Quick Comments On Michael Cohn Congressional Hearing

Apparently since I am retired I have way too much time on my hands. I watched this till 2:33 PM. But I'll say this.. Republicans wasted their opportunities by trashing Democrats and Cohn rather then forcing Cohn to produce all documents backing up his claims. Something the Democrats demanded of Cohn.

Though I never studied law even an idiot such as I understand the importance of trying to discredit a witness. Amateur hour... Ye gods this is the best they can do? I don't give a damn about Cohn or Trump (they're both sleazebags). What I care about is what information Cohn can provide through documentation. That's more then I can say about this partisan shit show. One thing I learned-- my nature makes me incapable of dealing with this kind of stuff. It exhaust me.
(1) 90% of what goes on in Washington has nothing to do with people they're suppose to represent. It's mostly about those who are selfish, egotistical, self serving and looking to feather their own nest.

(2) Government for the people, by the people is pretty much a joke.

(3) Government has become little more then another fake reality show with a bunch of actors pretending to be what they are not. As far as I'm concerned government has little to do with what goes on in peoples daily lives. Not just this government but all governments throughout history do not represent the hearts and souls of people who find themselves born under them.

In other words-- mostly every person who has ever lived has had more in common with each other then any government which ever existed. Ours is no exception.

So Many Fires- A Better Way To Build

We need to start thinking outside the box. Why can't we build homes out of concrete from top (including the roof) to bottom?

Bury the electric and plumbing in conduits within the walls. Same with the heating ducts or radiator water. This doesn't mean there wouldn't still be fires but it seems to me it would be a lot cheaper and easier to empty out room debris, hose down the walls rather then having to rebuild. I imagine the insurance costs would be less too. I thought about this when we stayed at various motels in Wildwood Crest. I can't recall ever hearing about a fire in one of them. Besides, look how long some of the ancient structures still survive.



Why shouldn't this be required for all new construction?

A Few News Items I Found Interesting

Democrats Seeking Trump's Tax Returns
Not Pelosi's
'CNS News'-- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) “will gladly release her tax returns if and when she runs for president,” said her Chief of Staff Drew Hammill

Wondering Why My Cable Costs So Much?
Oscars Cost ABC North of $85 Million Annually
'Deadline'-- Oscars Ratings Drop Sees ABC Offering Advertisers Guarantees For First Time

If You Didn't Like Hillary's 'Uranium One' Deal,
Wait Till You Hear This.
'USA Today'-- Top Trump administration officials advocated for a plan to build dozens of nuclear power plants in Saudi Arabia despite warnings that the move could pose ethical concerns and violate federal law, according to a report released by House Democrats.

Laura Ingraham Says...
Coast Guard Terrorist Is 'Distraction' From Smollett
I Say, Smollett is a distraction from the Cost Guard terrorist. Face it Smollett didn't plan on killing anybody.

Journalists are sharing stories about where I live the same day it’s shared that myself + others were targeted by a mass shooter.

All this paired w/ amplifying unvetted conspiracy theories. It’s reckless, irresponsible & puts people directly in danger.

This isn’t a game. https://t.co/gcJWcKinxI

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 21, 2019

BTW I looked it up. Her so-called luxurious apartment rent is less then $2,000 a month. Anyone check out the apartment complex prices around Lehigh Valley lately?

Laura Branigan Not Taking New Bookings.
Why Not?.
FOX News-- The 1982 hit song “Gloria” has found new life as a postgame victory ballad for the NHL's St. Louis Blues, but newer fans of the platinum hit don’t seem to realize that the singer who made it famous died in 2004 -- and keep trying to book her for gigs, according to reports.

Sean Hannity Contradicts Himself.

WATCH: “In case after case after case, the mainstream media devours any story that fits their radical, extreme, agenda...” https://t.co/3vLC1lvaNf

— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) February 23, 2019

"Mainstream"
The ideas, attitudes, or activities that are regarded as normal or conventional...

By it's very definition they can be neither radical nor extreme. Furthermore FOX News claims they're number #1. Wouldn't that make them more mainstream then their competitors?

