There's a Lot of Pain in His Wall

If he were alive today, Mr. Bill Mauldin, two-time Pulitzer Prize honoree, and one of the greatest editorial cartoonists of all time, might slightly alter one of his best known cartoons from his book, Up Front. He might choose to make a serious point about the man occupying the White House today.*

Mr. Trump has shut down our government hurting the most vulnerable federal employees and suppliers by taking away their weekly pay; he's hurt the American people by creating a seriously stupid gaping hole in our border security by not paying our Homeland Security people; he's put at risk countless people by taking away the weekly pay of our Coast Guard service members.

Then to top it all off, he added insult to injury using $54,000 in federal funds to pay for his Mar-a-Largo New Year's Eve party tents.

There simply is no justification for Mr. Trump's shutdown. None, that is, save for one that only a psychopath could come up with... causing needless pain for the most vulnerable of our people. And, then seemingly enjoying every second of their pain to get his way.

Oh, the cost? In a recent article, the Washington Post quotes S&P Global analysts saying, "...a shutdown would cost the economy about $6.5 billion per week.

As for those serving the people of the United States out of their sense of duty... they continue to serve their nation without pay.

*I hope you'll for give me, Mr. Mauldin. But, I think you'd agree with what I'm trying to say.

The Coast Guard is America's Maritime First Responder. 

What the Druids Knew About MRSA

Druid statue in the park
Croome Park, Worcs, England
By PicturePrince - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,
 https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44271891

Gaius Julius Caesar feared the Druids. He knew them as powerful, knowledgeable, leaders of the Celts, the people who lived in northern Europe from Ireland to Turkey. So, he did his best to eliminate them. Sadly, through much of Europe and Britain, he and other Roman conquers succeeded. But they never subdued the people of the land that is today called Ireland.

The Druids knew a thing or two about life and how one might live in our world. They excelled in what we call medicine today. They knew about healing. Possibly, more than we understand today.

Fortunately, a few researchers are learning about the old ways and applying them today.

Take Dr. Gerry Quinn, for example. As a resident of Boho, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, he grew up with the healing traditions of the area which was, “previously occupied by the Druids, around 1500 years ago, and Neolithic people 4000 years ago”.

Quinn knew that, “Traditionally a small amount of soil was wrapped up in cotton cloth and used to heal many ailments including toothache, throat and neck infections.”

Later in life, as a member of the Swansea University Medical School research team, he applied his knowledge by analyzing, “ancient soil from Ireland long thought to have medicinal properties”. Low and behold, the team discovered that the soil, “contains a previously unknown strain of bacteria which is effective against four of the top six superbugs that are resistant to antibiotics, including MRSA.”

Professor Paul Dyson of Swansea University Medical School said:

"This new strain of bacteria is effective against 4 of the top 6 pathogens that are resistant to antibiotics, including MRSA. Our discovery is an important step forward in the fight against antibiotic resistance.”

“Our results show that folklore and traditional medicines are worth investigating in the search for new antibiotics. Scientists, historians and archaeologists can all have something to contribute to this task. It seems that part of the answer to this very modern problem might lie in the wisdom of the past."

My guess is that it's likely there is more to learn from our ancestors. Perhaps we should look and listen. We might discover that the Druids knew more than just about an antibiotic that takes out MRSA.

Here's the rest of the story:

Bacteria found in ancient Irish soil halts growth of superbugs—new hope for tackling antibiotic resistance, Swansea University Medical School, phys.org, 27 Dec 2018.

Zone of inhibition produced by Streptomyces sp myrophorea on a lawn
of MRSA. The bacteria is the brown spot, and the lighter color around 
the spot shows that it is inhibiting the spread of the MRSA which is
 surrounding it. Credit: G Quinn, Swansea University

Mary Black - Song for Ireland - 1998

Stupid is Forever... Learning is Too

Anthony Peratt 3: Stickman on Stone
Please see link below.

Do you subscribe to the idea that learning is forever?

I do.

I’ve come to search for “rational” answers to perplexing anomalies which simply don’t make sense when viewed from accepted or “orthodox” teachings. One of these is astrophysics. Simply put, I have serious issues with how our science professionals, historians, and religious leaders see our universe and humankind’s place within it.

In many ways, The Electric Universe offers a refreshing perspective on some of these conundrums. Perhaps, like the federal government, the science of astrophysics might be in the wrong hands.

Here's a thought, if stupid is forever, as one of my friends remarked, alternatively, the new year may offer us a chance to learn more about the "truth" of our existence and prove to ourselves that we no longer must remain willfully stupid.

Wal Thornhill: Blockbuster – Saturn/Earth Connection Confirmed | Space News

ThunderboltsProject
Published on Dec 19, 2018
A new scientific paper provides stunning affirmation of one of the most striking predictions of the Electric Universe/catastrophist hypothesis. The paper, published in the Journal Icarus, reports that the water on Saturn’s moons and in its rings is remarkably similar to water on our own planet, a completely unexpected finding for planetary scientists.

