May 8, 2024

'Boeing cargo plane forced to land at Istanbul without front landing gear Incident involving Boeing 767 jet...'

https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/may/08/boeing-cargo-plane-forced-to-land-at-istanbul-without-front-landing-gear

My comments: Another one bites the dust. Feds should take them over. They've become too dangerous. This whole fucking mess is about fucking greed. Note: I stand by my opinion, but given the comments, I felt it best to print the entire article. Three different planes are mentioned in this article: 787, 767, 737. End my comments.

"A Boeing cargo plane has been forced to land at Istanbul airport without its front landing gear, in the latest setback for the embattled planemaker...Nobody was hurt in the incident, in a flight operated by the delivery company FedEx, according to Turkey’s transport ministry...The Boeing 767 aircraft, flying from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport on Wednesday, informed the traffic control tower at Istanbul airport that its landing gear had failed to open and it landed with guidance from the tower, the ministry said.

Emergency services were standing by for the landing. The ministry did not give a reason for the landing gear’s failure and said its teams were conducting examinations at the scene as part of an investigation...Video of the incident shows the plane’s back wheels touching down, followed by its fuselage, with sparks and smoke streaming from its underside. The plane then skids to a halt, remaining on the runway...The runway has been temporarily closed to air traffic, but traffic on the other runways at the airport was continuing without interruption, the airport operator IGA said.

The incident comes at a time when Boeing’s safety record is under intense scrutiny, after a string of crises and safety issues...Boeing on Tuesday said it had informed regulators about possible failures to carry out mandatory safety inspections on its 787 Dreamliner planes. The US regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration, said it was “investigating whether Boeing completed the inspections and whether company employees may have falsified aircraft records”.

It followed separate allegations by a whistleblowing engineer that Boeing took shortcuts to reduce production bottlenecks while making the 787...The US manufacturer pledged this year to turn around its safety culture after a door panel blew out of an Alaska Airlines 737 Max plane in mid-air in January...Boeing had been trying to ramp up production of the 737 Max, its bestselling model, to move beyond the crisis triggered by two deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019. 737 Max planes were grounded worldwide for the best part of two years.

FedEx was approached for comment on Wednesday’s incident. Boeing declined to comment."

May 6, 2024

Beautiful Blue Eyes? More like Reptilian Eyes, You Snake...

https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-was-just-resting-those-beautiful-blue-eyes-of-his-in-court-you-morons

'Trump Says He Was Just Resting His ‘Beautiful Blue Eyes’ in Court'

'“Contrary to the FAKE NEWS MEDIA, I don’t fall asleep during the Crooked D.A.’s Witch Hunt, especially not today,” the 77-year-old posted on Truth Social during a break in proceedings. “I simply close my beautiful blue eyes, sometimes, listen intensely, and take it ALL in!!!”'

May 5, 2024

'A group of Republicans has united to defend the legitimacy of US elections and those who run them'

https://apnews.com/article/election-lies-trump-republicans-2024-legitimacy-f9b015fb3ead18f5c7b1432415680361

My words: A glimmer of hope out of the darkness Trump has wrought.

'ATLANTA (AP) — It was Election Day last November, and one of Georgia’s top election officials saw that reports of a voting machine problem in an eastern Pennsylvania county were gaining traction online. So Gabriel Sterling, a Republican who had defended the 2020 election in Georgia amid an onslaught of threats, posted a message to his nearly 71,000 followers on the social platform X explaining what had happened and saying that all votes would be counted correctly...

Sterling, the chief operating officer for the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office, is part of an effort begun after the last presidential election that seeks to bring together Republican officials who are willing to defend the country’s election systems and the people who run them. They want officials to reinforce the message that elections are secure and accurate, an approach they say is especially important as the country heads toward another divisive presidential contest. The group has held meetings in several states, with more planned before the Nov. 5 election...

“It’s about democratic principles at a higher level –- what does it mean to be a conservative who believes in democracy, the rule of law?”...He said an aim is to have a structure in place to support election officials who might find themselves in situations like that of Georgia’ secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger in 2020...A guiding principle for the group is that Republican officials should “publicly affirm the security and integrity of elections across the U.S. and avoid actively fueling doubt about elections in other jurisdictions.”'

May 2, 2024

'Trump, Project 2025, the Supreme Court and the Election with Hillary Rodham Clinton'

' Rodham Clinton, former U.S. secretary of state and 2016 presidential nominee, joins Defending Democracy to talk with Marc Elias about the harm Donald Trump has done to our democracy and America’s global standing. Plus, Secretary Clinton talks about her thoughts on the GOP’s plans for 2024, Supreme Court justices and President Joe Biden.'