Immigration Pence Once Said...

Flashback to when Mike Pence was worried about presidential overreach on immigration pic.twitter.com/7S0NBuM8es

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) February 21, 2019

That was then.
Either you have core values or you don't.

Word Of Caution When It Comes To Patriotism

A Nazi rally in New York brought out 20,000 people 80 years ago today — @marshallcurry's Oscar-nominated doc takes an inside look at the little known, unsettling part of history pic.twitter.com/OR259z38rc

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) February 21, 2019

It happened Once.
Can it happen again?

HUMOR The Traffic Cop. The Husband. The Wife.

A police officer pulls over a speeding car. The officer says, " I clocked you at 80 miles per hour, sir."

The driver says, "Gee, officer I had it on cruise control at 60, perhaps your radar gun needs calibrating."

Not looking up from her knitting the wife says: "Now don't be silly dear, you know that this car doesn't have cruise control."

As the officer writes out the ticket, the driver looks over at his wife and growls, "Can't you please keep your mouth shut for once?"

The wife smiles demurely and says, "You should be thankful your radar detector went off when it did."

As the officer makes out the second ticket for the illegal radar detector unit, the man glowers at his wife and says through clenched teeth, "Damit, woman, can't you keep your mouth shut?"

The officer frowns and says, "And I notice that you're not wearing your seat belt, sir. That's an automatic $75 fine." The driver says, "Yeah, well, you see officer, I had it on, but took it off when you pulled me over so that I could get my license out of my back pocket."

The wife says, "Now, dear, you know very well that you didn't have your seat belt on. You never wear your seat belt when you're driving."

And as the police officer is writing out the third ticket the driver turns to his wife and barks, "WHY DON'T YOU SHUT UP!"

The officer looks over at the woman and asks, "Does your husband always talk to you this way, Ma'am?"

Only when he's been drinking."

Universe Is A Really Big Place

Daily Mail.com
New map of the night sky unearths 300,000 more galaxies

And these are only the ones we can see!

Where the hell is everybody?
Could we be the only ones?

Reagan's Final Speech As President

'We draw our people, our strength, from every country and every corner of the world.' — Ronald Reagan's final speech was a love letter to immigrants pic.twitter.com/dDLwdVdOdC

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) February 18, 2019

George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan Debate

Yes I was a Republican supporter at one time.

Since then what the hell happened?
Will we ever see a day once again when our commonality prevails over our differences?

An Idea For Allentown Storm Drains

I found this on 'Bored Panda.com'

In 2018, the city of Kwinana in Australia installed two drainage nets in Henley Reserve. Before these nets were installed, workers would pick up these trash by hand. The total cost of these nets came to be around $20,000 which is way more cost-effective compared to paying for manual labor. This simple invention turned out to be way more useful than anyone expected. In just four months the nets caught around 815lbs (370kg) of trash.

If you are inspired to reduce the amount of plastic that ends up in our waters, we encourage to learn more about plastic pollution, and how it affects our earth. Organizations like Greenpeace are doing their best to educate society on the problems of water pollution and single-use plastic. If you are interested, you can help 'Greenpeace' by donating to them.

Amazon Blames Ocasio-Cortez for NYC Retreat

Free Republic
Amazon Spokesperson Blames Ocasio-Cortez for NYC Retreat

VIN News
What The Inkies Are Saying

Yeah I’m laughing @ this.

Amazon was not coming to my Congressional district, had no concentrated outreach to us that I’m aware of, yet w/ no effort I defeated the richest man in the world?

Doesn’t add up. Story that’s not being told: the local community organized to reject it. https://t.co/S9Or7NKprZ

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 15, 2019

MY TAKE
I heard one discussion on cable news that said these "socialist liberals" unfairly ruined this for the people of New York. Rather then socialism I think the term "oligarchy" should be the greater fear.

WikipediaOligarchy -- "A form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people might be distinguished by nobility, wealth, family ties, education or corporate, religious or military control."

