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THE DANGER OF BERNIE SANDERS AND HILLARY CLINTON ...

PROGRESSIVES

Considering that anyone looking at the history of Bernie Sanders would conclude that he is, by all reasonable criteria, a failure with the sole exception of politics – where he has been able to eke out a living without any requirement to be a productive human being. It is Bernie’s contention that the rich are scum and need to support the rest of society as popularized by the father of Marxism, Karl Marx. “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs,” requires the enlightened elite to control the access and distribution of goods is a manner they deem equitable. What they almost never mention is that the enlightened elite turns tyrannical and totalitarian to maintain their power and that the best of the products and services are reserved for the ruling class and their special interest cronies.

Bernie and his acolytes represent a clear and present danger to the United States as we know it; destroying those who are productive in favor of the non-productive until it takes a Lenin, Stalin, Castro, or Kim with military arms to maintain civil order against an aggrieved population. No wonder the progressive socialist democrats want to disarm all law-abiding Americans and empower criminals and crazies to wreak enough in order to force the population to elect a “strong man” that can quell the civil unrest.

Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, is a corrupt, self-serving liar whose profession is politics since she can no longer practice law. She is the epitome of an unindicted co-conspirator for so many scandals it is hard to count. She is one of those socialists who live like the wealthiest of capitalists while telling everyone else how to live their lives. One can only imagine that her domestic policies will double-down on those of Barack Obama, tanking the poor and middle class in America.

A California example of progressivism …

But, the clearest demonstration of what might happen if either Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton is elected can be found in one of the most progressive cities in America, San Francisco. Where the politicians pretend that they are “of the people and for the people” while they watch the poor and middle class be pushed out of the city to make way for millionaire progressive yuppies who say all of the right things, but employ crooked fixers to push their real estate projects through a corrupt city planning process.

These are the people who speak about “community” and then redefine community as those like-minded individuals who are as talented, wealthy and progressive as themselves.

The City has pretty much turned from a “jewel” to a third world nation within its boundaries – with the poor peeing and defecating on the streets. Only in San Francisco do you find such an innovative solution as scheduling port-a-potties on streets to accommodate those who are shunned in business establishments.

San Francisco port-a-potty program offers homeless privacy, normality

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen bemoaned in 1985 that his beloved city — particularly "the seamy streets of the Tenderloin" — risked the moniker of Latrine-by-the-Bay, in part because of official resistance to public toilets.

In the three decades since, the prevalence of human feces and urine in the neighborhood known for its large homeless population has posed a persistent policy and public-health dilemma.

But on a recent evening, 49-year-old Mischa Fisher gazed at the Tenderloin Pit Stop with adoration. Homeless, Fisher has been compelled to do her most private business furtively in doorways or alleys when there is simply no other option. Like many, she avoids the self-cleaning toilets that dot the city. They break often and double as dens for drug use and prostitution.

The pit stop program — which just completed a six-month pilot and is expected to be expanded and extended Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors — offers what at last could be a solution. "It's private, it's clean, it has a sink, it has soap, it has seat covers, it has paper towels, it has a light," Fisher said. "It's wonderful. It's a blessing. It's the way I was raised."

The pairs of toilets mounted on small trailers are mobile, hauled in Tuesdays through Fridays at 2 p.m. and hauled out at 9 p.m. for cleaning. Full-time attendants sporting blue jackets wipe them down, give each user a five-minute courtesy knock, and sweep the sidewalks while they're at it. <Source>

WOW! How progressive is that? Folks, this is an American progressive city, not Mexico or another third-world country. But, then again, we see these dynamics in almost every city managed by the progressive socialist elites. The same people who continue to invite even more illegal aliens into their cities, placing further pressure on the infrastructure and social safety nets.

So where do all the billions in governmental assistance go?

Where are those uber-billionaires progressives who speak vaguely about helping people in third world nations while this exists in their own backyard. Where are the people from Microsoft, Google, and all of the other big companies that run luxury buses into San Francisco for the benefit of their employees.

Google’s Buses Help Its Workers Beat the Rush

The perks of working at Google are the envy of Silicon Valley. Unlimited amounts of free chef-prepared food at all times of day. A climbing wall, a volleyball court and two lap pools. On-site car washes, oil changes and haircuts, not to mention free doctor checkups. But the biggest perk may come with the morning commute.

In Silicon Valley, a region known for some of the worst traffic in the nation, Google, the Internet search engine giant and online advertising behemoth, has turned itself into Google, the mass transit operator. Its aim is to make commuting painless for its pampered workers — and keep attracting new recruits in a notoriously competitive market for top engineering talent.

The company now ferries about 1,200 employees to and from Google daily — nearly one-fourth of its local work force — aboard 32 shuttle buses equipped with comfortable leather seats and wireless Internet access. Bicycles are allowed on exterior racks, and dogs on forward seats, or on their owners’ laps if the buses run full. <Source>

Has anyone noticed that the greatest number of evictions of long-term middle-class residents from their government-mandated affordable rent-controlled homes seems to cluster around these luxury bus stops?