My words: We could have had her, people. Grab your favorite beverage and settle in for an intelligent, informative conversation, especially when she speaks about SCOTUS (in the second half), there are a couple of surprises I won't give away.

April 29, 2024

It's not about age, people, it's about mental and physical health and vitality....

Rolling Stones Live in Houston Texas - Start me up April 28th 2024

April 27, 2024

When Biden beat Trump in 2020, America said loud and clear, 'We're done with this bum. Joe is our guy!'

But like the cockroach he is, Trump was not easily squashed. We need to step on this M*F*cker once and for all.

And, we will. The name, TRUMP, is going down in infamy. But, we must always remember, like the cockroach, there are many more like him. Trump needs to be held up as an example for his treachery. He must be squashed under the heal of the law and convicted for his crimes.

As for the SCOTUS, your turn is coming. Justice will prevail. Keep the faith, people.

April 23, 2024

Ok, so I'm going out on a limb here about the attack on Israel.

My words: Below is a brief, not all inclusive, summary of events. In a nutshell, Israel retaliated fiercely. There's been a lot of criticism about just how fiercely. But, I remember as a child and young woman when the Holocaust in Germany was revealed with all the justifiable reactions of shock and horror were questions like, "Why didn't they fight? Why did they just go like lambs to the slaughter? Where was their resistance?" The implications raised by these questions was that in some way, the Jews were to blame for their own suffering. In 1933, they (the Jews) tried to act/react with reasonableness, and yes, there was some resistance, but it could not match the might of the Nazis, and six million Jews were slaughtered.

No country would take them. The doors to the world shut them out. They were trapped. Below is a video of "Remembering the MS St. Louis" https://mjhnyc.org/blog/remembering-the-ms-st-louis/

'...the MS St. Louis set sail from Hamburg, Germany, on its way to Cuba. On board were more than 900 Jews fleeing the Third Reich and hoping to find refuge in Cuba, and eventually the United States, but the ship was turned away from both countries. Forced to return to Europe, many of those passengers did not survive the Holocaust.'

When it was all over, the Nazis had slaughtered six million Jews along with millions of other innocent people. The horrors perpetrated upon the Jews of Europe was so great and so horrific that the world said they must have a Homeland of their own, and Israel was created. The cry, "Never Again" and 'Never Forget" arose. And they didn't forget, people, but maybe we did.

War is hell, so we should be very careful when we unleash it. I do hope that the suffering of the Palestinian people will soon cease, but never forget who started this horror.

1. Israel was attacked
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67480680

2. Israel retaliates
https://www.politico.eu/article/israel-palestina-gaza-air-and-ground-attack-by-hamas/

3. Hamas did not return all the hostages. Where are they?
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/number-hostages-still-alive-gaza-remains-mystery-officials-say-rcna148294

4. Gaza crisis grows under intense bombardment as Israel retaliates against Hamas atrocities
https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/12/middleeast/israel-gaza-humanitarian-crisis-war-thursday-intl-hnk/index.html

5. Iran attacks Israel
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/14/iran-attacks-israel-with-over-300-drones-missiles-what-you-need-to-know
6. Israel attacks Iran
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/report-israel-used-air-to-surface-missile-called-the-rampage-in-iran-attack/

April 23, 2024

'The jurors: who is on the Trump trial jury?'

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/18/jurors-trump-hush-money-trial-jury

'Seven men and five women have been chosen to sit on the jury in the ex-president’s hush-money trial. Here’s what we know'

'Juror No 1
Juror No 1, a man, works in sales and previously worked as a waiter, and has some college education. He is married with no children, and says he gets news from a range of outlets such as the New York Times, the Daily Mail, Fox News and MSNBC.

Juror No 2
Juror No 2 is a married man who works in investment banking. He has an MBA in finance. He described himself as someone who “reads basically everything” and said that while he doesn’t hold any strong beliefs or opinions, he does follow the news and sees Trump’s Truth Social posts via Twitter. He told the court that he had not read any of Trump’s books, but had seen quotes from The Art of the Deal.

Juror No 3
Juror No 3 is a man who appeared to be in his late 20s or early 30s, who is originally from the west coast. He works in corporate law and said that he gets his news from the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and Google.

Juror No 4
Juror No 4 is a man who is originally from the west coast. He is a security engineer with some college education, and is married with children. He said he was not on social media, and once served on a criminal jury in the past though could not remember the verdict. When asked if he had any concerns about returning a guilty verdict, he said no.