I'll tell you what's unfair. To give the non IRS tax paying highly profitable Amazon a $3b tax break. In New York City alone there are over 200,000 other businesses. Where's their tax break? They've been paying New York taxes (many of them for decades) yet some company out of nowhere was bribed by officials to come into their state to compete with them for employees and market share. All while they are suppose to keep paying for services Amazon would also benefit from.

Oligarchs are masters at pointing people in the direction they want people paying attention to. They chastise people like Ocasio-Cortez for wanting to use taxpayers' money on the less wealthy people they represent. They label her and others "socialists" when it's they themselves mooching off government through tax forgiveness programs. Most of which no doubt would had to be made up through employees paychecks instead.

Also worth noting. Amazon already employs over 5,000 combined in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Staten Island. It's not like they needed to be tax bribed for these. If they really thought it worthwhile to establish a HQ2 I'm sure they could have afforded one if they felt it necessary for their bottom-line. Now spokespeople are saying they might not do a HQ2 anywhere. So yeah let's blame this on some 29 year old Jr. house member who's congressional district wasn't where Amazon's HQ2 was suppose to go. She represents eastern parts of the Bronx and Queens.

Seems to me politicians, media and Amazon are empowering AOC's far more then she ever could alone. Let's not forget she carries only 1 vote out of 534 other members in congress. Keep drawing everyone's attention towards her and who knows how far they'll enable her to go. She reaches presidential age in six years. I imagine this scares the bejeezus out of more then a few people :-)


WHYY
How the Amazon deal fell apart


UPDATE

United States Criminal Judicial System Stacked Against Defendants

It’s totally legal for prosecutors in this progressive state to withhold evidence against an accused person up until the day of their trial pic.twitter.com/xruDPRHQf9

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) February 15, 2019

There's a few more things in government's favor. (1) If you someone can't afford bail they're forced waiting it out till their trial comes up. In others words jailed before proven guilty. In some cases many months.

(2) He who has the most loot is favored to win. Prosecutors only have so much money in their budget to charge cases. This problem can be overcome by seizing a defendant's assets leaving them with practically no money to fight their charges.

(3) The less then wealthy tend to plead guilty because they cannot afford the prohibitively expensive court costs for going to trial (especially ones with a jury). Another ridiculous thing to me are the adjudication of these DUI cases. Sometimes these cases take a year (sometimes more). Meanwhile the offender (perhaps an alcoholic) is still behind the wheel. Again like I mentioned above it's the ones without means who suffer the harshest consequences being unable to afford the first offender programs.

If we wanted to be fair everyone charged should be assigned a lawyer by the court. Under the current system the wealthiest have the advantage of being able to afford a team of lawyers. Meanwhile the poor are given representation by no doubt a lawyer who resents be dragged into court away from his more lucrative clients.

All I'm saying is our justice system needs improvement. The current setup hasn't been considered revising. Is it because it's more economically advantageous to government rather then considering a fairer way of bringing justice for all?

Trump Let's Get This Over Already

Give him his damn $30 billion for the wall. Let him rob military housing funds and disaster relief money congress appropriated to pay for the wall too. Let him tariff other countries till we're broke paying for them. More tax breaks till U.S. revenues go belly up. Forget the $22 trillion dollar debt-- double it. Let him start a war with Iran and Venezuela. Forget fact-checking him-- let him lie his ass off. He mentioned he favored executing drug dealers. Let him eliminate anyone who isn't heterosexual from the military. Let him slash healthcare, Social Security, welfare, food stamps and other monies from all the social needs programs while we're at it. Let him speak on every damn network and on social media whenever he wants. In short let him run amuck if this is what it takes to wake America up. The sooner this comes to a head the better.

Frankly America is at a crossroads. If we're so ignorant as to follow his mental disease our founders have succeeded in-so-much as he and his supporters represent what has become the will of the people. This country would not be the first to do so-- nor the last. Just don't count me and others who personas deserve no such fate.

House of Cards | Frank Underwood (2016)

Yeah that about sums it up

Thus ends any further posts on this the Donald Trump presidency. I refuse to be further consumed by his sickness and those of his followers. What will be will be. Such is our destiny.