These are the progressives that believe they can tame nature’s overwhelming power with public policies …

Refresh my memory, wasn’t San Francisco destroyed by an Earthquake? Isn’t this one of the most dangerous places riddled with major nearby faults? So why do the progressives thumb their nose at nature’s power and continue to build high-density high-rises in dangerous areas?

Powerful earthquake possible in San Francisco's Hayward Fault Zone

There's a big earthquake coming. Tuesday's magnitude-4.0 earthquake in the San Francisco Bay Area caused relatively little damage, but it gave a glimpse of the potential geological threats the region could face.

Scientists believe there's strong evidence to suggest that a major quake will strike the San Francisco Bay Area; the only question is when.

Geophysicist Tom Brocher with the U.S. Geological Survey said scientists are confident that a major earthquake will happen on the Hayward Fault Zone, a 74-mile-long fault line that runs along the the east side of the Bay Area, near cities such as Oakland and Fremont.

The zone is known for destructive earthquakes. "We know about it very well because it produced a big earthquake in 1868," Brocher said in an interview with CNN.  The quake Brocher is referring to was a magnitude-6.8 earthquake. Several people died in that event, which caused damage of around $350,000 -- about $5 to $10 million in today's money.

"Anything larger than a magnitude-6 earthquake can be very dangerous if it is near a city," Brocher said.

It has been 147 years since the 1868 earthquake struck San Francisco. "The most recent scientific study indicates that for the entire San Francisco Bay Area there is about a 70% chance of a magnitude 6.7 or greater in the next 30 years occurring on one of the several earthquake faults that run through the area," Brocher said.

In 1989, a magnitude-6.9 quake hit the Bay Area during baseball's World Series. The Loma Prieta earthquake caused 63 deaths, 3,757 injuries and an estimated $6 billion in property damage, according to the Geological Survey. <Source>

nc

These are the progressives who claim curbing fossil fuels will overcome the natural drivers of climate change: the Sun’s energy output in all spectral bands, the production of cosmic rays, the Earth’s position relative to the Sun, the Earth’s rotational and precessional dynamics, the Earth’s vulcanology and plate tectonics, the deep ocean temperatures and currents, and the largest greenhouse gas, water vapor. There is no mention of the progressive agenda of reducing America’s standard of living and population growth until we are just another unexceptional member nation of the corrupt socialist United Nations.

Can you find any place in the United States where the progressives have revived the middle class and improved the economy. Yes, the financial crisis was manufactured by the Wall Street Wizards, but with governmental regulation and the corruption of lobbyists. Where the special interests were in charge of the regulatory agencies that were supposed to investigate and prosecute fraud. Where Hillary Clinton’s husband signed the repeal of Glass-Steagall and the legislation that removed derivatives from being considered gambling.

Bottom line …

It is no longer a choice between candidates, but a choice between progressivism (liberalism, socialism, communism) and the traditional values that made America great.

Already we see a socialist mayor destroying New York City while advantaging the thugs over the police. Oh so politically correct – and the progressives sit behind their security systems and armed guards and look the other way. Content that they will be invited to the right parties because they espouse liberalism rather than telling the truth.

Iowa will tell us a story. One we may not like and one we may have little time to fix. California is on the brink of disaster, Michigan and Illinois are not far behind.

-- steve


“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS


SECRET EMAILS: THE NEW CLINTON STRATEGY -- MORAL EQUIVALENCY DEFENSE?

President Barack Obama and his cadre of progressive socialist democrats are fond of using moral equivalency, pointing to the bad behavior of others to excuse their own bad behavior, be it usurping the powers of Congress, trampling over states’ rights or the separation of powers, obstruction of justice, or simply criminal actions.

hilpet

It now appears that the Obama Administration and the Clinton machine might argue for leniency for the egregious criminal actions of Hillary Clinton and the use of her private unsecure email server – all to avoid public and governmental scrutiny of her actions.

The basis of such a claim involves the unauthorized disclosure of highly classified information by General Petraeus to his mistress/biographer Paula Broadwell. The General removed classified information from a secure area, stored it in a unsecured area in his home, and made it available to an unauthorized person. The General was removed from his post as the Director of the CIA and allowed to escape felony charges associated with mishandling classified information and lying to federal investigators by using a plea bargain that saw the felony charge reduced to a misdemeanor. It appears that in return for not prosecuting Paula Broadwell and reducing the charge, Petraeus saved the government from a messy and prolonged court battle; mainly because the breach was disclosed after the government “accidently” encountered the Petraeus information while investigating another cyber-stalking/sex scandal involving other people. With the possibility that the government illegally accessed Petraeus’ personal email accounts.

Petraeus lost his job, his security clearance, was sentenced to two years probation and fined $100,000.

There is no doubt that Clinton’s server did contain classified data and that the information was so classified and restricted that FBI investigators and DOJ prosecutors needed special clearances just to look at the evidence.

Remember, these were the emails passed around by the various private email vendors and provided to Hillary Clinton’s personal lawyer who was not specifically authorized to hold TOP SECRET/SAP information from other intelligence agencies and that the State Department could not give him that clearance as they were not the classifying agency.