As surprising as this connection between Saturn and Earth is for planetary scientists, the connection was in fact explicitly predicted by one of the great scientific heretics of the 20th century. Nearly three-quarters of a century ago, Dr. Immanuel Velikovsky proposed that within human memory, a period of chaos reigned in the inner solar system. In this scenario, one of the migrating planets was Saturn, and it was Velikovsky’s seemingly outrageous thesis that the water in Earth’s oceans came from the gas giant. In part one of this two part presentation, physicist Wal Thornhill outlines the incredible and ongoing predictive success of the electric universe/catastrophist paradigm.

Please go here for more:  http://www.thunderbolts.info



*Anthony Peratt 3: Stickman on Stone
Plasma Scientist Anthony Peratt Meets the Electric Universe
By David Talbott
https://www.thunderbolts.info/wp/2016/04/28/anthony-peratt-3-stickman-on-stone/

Relax. Nothing Has Changed... Yet

A little bird told me that we all need a break from today's nonsense.

So, here's a Reprise... and soon you, too, will know what is happening to America.

I Am A Pilot - The Smothers Brothers - Craig Ferguson CBS' The Late Late Show

See... I told you!

Do You Hear What I Hear?

President Donald Trump has agreed to dissolve 

the Trump Foundation after being accused of using 

it for his personal and political benefit. Photo credit:

Associated Press.

So, are you still looking for coverage of this story in your corporate media of choice?

I am.

Trump Foundation To Shut Down Amid Lawsuit Against The Charity, Nina Golgowski, Huffington Post, 18 Dec 2018.

“President Donald Trump’s personal charity has agreed to shut down amid an ongoing ethics investigation into its finances, the New York attorney general announced on Tuesday.”

“The agreement follows a court ruling last month that a lawsuit filed against the Donald J. Trump Foundation by Attorney General Barbara Underwood in June will be allowed to move forward.”

“Our petition detailed a shocking pattern of illegality involving the Trump Foundation — including unlawful coordination with the Trump presidential campaign, repeated and willful self-dealing, and much more,” Underwood said in a statement. “This amounted to the Trump Foundation functioning as little more than a checkbook to serve Mr. Trump’s business and political interests.”

Please link to the story here…

In honor of our hope for truth and justice during this Christmas Season...
Ddo you hear what I hear?

"Do You Hear What I Hear?" is a Christmas song written in October 1962 with lyrics by Noël Regney and music by Gloria Shayne Baker. 

Noel Regney wrote the lyrics for the song, while Gloria Shayne Baker composed the Christmas carol's music in October 1962. This was an unusual arrangement for the two writers. Usually it was Baker who wrote the lyrics for their songs while Regney composed the music, as they did on their classic children's song "Rain Rain Go Away".

"Do You Hear what I Hear?" was released shortly after Thanksgiving in 1962. The song was originally recorded by the Harry Simeone Chorale. It went on to sell more than quarter-million copies during the 1962 Christmas holiday season.

Cheese & the Real Moon Landing

Wallace and Gromit on the Moon enjoying their cheese and crackers. 

One or two of my friends say we never landed on the moon. All that NASA stuff was faked.

I don't know about that.

But, like the guy below, writer/director S G Collins, I wasn't there to see them exit their lander, either. Still, I did watch the moon landing on "live" TV. And, like Collins, I worked with studio stuff back in the olden days. For me, it seems a bit out of reach to believe the technology of that time would have been up to the degree of fakery required.

So, here is the story... anyway.

Moon Landings Faked? Filmmaker Says Not! - 2013

Writer/director S G Collins of Postwar Media debunks every theory that the Apollo Moon landings could have been faked in a studio. The filmmaker takes a look at the video technology of the late 1960's, showing alleged fraud was simply not possible.

I suspect this is what happened after the real moon landing:

A Grand Day Out - Landing on the Moon - Wallace and Gromit - 1989

Wallace and Gromit land on the Moon to hunt for Cheese in this classic clip from the Oscar winning film, A Grand Day Out.

Official Movie Synopsis
Wallace and his sophisticated dog Gromit, have to decide where to go for their annual picnic.  With a home-made rocket and large appetite they head for the moon, hoping to find it made of cheese. Their moon tasting arouses the anger of the moon’s resident, mechanical caretaker.  In the conflict that ensues the earthlings unwittingly help the robot to fulfil its dreams. Download the film from ITunes: http://goo.gl/zAJem7

Are You a Sick Puppy, Too?

How big must the scandal be… how much money, how deep, how many people must be involved… before you start to puke, like a sick puppy?

When will we call our Congress people to tell them that we want something done about it? When will we call our pension fund managers, city county and state treasurers, and tell them to stop buying U.S. securities because we have lost trust in our U.S. government?

Yes, this is more than screwed-up accounting errors.

Even today, in the age of the most corrupt presidency in the history of the U.S., this scandal dwarfs all preceding scandals. This one is no run-of-the-mill Trump corruption.

No, this is $21 trillion, and likely much more. This one takes malfeasance and misfeasance to the highest degree in the history mankind.

This scandal begs the question: How is possible for any citizen to trust our government with our tax monies when they have lost track of $21 trillion?

Now, It’s O.K. to cleanse your stomach, stand up straight, then move forward, stay on mission, and correct this massive wrong.

And, by the way, let’s not allow the corporate media disinformation purveyors misdirect our attention off the real story...

The Pentagon's Missing Trillions: What You Need to Know, Corbett Report Extras, 18 Dec 2018.