I Must Have Slept In History Class When This Was Taught

OR maybe it was completely left out of our history books in school

CLICK Above For More Information On The Riot

Published on Sep 27, 2010

Wonder Why Special Interests Want To Get Rid Of Rep. Ilhan Omar?

This Trump adviser helped cover up U.S. involvement in the largest mass killing in modern Latin American history — and Rep. llhan Omar isn’t letting him forget it pic.twitter.com/nJMg1Gz3Y3

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) February 14, 2019

Wikipedia-- "He was involved in the Iran-Contra scandal during the Reagan administration, which led to his conviction, which was later pardoned by George HW Bush, in 1991... Abrams was a key architect behind the Iraq War... On January 25, 2019, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appointed Abrams as the United States' Special Representative for Venezuela."

Anyone believe this attempt at nation building in Venezuela is going to turn out well?

Seems to me this is another attempt to get rid of someone (Rep. Omar) who exposes our dark past to the light of day. It surprised me her knowledge on something that happened when she was less then six years old.

Hers is only one voice on the House's Foreign Affairs Committee, but her contribution was quite enlightening for me. As well I suspect for other members on this committee.

Amazon Gets Tax Break

Here's a couple startling revelations about Trump's so-called tax breaks to click on.

Daily Mail

CNS News
Feds Collect Record Individual Income Taxes in FY 2018;
Still Run $779B Deficit


Wanna take a guess who is going to pay the increased tariffs?

Apparently this is a normal practice, and people don’t bat an eye.

The first few people in line are guaranteed a seat in a given hearing.

This was the hearing for marijuana banking laws. Lobbyists and those who can afford it pay people to hold their spot so they get in 1st.

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 13, 2019

No wonder millionaires and billionaires running this country pander in fear mongering calling AOC and Sanders "socialists". These two describe their policies geared towards addressing "income inequalities". What say you?

Why Are Robins Here?

This morning we woke up to see at least four dozen robins flying around aimlessly from tree to tree. Then all in a sudden at 11:15 AM they all disappeared. Makes me wonder if they did a u-ie and head back south or press their luck by heading further north.

Here it is not even halfway through February and I've seen my first robins of what is suppose to happen in spring. Hmmm, I wonder if they were following the groundhog's prognostication for an early spring? Instead were they following some bad advice from their leader?

Stuck In My Ways

With news of Bieber Bus folding operations it began me thinking about what I consider the best days being behind me. I remember as a kid it was a simple matter to take the trolley or bus to either the Allentown Bus Terminal on 6th just off Hamilton or one of two train stations at the foot of Hamilton Street. This is where you could catch a train or bus to just about anywhere. Instead of improving over the years everything has gotten worse. No wonder the highways are gridlocked.

I also think back to a time when every TV show could be found in one place. Either with a relatively inexpensive antenna or cable. Yeah à la carte pricing for cable would be have been nice but instead what has evolved is us nearly forced to pay over a $100 more if we wanted to watch one or two shows each of the streaming services carry (with more on the way). Netflix started with one tier as did the others. Now they and others have three levels of service which of course we need to pay additionally for internet to even receive them.

Speaking of TV shows. I can't stand 'canned laughter' Some of these crappy shows have people laughing at every damn pathetic thing. Sometimes I think it's me until I watch some of the older shows like the one Saturday night. It was the detective show "Monk". Not a laugh track in sight yet some of the stuff was funny as hell. Didn't need laugh tracks for 'Mash', 'Gomer Pyle', 'Andy Griffith' to name only three. There was something else the wife and I noticed about our viewing habits. If a show doesn't contain a element of humor most likely we never watch them. Take for example 'NCIS', 'The Orville', 'Bull' to name a few of the current ones. Each has some humor written into the script. So did many of the past shows we use to watch. 'Major Crimes', 'The Mentalist', 'Lucifer', 'Franklin & Bash', 'Bones' 'White Collar' and all so many more.

