteered to speak with reporters and in front of cameras have eloquently and pointedly stated why they believe gun control laws are needed. They’ve repeatedly taken on the National Rifle Association (NRA) directly.
… Young black people have been fighting to save lives through gun reform laws for years without the support and energy given to the Stoneman Douglas students. In fact, black youth, who’ve been passionately advocating for gun control measures, have been demonized, obfuscated, and overlooked.
…These organizations, largely centered around anti-violence, have been led mostly by young black women and black teens — and not only in recent years. Through different groups, across different cities, they have been organizing anti-violence rallies, have been meeting with presidential candidates, proposing policy ideas, participating in national debates, and organizing intensely to advocate for more equitable state and federal gun laws that impact black and brown people. They put forward policy strategies to curb violence, looking for reform and accountability in policing, especially concerning the lethal use of force by guns.
Black Lives Matter, perhaps the most well-known and visible of these organizations, was conceived in 2013 as a response to the acquittal of the man who fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, a black teenager who lived and died in central Florida, about three hours away from Parkland. After Martin was shot, the Dream Defenders, a student-lead group fought tirelessly with a straight-forward and well-articulated goal, demanding that lawmakers repeal the state’s “stand your ground” law. They even organized a weeks-long sit-in at the Florida Capitol.
…anti-violence black activist groups were formed, including the Newark Anti-Violence Coalition, the Crown Heights Community Mediation Center, and the Wear Orange campaign, which was started by black teens in Chicago, who were close friends with Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old, who was shot and killed on January 29, 2013, shortly after performing in President Barack Obama’s inauguration parade.
Black Teens Have Been Fighting for Gun Reform for Years | Teen Vogue
Sigh…
(not your Mam’s Teen Vogue!)
This California coffee shop has a policy: No police
For me, the most interesting part about this story is not explicitly included. A uniformed officer is refused. He is offended or what-have-you and puts the word out in the law enforcement community, apparently expecting the pressure to gain him an apology and/or a reversal of the policy.
…And all that happened was the shop owners doubled down.
It would seem that -at the very least- the local police need to step up their diplomacy game, if not make changes in policy and procedure would lead to them being seen -by the actual community and its citizens- as actually working with and protecting the community.
President Trump’s longtime personal assistant was fired and escorted out of the White House on Monday over security issues, according to multiple reports.
John McEntee was canned over issues with his security clearance and because he’s currently under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security for serious financial crimes, sources told CNN.
…McEntee was not allowed to collect his belongings when he was escorted from White House grounds. He left without his coat.
…Minutes after his firing, [empahsis: mine] McEntee was hired by Trump’s reelection campaign as a senior adviser for campaign operations, CNN said.
Trump’s longtime personal assistant fired over security issues | New York Post
Sigh…
Trump told reporters he made the decision himself, citing disagreements with Tillerson that included North Korea diplomacy, steel and aluminum tariffs, and the Iran nuclear agreement.
…Trump’s tweet Tuesday came the day after Tillerson blamed Russia for an assassination of an ex-spy in London — something the White House had specifically declined to do just hours before.
…The State Department said Tillerson did not speak to Trump himself — something White House officials confirm — and that the secretary didn’t know about the final decision until the tweet.
…A State Department official sent out a terse reaction to the sudden news.
Steve Goldstein, undersecretary for public diplomacy, said Tillerson “did not speak to the President and is unaware of the reason” for the decision.
Rex Tillerson out as Secretary of State, CIA chief Pompeo gets nod
hmmmm
A spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Francisco resigned his post, disillusioned by what he called false claims spread by Trump administration officials after a four-day raid in Northern California last month, according to reports.
“I just couldn’t bear the burden, continuing on as a representative of the agency and charged with upholding integrity, knowing that information was false,” James Schwab told CNN.
ICE spokesman resigns over falsehoods he said were spread by Trump administration after raids
hmmmm
Disgusting.
In circumstances like these, F’ the chain of command!
Clearly it wasn’t up to the task anyways.
DeVos gets cold shoulder from White House after interviews
Question: was the WH incompetent enough to think incompetent appointees would do anything other than fuck it up?
DeVos knows next to nothing about actual school performance statistics, even in her home state of Michigan. She also hasn’t visited struggling schools and doesn’t really seem terribly concerned about it.
…When asked if Michigan’s public schools have gotten better since having funding diverted to private, charter and paroquial schools, DeVos responded, “I don’t know. Overall, I– I can’t say overall that they have all gotten better.”
When pressed by Leslie Stahl, who pointed out that diverting funds certainly hasn’t made Michigan’s schools better, DeVos answered, “I hesitate to talk about all schools in general because schools are made up of individual students attending them.”
…DeVos still thinks putting guns in classrooms is a valid solution to school shootings.
“That should be an option for states and communities to consider,” she said. “And I hesitate to think of, like, my first-grade teacher, Mrs. Zorhoff, I couldn’t ever imagine her having a gun and being trained in that way. But for those who are– who are capable, this is one solution that can and should be considered. But no one size fits all. Every state and every community is going to address this issue in a different way.”