Dr. Mark Skidmore of Michigan State University joins us to discuss his research with Catherine Austin Fitts into the $21 trillion in unaccounted transactions on the books of the US Department of Defence and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. We discuss what we know and don't know about the subject, the Pentagon's nonsensical and inadequate excuses for the debacle, the new accounting guideline that legally allows every department of the federal government to create fake and altered books for public consumption, the recent failed Pentagon audit, the government's refusal to provide any information about the problem, the failure of congress to pursue the issue, and the failure of the press to report on it.

More Info
Show notes and MP3
Solari Report The Missing Money

Is Our Government Intentionally Hiding $21 Trillion In Spending?, Laurence Kotlikoff, Forbes, 21 July 2018.
“Let’s recall that this is not simply a matter of boring accounting. Trillions in unaccounted outlays, if that’s what’s involved here, is trillions of our tax dollars being spent without our knowledge. If that’s the case, we’re talking about the biggest government financial deception in the history of the country.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) You are right to continue questioning the missing $21 trillion! Please don’t stop!
The Pentagon Failed Its Audit Amid a $21 Trillion Scandal (Yes, Trillion), Lee Camp, truthdig.com, 18 Dec 2018.

Outlaws & War Criminals

O.K. Stop tweeting. Stop texting.

Watch these two clips of Ralph Nader interviewed by Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!

Your life and the lives of those you love depend upon it.

Ralph Nader on Single Payer, Climate Devastation, Impeachment & Why Mulvaney Is a “Massive Outlaw”

Democracy Now!
17 Dec 2018
https://democracynow.org

As President Trump threatens to shut down the federal government over border wall funding, there have been some shake-ups in the White House. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke will resign as he faces at least 17 federal investigations into suspected ethics violations. A former fossil fuel industry lobbyist, David Bernhardt, will become the interim interior secretary. Meanwhile, Trump has tapped Mick Mulvaney to become acting chief of staff to replace Gen. John Kelly. Mulvaney already holds two posts in the administration: White House budget director and acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. And in Texas, a federal court has declared the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate unconstitutional, setting up a likely challenge at the Supreme Court. We are joined by longtime consumer advocate and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader. He is author of the new book “To the Ramparts: How Bush and Obama Paved the Way for the Trump Presidency, and Why It Isn’t Too Late to Reverse Course.”


“To the Ramparts”: Ralph Nader on How Bush & Obama Paved the Way for the Trump Presidency

Democracy Now!
17 Dec 2018
https://democracynow.org

A new book by longtime consumer advocate, corporate critic and former presidential hopeful Ralph Nader links the criminality of the Trump administration to the unchecked power of previous U.S. presidents, including Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. In “To the Ramparts: How Bush and Obama Paved the Way for the Trump Presidency, and Why It Isn’t Too Late to Reverse Course,” Nader argues that the U.S. federal government is fundamentally corrupt, warmongering and owned by corporations—but he also issues a call for members of the public to hold their representatives and senators accountable, including by building local commerce watchdog groups across the country and utilizing “citizens summons” to force members of Congress to appear before residents of their districts.

Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs weekdays on nearly 1,400 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream 8-9AM ET: https://democracynow.org

Now, let's do what Ralph suggests.

Moving the Pendulum - This is Doable

Following the Bush/Cheney 9/11 false flag crimes and the 9/11 wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Congress voted your rights away by passing three, Bill of Rights busting laws: (a) the USA PATRIOT Act (Yes, Congress “repealed” the Patriot Act. But it was in name only. Now we must work to revise the Freedom Act.) (b) the Military Commission Act and (c) section 1021 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012.

This combined with several Supreme Court decisions favoring corporations over humans, and /or giving corporations rights previously only enjoyed by humans with souls, such as allowing corporations and special interest groups to spend unlimited amounts to influence elections. (Please see: Citizen's United vs. Federal Election Commission.)

One step toward rectifying these egregious decisions is coalescing in the Green New Deal.

Not only can wrongs be corrected, the process of doing so can be financed through an end run past obstructionist Republicans and their big, dark money corporate sponsors. It’s a move similar to the one that President Franklin Roosevelt (FDR) pulled off back in the 30s.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has presented an outstanding way for funding the Green New Deal. The idea worked in the past and it can work now, so says Ellen Brown, JD*, a banking expert who knows a thing or two about banking, the Federal Reserve, finance, and Public Banking. She is the author of 12 books, including best-selling book, Web of Debt, and hundreds of articles.

Here’s the story…

This Radical Plan to Fund the ‘Green New Deal’ Just Might Work, Ellen Brown, truthdig.com, 16 Dec 2018.

“With what author and activist Naomi Klein calls “galloping momentum,” the “Green New Deal” promoted by Representative-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., appears to be forging a political pathway for solving all of the ills of society and the planet in one fell swoop. Her plan would give a House select committee “a mandate that connects the dots” between energy, transportation, housing, health care, living wages, a jobs guarantee and more. But even to critics on the left, it is merely political theater, because “everyone knows” a program of that scope cannot be funded without a massive redistribution of wealth and slashing of other programs (notably the military), which is not politically feasible.