Which brings me to the TV news. Can't stand the lot of them. Every damn one of them won't just report the news then move on. No they got to sit down with a bunch of idiots for ten minutes to explain all about the two minute report they just did. How about "who, what, where, when" then just shut the hell up. My last respite was on the half hour 6:30 evening news. Now they managed to muck that up too. Who the hell cares about three minutes of weather in another part of the country. They have their own local weather people for that. Then there's the never ending drug advertisements urging people to strong-arm their doctors into writing prescriptions for. The worse barrage comes after the 15 minute mark culminating with a crescendo around the 48 minute mark. On all three major networks I repeatedly counted three (or more ads) followed by a 1 minute news story followed up by another 6 more ads. That's a ratio of at least 9 to 1 ads for one story before the two minute wrap up. Oh and don't get me started on their 'coming up after this' They do it two to three times before the story itself which is often times shorter then the pitches themselves.

Then there's those tons and tons of car ads in your face every time you flip on the TV. I especially like the part where huge numbers like $5,000 flash across the top. No that isn't the down payment. That's the savings on what obviously is a vastly overpriced hunk of metal.

Besides being stuck in my ways about transportation and TV I'm also ticked with just about everything on the internet getting monetized. No I'm not going to subscribe. No I don't want your videos to autoplay when I'm trying to read something. They can also stick those popups where the sun doesn't shine. No way am I going to click on any of them not knowing what the script behind them does.

I got tons more I could talk about but I'll leave you with a few more thoughts. Home delivery.. like it's something new. It ain't. I remember a time over 40 years ago when milk was delivered to your door. You didn't have to go the farm market. It came to you. Guys use to sell fruits and vegetables from their trucks in various neighborhoods. So did the bread-man, ice cream man and household gadgets truck. Hell even doctors use to visit your house.

Amusement parks once cost nothing to walk around. In Allentown we had a few free swimming pools. Friendly cops were on every corner between 10th & 7th Streets on Hamilton along with stores offering everything imaginable with free parking at 'Park & Shop' lots. A large number of manufacturing jobs within walking distance in every neighborhood. Kids could get jobs pumping gas, washing windshields, checking tire pressure and oil levels handing out 'Green Stamps' never requiring a driver to get out of their car.

All this means I'm not sure I measure progress the same way some others do.

Left Wingers Accused Of Being Full Of Hate

The far-right carried out every extremist U.S. murder in 2018, according to a new ADL report. These are some of the true stories: pic.twitter.com/Bx6KtTUdhV

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) February 8, 2019

Meet Trump's SOTU Speech Writer

Trump Expected To Call For Unity In Tonight's SOTU

Trump is expected to call for unity and bipartisanship in tonight’s #SOTU. Oh, the irony. pic.twitter.com/eMk5GRfaum

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) February 5, 2019

When Mansplaining Try Not Making Yourself Look Stupid

This commentator tried to mansplain hockey to a professional player, and fans were NOT having it pic.twitter.com/W44Kx6YQHn

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) February 4, 2019

For Those Who Don't Believe In Government Regulations

For two decades, LEMS patients have received a drug for free from Jacobus Pharmaceutical under the Food and Drug Administration’s compassionate use program. Recently, Catalyst Pharmaceuticals bought the drug and announced to investors it would set the list price at $375,000 per year. Rebecca, one of the many patients who does not know how she will afford it, talked to Sen. Bernie Sanders about what's going on.

Published on Feb 4, 2019

There's a lot of criticism being leveled at so-called 'Socialist Democrats'. On the other hand this is what happens when "capitalism" is allowed to run amuck. Folks, we need to define a common sense balance between the two.

Introducing FOX News #1 Public Enemy Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

I find it interesting that not one news day will pass without FOX News bringing up AOC. They cannot help themselves from mentioning Venezuela almost in the same breath. They seem to be very consumed by this 29 year rookie representative in the house. Out of all the major big hitters in Washington this one seems to scare them the most.



Scared Much?
Seems like it to me

Another Way Taxpayers Are Getting Ripped Off

Big Pharma companies often say that drugs “need” to be expensive to fund research. What they don’t tell you is that they use *publicly-funded research* for expensive, privatized drugs.

This week on Oversight, @RoKhanna and I exposed how this scheme works:pic.twitter.com/ELbllU3Fxy

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 1, 2019