Juror No 5
Juror No 5 is a young woman who said that she had friends with strong opinions on Trump, but that she was not a political person and avoided the news. She said she did appreciate Trump’s candor, and that he “speaks his mind, and I’d rather that than someone who’s in office who you don’t know what they’re thinking”.

Juror No 6
Juror No 6 is a woman who works in tech. She told the court that she had no strong feelings about Trump, and pledged to be fair and impartial. She is unmarried with no children, and gets her news from the New York Times, Google, Facebook and TikTok.

Juror No 7
Juror No 7 is a man in his late middle age who works as a civil litigator. He is married with children and has never served on a jury. He gets his news from a variety of outlets including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post and the Washington Post, and from podcasts.

Juror No 8
Juror No 8 is a retired wealth manager who is married with children. Asked if he had any strong opinions about Trump, he paused for a moment before answering yes. When the judge followed up to ask him if he could be fair and impartial, he said he could.

Juror No 9
Juror No 9 is a woman who told the court she believed she could fully follow the judge’s instructions, but was not well versed in legal proceedings. She lives alone, does not follow the news closely and is originally from New Jersey.

Juror No 10
Juror No 10 is a man who works in e-commerce and said he did not really check the news, but listens to podcasts on behavioral psychology. He is originally from Ohio.

Juror No 11
Juror No 11 is a woman who said she did not follow the news, but did watch late-night comedy shows. She is originally from California, and said she had never rallied for or against Trump. One of her close friends was convicted of financial fraud, she said.

Juror No 12
Juror No 12 is a woman who works as a physical therapist. She lived in a few states before coming to New York, reads major news outlets and listens to podcasts about sports and faith.'

My Words: This jury is not a slam-dunk for the prosecution.

April 18, 2024

'We waited for hours': Law enforcement testify that Trump outright rejected sending help on Jan. 6'

&t=262s

'Congressman Eric Swalwell of California and Tim Heaphy, former lead investigator for the January 6th Select Committee join Nicolle Wallace on Deadline White House with reaction to today's testimony from law enforcement about their readiness on January 6th, and how they were ready to defend the capitol but did not have the necessary authorization from then commander in chief Donald Trump.'

My words: Chilling. Please watch.

April 10, 2024

'Is the Anti-Democracy Movement Reaching a Tipping Point in the US & Around the World?' Thom Hartmann

https://hartmannreport.com/p/is-the-anti-democracy-movement-reaching-877

'The real question at the core of the Ukraine conflict, is simple & straightforward: “What’s the best way for humans to govern themselves?”'...Yesterday, Politico published an interview with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy titled “Zelenskyy warns Russia has penetrated U.S. politics, invites Trump to Ukraine.” It’s a chilling read...

Freedom House reported in 2021 that:..One of those countries they identified as a place where democracy itself is under assault is the USA, where virtually the entire Republican Party has rejected supporting democracy at home and supporting democratic governments abroad...

Donald Trump openly admired strongman autocrats the world over while denigrating and ridiculing the leaders of democratic nations...The same is apparently true of authoritarian-loving Fox “News” hosts, a perspective that appears to come down on high from the authority to whom they answer: Rupert Murdoch himself and his son, Lachlan...

Australia’s former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd documented Murdoch’s profitable career undermining democracy first in Australia, then the UK, and now here in the US after the Reagan administration granted him expedited citizenship so he could set up his television empire...Prime Minister Rudd characterized Murdoch’s empire in an op-ed for The Sydney Morning Herald as the “Cancer eating the heart of Australian democracy.”..

Right now they are embracing Vladimir Putin instead of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of our Democratic ally. The Putin Caucus in the House is willing to overturn Mike Johnson‘s speakership in service of Putin...They’ve joined the side of Russia and China in this debate, openly asserting that political power should flow from the top down; in our country’s case, they’ve embraced a ruling class of morbidly rich American oligarchs...

A “hot” war across greater Europe may be on the way if Ukraine falls, perhaps followed by China seizing Taiwan once the precedent of “reclaiming former territories” has been set...No matter how the crisis in Ukraine works out, the underlying dispute will remain: should humans govern themselves democratically from the ground up, or with oligarchy from the top down? ...The future of democracy is hanging in the balance, not just in Ukraine and Taiwan but here in the US, as well.'

My words: This is my feeble attempt to provide you a glimpse of the peril Mr. Hartmann warns us we are in. Please read the entire article for the full force of Mr. Hartmann's words.