“That may be the case, but Ocasio-Cortez and the 22 representatives joining her in calling for a select committee also are proposing a novel way to fund the program, one that could actually work. The resolution says funding will come primarily from the federal government, “using a combination of the Federal Reserve, a new public bank or system of regional and specialized public banks, public venture funds and such other vehicles or structures that the select committee deems appropriate, in order to ensure that interest and other investment returns generated from public investments made in connection with the Plan will be returned to the treasury, reduce taxpayer burden and allow for more investment.”

“A network of public banks could fund the Green New Deal in the same way President Franklin Roosevelt funded the original New Deal. At a time when the banks were bankrupt, he used the publicly owned Reconstruction Finance Corporation as a public infrastructure bank. The Federal Reserve could also fund any program Congress wanted, if mandated to do so. Congress wrote the Federal Reserve Act and can amend it. Or the Treasury itself could do it, without the need to even change any laws. The Constitution authorizes Congress to “coin money” and “regulate the value thereof,” and that power has been delegated to the Treasury. It could mint a few trillion-dollar platinum coins, put them in its bank account and start writing checks against them. What stops legislators from exercising those constitutional powers is simply that “everyone knows” Zimbabwe-style hyperinflation will result. But will it? Compelling historical precedent shows that this need not be the case.”

-more-

*Ellen Brown is the founder of the Public Banking Institute and the author of a dozen books and hundreds of articles. She developed her research skills as an attorney practicing civil litigation in Los Angeles. In the best-selling Web of Debt (2007, 2012), she turned those skills to an analysis of the Federal Reserve and “the money trust,” showing how this private cartel has usurped the power to create money from the people themselves and how we the people can get it back.

Harry Belafonte - Man Smart (Woman Smarter) - 1952

You Do Not Walk Alone

Sunrise Movement Members on Capitol Hill... before being jailed.

Sunrise Movement - The Green New Deal
More than 1,000 young people and allies flooded the Capitol Hill hallways and offices (10 Dec 2018) of Democratic representatives to demand that elected officials listen to their youngest constituents — as well as some of the world’s top scientists — and back the bold proposal to shift the US to a zero-carbon energy system by 2050 in order to save the planet from an irreversible climate catastrophe. Thanks to efforts spearheaded by the youth-led Sunrise Movement, the number of Democratic lawmakers now supporting a Select Committee on a Green New deal has now swelled to 23.

Did your mainstream media of choice cover this story?

Well, here's one report...
Over 140 Arrested as Youth-Led Demonstrators Demand Green New Deal, Julia Conley, Common Dreams, truthout.org, 11 Dec 2018.

Please go here for more about the Sunrise Movement...

Over 100 Arrests Made In Green New Deal Protests

Nancy Wilson

The great, the one-and-only, Nancy Wilson was born just a short while ago, in a little south-central Ohio town, Chillicothe, to an iron-worker and a maid. 

I first heard her sing while working for a radio station. 

I never forgot her voice. Nancy Wilson’s music open a life-door for me… one I never knew existed. Here’s why…

"Guess Who I Saw Today" - Nancy Wilson - 1994

Grammy-Winning ‘Song Stylist’ Nancy Wilson Dead At 81,Andrew Dalton, Hillel Italie, AP, Huffington Post, 14 Dec 2018.

"Wilson also had a busy career in TV and film, and spent years hosting NPR’s “Jazz Profiles” series."
-more-

Your Future... Paris to Pittsburgh

Yesterday, Gary, my brother, sent a link to the National Geographic Documentary Film, Paris to Pittsburgh.

"From coastal cities to America's heartland, Paris to Pittsburgh highlights how Americans are demanding and developing real solutions in the face of climate change. As the weather grows more deadly and destructive across the the nation, they aren't waiting for Washington to act."

I watched the entire show, streaming from the NG website.

It is an excellent “status” report that left me with a rebirth of my faith in our local and state people who are working for the benefit of all, overcoming the stupidity of the Trumpers.

It has long been fact throughout the world that renewable / sustainable energy is the way to go for several reasons, one of which is because millions of home and small business conversion to sustainable energy means good-paying jobs for many, many people.

For more please go here… for more from me... and, here for The Renewables 2016 Global Status Report (PDF).

Leader Pelosi

How do you spell leader? Today, I spell it this way: Rep Nancy Pelosi (D - CA).

In a recent meeting at the White House, Leader Pelosi stood tall in the face of a bellowing, bully-child-man. Yes, this woman knows a thing or two about facing down the tissue-thin monstrosity currently occupying the Peoples’ House. And, she did, too, unlike hundreds of "tough-as-steel-type" male politicians.

Here’s the story…

How Nancy Pelosi Masterfully Dismantled Trump, Emily Peck, Huffington Post, 12 Dec 2018.

 “At the outset, she set Trump back on his heels by naming the possible government shutdown “the Trump shutdown,” and sending him into a kind of tailspin. (“Did you say Trump?” he asked incredulously.)”

“Trump tried every sexist tactic in the book in an attempt to diminish the 78-year-old Pelosi: He repeatedly interrupted her, tried to mansplain to Pelosi who is the former, and likely future, Speaker of the House how Congress works, and even talked about her in the third person as if she weren’t there.”

“I was trying to be the mom,” Pelosi said, according to Politico, but “it goes to show you: You get into a tinkle contest with a skunk, you get tinkle all over you.”