She also implied that she believes black students misbehave more than white students, so it’s OK for teachers to call the police as a form of discipline for students of color.
Twitter Roasts Betsy DeVos After Disastrous ’60 Minutes’ Interview
Erik Prince’s sister knows absolutely nothing about her job and doesn’t even have the sense to be more embarrassed by her own idiocy.
Staggering levels of corruption and incompetence. Mind-blowingly so. Oh, an unhealthy dash of racism for good measure.
Well, maybe she’ll end up in jail when shit crashes down on her corrupt as all get out brother. The schoolchildren of this country can only hope so….
House Republicans break with intelligence community – CNNPolitics
Because corruption, pure and simple.
The federal government censored, withheld or said it couldn’t find records sought by citizens, journalists and others more often last year than at any point in the past decade, according to an Associated Press analysis of new data. The calculations cover eight months under …Trump — the first hints about how his administration complies with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
Federal government sets new record for censoring, withholding files under FOIA – CBS News
Because arrogance, incompetence, and corruption.
New Treasury Department numbers show that the US government racked up a $215 billion deficit in February — the largest monthly deficit in six years.
…For the full fiscal year, Treasury now projects the annual deficit will near $833 billion, and then $984 billion in fiscal 2019.
The climb back to trillion dollar deficits — a hallmark of the financial crisis — has been hastened by policies put into place in the past several months.
U.S. monthly budget deficit largest in 6 years – Mar. 12, 2018
…Because incompetence.
…Some of these agreements included clauses that prevented employees from discussing details of Weinstein’s “personal, social or business activities,” according to The New Yorker.
NDAs are legally enforceable contracts, but they’re now coming under increased scrutiny from lawmakers, attorneys and legal experts. Some states have even introduced legislation to ban them altogether when they involve claims of sexual misconduct.
hmmm
President Trump on Saturday again called for enacting the death penalty for drug dealers during a rally meant to bolster a struggling GOP candidate for a U.S. House seat here.
…Trump also delivered a profane attack on the news media, calling NBC News anchor Chuck Todd a “sleeping son of a bitch” and deeming CNN “fake as hell,” as the enthusiastic crowd booed at the mention of journalists and chanted “CNN sucks!”
And he rattled off several falsehoods, such as a claim that 52% of women voted for him in his presidential win (it was 52% of white women, according to exit polling).
…Midway through the rally, Trump hinted that he may not run for reelection, yet he rolled out a new campaign slogan (“Keep America Great!”) and took repeated swings at potential 2020 Democratic challengers, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), again pulling out his “Pocahontas” taunt. He also went after Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), who has called for Trump’s impeachment , a “low-IQ individual.”
…Last month, Trump showed up at the Conservative Political Action Conference and gave an unscripted 75-minute address in which he attacked Democrats, mocked Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), encouraged campaign-style chants about locking up his political opponent and recited the lyrics of a song about a tenderhearted woman who cares for an ailing snake, a parable that he frequently uses to paint immigrants in the U.S. illegally as violent criminals.
At rally, Trump again calls for the death penalty for drug dealers
The full Duterte even.
Senate Bill 421 would lift the present three-month cap for contraceptive prescriptions, raising it to 12 months. Under the proposed law, doctors would prescribe 12 months of the medication, and insurance carriers would be mandated to cover it without imposing co-pays. Newly prescribed patients could walk into pharmacies and leave with a year’s supply of contraceptives.
The bill, championed by Planned Parenthood and health care industry groups, is meant to address a long-standing problem for those taking “the pill” – forgetfulness. Often distributed in packs of 28, and designed to be taken daily, the oral contraceptives require diligence to be effective. Having to obtain refill prescriptions every several months can prove difficult for some, setting up potential delays and lapses in use. Missing a week or even days can carry side effects for women who rely on the pill, or lead to unplanned pregnancy.
…Around a quarter of all women who use contraceptives report missing days due to difficulty getting prescription renewal, according to a 2011 study by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Supporters say the bill would benefit low-income people with less time to organize renewed prescriptions.
Lawmakers consider allowing a full year of birth control pills with a single prescription
hmmm
The schools in Bow – an affluent, suburban community bordering Concord – have always enjoyed a sterling reputation for academic success and good pay for educators, where teachers earn on average $63,169 a year.
Twenty miles away, the schools in Pittsfield – a geographically isolated, depressed former mill town – have faced test scores and graduation rates well below average. There, teachers are paid on average $22,000 a year less than Bow. While the district has a contingent of veteran staff, it faces high turnover – sometimes up to 20 percent a year – and a steady churn of young, untried teachers.
…Frustrated by taxes, Pittsfield has, on several occasions, flirted with closing its high school. But each time the proposition has been considered, the conclusion has been the same: between tuition, special education and transportation, taxpayers wouldn’t save much, if at all.
Teachers, students separated by 20 miles face very different circumstances
hmmm
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