And, then, this:

“It’s like a manhood thing with him — as if manhood can be associated with him,” Pelosi reportedly said. “This wall thing.”

I'll bet 10 cat's eye marbles that Leader Pelosi doesn't need a wall to prove she's The Leader.

Helen Reddy - I Am Woman - 1971

Special Criminal Grand Jury for 9/11 Destruction of WTCs 1, 2 & 7

I so want to believe that a first step has finally been taken toward justice for the cold-blooded murder of nearly 2,974 innocents, hundreds of first responders, hundreds of thousands of 9/11 war casualties, and millions of innocents forced into exile due to the 9/11 wars, which were falsely and deceptively engaged by the Bush/Cheney administration.

That first step? Here it is:

NEW YORK, N.Y., Nov. 28, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Lawyers' Committee for 9/11 Inquiry (part of the Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth) has received a letter from the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York in response to its and 9/11 Family Members' Petitions (https://lawyerscommitteefor9-11inquiry.org/lc-doj-first-amended-grand-jury-petition/) demanding that he present submitted evidence of yet-to-be-prosecuted federal crimes relating to the destruction of WTCs 1, 2 and 7 to a Special Criminal Grand Jury.  The letter states: "We have received and reviewed The Lawyers' Committee for 9/11 Inquiry, Inc.'s submissions of April 10 and July 30, 2018.  We will comply with the provisions of 18 U.S.C. § 3332 as they relate to your submissions." -more-

The Grand Jury may help us begin to unpack the truth about 9/11. If so, that truth will set us free.

I’ll bet 10 cat’s eye marbles that you didn’t hear about this in the mainstream media… but, now you have… through the blogosphere.

Here’s more from Downriver USA about 9/11. And, more from the International Bureau of Forensic Investigations here.

Finally, I’m still struggling to come to terms with the faith-shattering evilness within those responsible for the 9/11 murders and the resulting holocaust they spawned.

The words of Dr. David Ray Griffin, Professor of Philosophy of Religion and Theology, Emeritus, at Claremont School of Theology and Claremont Graduate University, have helped me deal with these horrible, horrible demons. (Go to :37 in the video... but the whole video is well worth watching.)

David Ray Griffin 2006 "9/11 and Christian Faith" - 2006

Looking for Heroes

I came across some audio from Jim Garrison’s presentation to the Southern California Broadcaster Association (1967) this morning.

As I listened to him speak, I was startled by his prescient comments about the role of media and the rise of Fascism in the USA, as well as his recounting of facts from his findings regarding JFK’s murder.

Garrison’s statements ring clear and true today, despite years of vicious CIA-managed disinformation and media manipulation which effectively weaponized the US media against him and other JFK assassination investigators (See the Operation Mockingbird video clip below and please read Carl Bernstein’s 1977 article, The CIA and the Media.)

Garrison is perhaps best known for bringing charges against Clay Shaw in 1967. Shaw was the only person prosecuted in connection with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. He was acquitted. Garrison charged that Shaw, along with others including David Ferrie and Guy Banister, were involved in a conspiracy with elements of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the murder of JFK.

Shaw denied any connection with the CIA, but in 1979, Richard Helms, former director of the CIA, testified under oath that Shaw had been a part-time contact of the Domestic Contact Service of the CIA. In 1996, the CIA revealed that Shaw had obtained a "five Agency" clearance in 1949.

Garrison was a hero. I hope more like him will come forward today.

Jim Garrison on the JFK Assassination and Fascism - Intro w/ James DiEugenio, 1967

Operation Mockingbird, CIA Media Control Program

One Box-of Sun, Please

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers have created a brilliant solution for reliably and inexpensively storing renewable energy. They call it, Sun in a box.

Here’s the story…

'Sun in a box' would store renewable energy for the grid, Jennifer Chu, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, techxplore.com, 6 Dec 2018.

"MIT engineers have come up with a conceptual design for a system to store renewable energy, such as solar and wind power, and deliver that energy back into an electric grid on demand. The system may be designed to power a small city not just when the sun is up or the wind is high, but around the clock."

MIT researchers propose a concept for a renewable storage system, pictured here,
that would store solar and wind energy in the form of white-hot liquid silicon,
stored in heavily insulated tanks. Credit: Duncan MacGruer

"The new design stores heat generated by excess electricity from solar or wind power in large tanks of white-hot molten silicon, and then converts the light from the glowing metal back into electricity when it's needed. The researchers estimate that such a system would be vastly more affordable than lithium-ion batteries, which have been proposed as a viable, though expensive, method to store renewable energy. They also estimate that the system would cost about half as much as pumped hydroelectric storage—the cheapest form of grid-scale energy storage to date."

"Even if we wanted to run the grid on renewables right now we couldn't, because you'd need fossil-fueled turbines to make up for the fact that the renewable supply cannot be dispatched on demand," says Asegun Henry, the Robert N. Noyce Career Development Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. "We're developing a new technology that, if successful, would solve this most important and critical problem in energy and climate change, namely, the storage problem."

-more-

George Harrison Playing Here Comes The Sun

Note to MI Lame Duck Republicans

Michigan Republican Lame Duckers must be jumpin’ with joy now that they’ve kept the underclass down once again.*

Laura Benanti "The Waitress Song" original song

*Ah... Rs please note: the underclass will vote again in future elections.

Who said, "It's Time For a Break?"

One of these Berkley Breathed's Bloom County guys said, "It's time for a break!". And, ya know what? It is. So, go here for some fun.

Then, consider meditatin' on this...

Life's bound to get better!(?) If ya read Breathed's stuff often enough. So, "be kind"... even to the next Michigan, lame duck Republican legislator you bump into.

Michigan Rs Smokin’ Some Bad Weed

Interesting scam the lame-duck Republican legislators are trying to pull in Michigan. It’s certainly not, “politics as usual”.

No, since the Democrats won a few top jobs in the state, e.g. governor, attorney general, secretary of state, to name a few, Michigan Rs seem to be smokin’ some bad weed.

They decided to practice a unique brand of Scorched-Earth-Republican-Evil, akin to “sowing the fields with salt and poisoning the wells with putrid bodies”. Each night they must dream of the day when they can return to power and force us all back into serfdom.

I'm looking forward to the time when Lady Justice decides to bring some Pure Michigan justice back home.

Here’s the story, brought to light by Jack Lessenberry…

War on local communities, Jack Lessenberry, Lessenberry Ink, 3 Dec 2018.
"For as long as I can remember, Republicans have campaigned against big government, especially government controls that come from Washington.  Instead, they’ve marketed themselves as the party of small government and local control."

"That sounds nice.  Most of us would rather have decisions made and money spent by local people we know and trust, rather than big bad bureaucrats in Washington. The trouble, however, is this:  Republicans are absolutely in favor of local control … except when they’re not."

-more-

Detroit Soul | Pure Michigan

Pentagon Misplaced a Few Trillion

"Holy Jigumbus Bucks, Batman!"

I'll bet 2 cat’s eye boulders and 10 cat’s eye marbles that you didn’t see this story on FOX or the mainline news: Pentagon fails its first-ever audit, official says

Or, this either: Exclusive: The Pentagon’s Massive Accounting Fraud Exposed

Nope. Who would’ve thunk a measly missing $21 trillion or so dollars would be news!

“Let that sink in for a moment: As things stand, no one knows for sure how the biggest single-line item in the US federal budget is actually being spent. What’s more, Congress as a whole has shown little interest in investigating this epic scandal. The absurdly huge plugs never even get asked about at Armed Services and Budget Committee hearings.”

“So here’s the situation: We have a Pentagon budget that a former DOD internal-audit supervisor, Jack Armstrong, bluntly labels “garbage.” We have a Congress unable to evaluate each new fiscal year’s proposed Pentagon budget because it cannot know how much money was actually spent during prior years. And we have a Department of Defense that gives only lip service to fixing any of this. Why should it? The status quo has been generating ever-higher DoD budgets for decades, not to mention bigger profits for Boeing, Lockheed, and other military contractors.”

“The losers in this situation are everyone else. The Pentagon’s accounting fraud diverts many billions of dollars that could be devoted to other national needs: health care, education, job creation, climate action, infrastructure modernization, and more. Indeed, the Pentagon’s accounting fraud amounts to theft on a grand scale—theft not only from America’s taxpayers, but also from the nation’s well-being and its future.”

Here's the story.

Con mucho bravado, the protectors of truth, our press people, were followin’ the latest Mr. Confusion tweets while the biggest frickin scandal on earth was going down.

Holy Jigumbus Bucks, Batman! 

That’s an understatement, Robin.

More Here:
The Missing Money
$21 Trillion dollars is missing from the US government. That is $65,000 for every person in America. That is more than our entire national debt!


But, this is just for fun...

Riddler Sues Batman - Hi Diddle Riddle Season 1 - Ep 1 1966

Global Corporate Cowgirl & Cowboy Creed

“In the early days of the western United States, a masked man and an Indian rode the plains, searching for truth and justice. Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear, when from out of the past come the thundering hoof beats of the great horse Silver! The Lone Ranger rides again!”

Back in the ‘30s, ‘40s and '50s, if you wanted to be one of the good girls and boys, a real honest to goodness cowgirl or cowboy, ya had to live by the creed.

In consideration of today's "global corporate" world, where corporations have all the rights (and more) of regular, human cowgirls and cowboys, it’s only fair, that the big-buck-corps’ gotta live by the creed... the Lone Ranger's Creed... with a couple of additions to account fir the changes in our world. That's fair, isn't it?

First-most, if youse take the peoples' money to makeup fir yer past mistakes, plus zillions of bucks in tax breaks, ya gotta setup a committee of regular cowgirls and cowboys to cipher out a plan fir bringin' in a replacement business (es) fir when the time comes, and it always comes, when ya reckon on pullin' up stakes and skiddadle outta town.

Second-most, when you foul up the land, ya gotta make right by it. Oh, I almost forgot, last-most, when ya leave town, ya gotta help all the people ya abandon find respectable, good-paying work.

Have a nice day now, Mr. and Mrs. global corporation.

The Lone Ranger's Creed
By Fran Striker

1. I believe that to have a friend, a man must be one.

2. That all men are created equal and that everyone has within himself the power to make this a better world.

3. That God put the firewood there, but that every man must gather and light it himself.

4. In being prepared physically, mentally, and morally to fight when necessary for that which is right.

5. That a man should make the most of what equipment he has.

6. That "this government, of the people, by the people, and for the people," shall live always.

7. That men should live by the rule of what is best for the greatest number.

8. That sooner or later... somewhere... somehow... we must settle with the world and make payment for what we have taken.

9. That all things change, but the truth, and the truth alone lives on forever.

10. I believe in my Creator, my country, my fellow man.

The Lone Ranger | Turning Point - 1957

GM Does for "Self"... We Should Too

O.K. We understand. Corporations must make bucks, protect share price, and keep the Wall Street people happy.  That's what GM has done.

Well, this is 2018. Stuff like this has happened since forever.

It's time for the people of Detroit, Hamtramck, Warren, Lordstown, Oshawa and Baltimore to lookout for themselves, too. We need to become smarter, learn a thing or two, and stop falling for the same old trick.

Stop being Charlie Brown in Lucy's football trick.

Nancy Sinatra - These Boots Are Made For Walking (1966 Original)

Lt. Columbo to Meet Mr. Trump

Photo Credit: Peter Falk - NBC; Trump - Kevin LaMarque, Reuters

So, when will Mr. Mueller unleash Lt. Columbo?

You remember the TV series Columbo, don’t you? It debuted in 1968, ran for 10 seasons, and starred Peter Falk as Lt. Columbo, the homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. "In almost every episode the audience sees the crime unfold at the beginning and knows the identity of the culprit, typically an affluent member of society. Once Columbo enters the story, viewers watch him solve the case by sifting through the contradictions between the truth and the version presented to him by the killer(s). This style of mystery is sometimes referred to as a 'howcatchem'."

I'm guessing that it's time to air the Columbo episode, the Mueller Investigation, guest starring Mr. Trump.

Columbo Gets Political | Columbo - Season 9 Episode 3 'Agenda For Murder' 

Congress, the Corvair and Ratwatching

My childhood friend, Jeff Dunlap, drove a Corvair during high school. I’m pretty sure it was his dad’s car. But Jeff had great fun with it, driving to the local burger place, and such.

Neither of us cared much that a guy named Ralph Nader wrote a book call, Unsafe at Any Speed, outing Jeff’s Corvair as an unsafe car. Jeff like the places his car got him to and, as far as I can remember, his ride never went out of control. Still, now that I think about it, I do remember one time when Jeff backed up too fast, impaling it on a parking lot post and having to face the music when his Dad had to come rescue us, ingeniously extricating it using a car jack.

Speaking about genius, Mr. Nader qualifies. He nearly single-handedly created the civic movement that helped move the automotive industry toward adopting safety standards that have saved countless lives. His work cost him universal automotive industry hatred, but also made him internationally famous. Through the years Nader has faithfully maintained his devotion for making our world a better place to live and for holding corporate executives and politicians accountable when they don’t do the same. That, of course, translates to holding fire to the feet of the powers that be every minute of every day.

To do that, Nader has come up with a unique concept to help us “re-form” the U.S. Congress. He's written about it in his newsletter and book, How the Rats Re-formed the Congress, and created a website to help organize Congressional Ratwatchers Groups in every Congressional district.

I hope he’s as successful at Ratwatching as he has been saving lives.

Humorist Will Rogers was a previous generation's Ratwatcher. Asked about the source of his humor, Will Rogers remarked: "I just watch the government and report the facts."

Erected in 1939, this statue of Will Rogers represents the state of Oklahoma in the National Statuary Hall in the Capitol Building. Members of Congress walk pass it once in a while. Tradition maintains it is good luck to rub his shoes while passing.

I Think We Can! I Think We Can!

The Little Engine That Could

This morning I woke thinking about a cartoon scene from the past. Maybe it was the snow falling around the lake and trees outside the bedroom window. Or, Carli’s reassuring snoring. (Carli, our beloved K-9 gift from above.) I’m not exactly sure why — but it was lingering in my mind nonetheless. It went like this:

“I think I can! I think I can!”, the little engine that could kept saying. On it puffed and pulled. On and on, until it climbed all the mountains, crossed all the rivers, and pulled the little train to its destination. “I knew I could! I knew I could!”, the little engine that could finally said. (Please see below.)

That scene kept replaying in my mind.

Why? Is there some esoteric reason for my subconscious to pull up the child’s story?

“Well, yes… maybe,” I thought. The day before I stumbled upon a Robert Reich video about war economy spending and his thoughts about a better use of Mr. Trump’s $200 billion increase in military spending. He explained that some 67% of discretionary spending already goes to military related spending. That’s more than $700 billion. So, couldn't we chose to use that money for more life-affirming uses?

Better use for Mr. Trump's $200 billion in additional War Economy spending.

Oh, by the way, Dr. Reich also pointed out that over the next few years, military cost overruns are projected to reach about $484 billion and the Pentagon itself says by reducing operational overhead some $125 billion could be saved.

It’s a good time, don’t you agree, for the Pentagon people to adopt a “little engine that could” determination and get control of the operational overhead and cost overruns. After all, it’s no longer chump change. We’re talkin’ a few big bucks now. We can do it, too. We can demand that Congress actually do it's job and actually gain accountability by overseeing the Pentagon operations.

I think we can! I think we can!

Robert Reich: The Military-Industrial Drain

Nothing Can Stop Us Now - The Little Engine That Could - 1991

U.S. Pain Management Program

I’ve witnessed firsthand the results of one of our nation’s most ill-conceived “medical policies” — the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) opioid prescribing guidelines as implemented in the State of Michigan.

I’ll put it this way, if you must have a joint surgery operation, especially a total knee replacement, I recommend putting it off until our government people stop treating post-surgery patients like they’re addicts and prescribing doctors like they are pushers. Wait until they adopt a sane, controlled prescription drugs policy that returns post-surgery patient’s pain management to their doctors.

Until that time comes, the only pain management that is currently legal in the U.S. is that offered though unregulated firearms. That is, when your pain reaches an unbearable level, blow your brains out. That’s legal. And, it really will control your pain — forever.

Today, your Doc is required to reduce your pain medication regardless of the extent of your pain because the Center for Disease Control’s opioid prescribing guidelines require patients to be reduced across the board, regardless of their condition.

Here’s the story

“Earlier this year my doctor explained that he was required to reduce my pain medications. I was shocked. He explained that new opioid prescribing guidelines were requiring patients to be reduced across the board, regardless of their condition,” pain patient Liz Ott wrote in a recent guest column.

AMA: ‘Inappropriate Use’ of CDC Guideline Should Stop, Pat Anson, painnewsnetwork.org,14 Nov 2018.

“Two and a half years after the release of the CDC’s opioid prescribing guideline, the American Medical Association has finally taken a stand against the ‘misapplication’ and ‘inappropriate use’ of the guideline by insurers, pharmacists, federal regulators and state governments.”

“Although the guideline is voluntary and only intended for primary care physicians treating non-cancer pain, many pain patients have been forcibly tapered to lower doses, cutoff entirely or even abandoned by their doctors – all under the guise of preventing addiction and overdoses. The CDC has stood by and done nothing to correct the false portrayal of its guideline by insurance companies and pharmacies such as CVS.”

“The genie may be out of the bottle, but the AMA is now trying put it back in.”

Please go here for more…

Who Is Telling The Truth About Prescription Opioid Deaths? DEA? CDC? Neither?, Dr. Josh Bloom acsh.org, 5 Nov 2018.

Valley Of Pain · Bonnie Raitt - 2015

Ah… About that Funny-Looking Texas Tower

Texas Tower - Photo Source:
KXXV TV 25 (ABC) Central Texas News, Waco, TX

Is it a technological breakthrough or, just an odd tower thingy?

I’m betting my marbles on a breakthrough because of all the retired military brass management, investors and board members, plus the university connections with Viziv Technologies.

Besides, I’m tired of paying for all that inefficient, 1800s power company infrastructure and watching the lights go out every time the weather gods decide to mess with us.

Take a gander at this video…

Tesla Technology Has Been Revived

Please go here for the story from KXXV TV (ABC) Central Texas News, Waco, TX:

40 Million Messages

More than 9 million military died. More than 10 million civilians died. Another 20 million civilians became "casualties" because of WWI. Millions more became refugees, displaced persons.

We are lucky people. Although our nation has waged perpetual war around the world for the past 17 years, only .4% of our population is serving in the active military. Perhaps that is why our eyes are closed to the horrendous devastation brought about by our perpetual war economy. Our homes are not being bombed, our children are not dying and only people wanting to enter the U.S. are currently residing in refugee camps. (Please see below.)

There’s a message here — at least 40 million messages in fact — sent to us from our ancestors. They did not profit from war. War was not a good thing for them. Who profits from war?

No more guns & shootings - Message by Tadros Brothers / Frères Tadros

Please go here for more words about our world without war.

Source: https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/costs/human/military

It's Our World,Too!

This past election underscored several of the challenges before us. Sooner or later we must devise a fix for three of them: healthcare; voting rights; and gun violence. Expansion of Medicare into a universal healthcare program offers a clear path toward workable solutions to help minimize each. We, the people, the 99.9%, are hurting. It's time to change the world for the good. Because, it's our world, too. Don't you agree?

Tomorrow - Annie - 1982 

Election Reform

Next day election thoughts…

1. Everyone knows the U.S. system is broken and something must be done to make it actually represent the will of the people. Here are three must reforms: (a) Eliminate “winner-take-all” elections and replace them with “fair representation voting methods” such as “Ranked Choice Voting“ (RCV) (b) National Popular Vote: “Every vote equal in the election of the United States president” and (c) Universal Voter Registration. Go to FairVote.org for why and how election reform must be implemented.
2. We must get the big bucks out of our elections. We can start by reversing Citizen's United vs. Federal Election Commission.
3. Every candidate who lost by a small margin should challenge election results based upon the Republican Party’s purge/disenfranchisement of voters as well as uncounted mailed ballots and provisional ballots. An independent, each-state-appointed, publicly transparent and accountable commission must review and tally each election to determine outcomes — especially in these elections: Abrams/Kemp Georgia (governor); O’Rourke/Cruz (U.S. Senator) Texas; Gillum/DeSantis Florida (governor) and Nelson/Scott U.S. Senator.

St Trinians - Uh Oh We're In Trouble (Official Video) - 2008