From the letter of the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community to Congress (January 14, 2016 – Corker)

To date, I have received two sworn declarations from one IC [Intelligence Community] element. These declarations cover several dozen emails containing classified information determined by the IC element to be at the CONFIDENTIAL, SECRET, and TOP SECRET /SAP levels. According to the declarant, these documents contain information derived from classified IC element sources. Due to the presence of TOP SECRET/SAP information, I provided these declarations under separate cover to the Intelligence oversight committees and Senate and House Leadership. The IC element is coordinating with State to determine how these documents should be properly treated in the FOIA litigation.

It now appears that Hillary Clinton is a bald-faced liar and did have highly classified information on her private server that was probably hacked by foreign intelligence agencies and maybe even casual hackers. Not a bad assumption given that the private email accounts of high ranking officials including CIA Director John Brennan and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.

The difference was that the dissemination of an extremely limited amount classified information by Petraeus was disseminated only to one person who also had a security clearance and was not widely disseminated with a great probability that it was captured by foreign intelligence agencies. Petraeus took responsibility for his actions and did not lie to the American people about what had occurred. He also was not running for the Presidency of the United States.

Other potential resolutions …

  • It is still likely that Obama could delay and dissemble on the Clinton issue until he is out of office.
  • Or that he could issue a blanket pardon for Clinton and her aides Huma Abedin, Cheryl Mills, Jake Sullivan, and others who handled, or should I say mishandled, the same information.
  • Or that Hillary’s health could take a sudden turn for the worse and she would be relieved of all responsibility as a “humanitarian” gesture.

Bottom line …

Why is Hillary Clinton still being allowed by the progressive socialist democrats to run for the Presidency of the United States. One would think that an honorable party would terminate their association with this particularly loathsome candidate and seek to run Joe Biden, the only person qualified for the position by virtue of his service as the Vice President of the United States. But then again, there is nothing honorable about the progressive socialist democrats or their malignant diva Hillary Clinton.

We are so screwed.

-- steve  


“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS


TED CRUZ IS THE WORST THING THAT CAN HAPPEN TO THE ESTABLISHMENT GOP ...

There is a reason that the establishment GOP wants a Jeb Bush and will settle for a Donald Trump … and it has nothing to do with freedom, saving our great nation, curbing corruption, waste, fraud, and abuse …

The worst thing that can happen to establishment GOP members is being cut off from the treasury gravy train and being unable to sell political access and favors to the special interests.

It is far better to have a deal-making political whore at the helm than a principled constitutional conservative.

And because Ted Cruz is every bit as different as Ronald Reagan, they will try to convince you he is unelectable and disliked by his peers. Of course he is disliked, he smells political bullshit and calls bullshit – he does not pretend to be sniffing a rose to advance his personal political agenda.

You decide: politics as usual …

remembering

  • The establishment GOP asked for the House and we gave it to them, and they promptly sided with the progressive socialist democrats.
  • The establishment GOP asked for the Senate and we gave it to them, and they promptly sided with the progressive socialist democrats.
  • And now the establishment GOP is asking us for the Presidency and demanding that we elect an establishment candidate that will say anything and then side with the progressive socialist democrats.

or deciding on something different that not only promises to be different, but a candidate who has a proven record of doing something different.

I am tired of being screwed over by the professional politicians who are so afraid of a constitutional conservative that they would rather lose the race and keep profiting than win the race and be denied the taxpayer’s money.

SPECTRUM

Time to fight back.

-- steve


“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS


WHO WON FOX NEWS DEBATE (IOWA 2016)

dhdr

Without Donald Trump to introduce the celebrity entertainment element, the Fox News Iowa debate was far less entertaining, but not necessarily more informative as the candidates retreated to their well-known positions and canned sound-bites.

Moderators Megyn Kelly, Chris Wallace, and Bret Baier seem to have much sharper edges; asking questions leading to candidate-fighting- candidate. Fortunately, most of the candidates simply took their allotted time to answer their own questions.

  • Out of the intimidating shadow of Donald Trump, Jeb Bush was more animated – but looked like he was delivering a memorized script. Bush continues to claim he is a conservative.
  • Rand Paul, who doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of being the GOP candidate, didn’t deserve a spot on the stage did what his father did before him; acted like a disruptive time-wasting gadfly. Followed by another time-waster John Kasich.
  • Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush engaged in mutually assured destruction of the issue of immigration.
  • Megyn Kelly then continued with an attack on Ted Cruz which he then skillfully parried. And, then Kelly turns to Rand Paul to attack Ted Cruz. No wonder Fox allowed this marginal non-player on the stage. Cruz parried again skillfully. Then Rubio attacked Cruz. Cruz then demolished Rubio. Christie took advantage and claimed we needed to stop the Washington BS.

Bottom line …

Without Donald Trump in the mix, the winner was Ted Cruz, followed by Marco Rubio, and Chris Christie. Jeb Bush, Rand Paul, John Kasich were non-entities. And, unfortunately, Ben Carson was non-existent. But the biggest loser was Donald Trump, the petulant childish candidate who took his ball and went home. The fact that he used “veterans” as campaign props is despicable.

Of course, most of the online pollsters continue to keep the no-show Trump in their polls so as to continue the guessing game of whether or not Trump’s online and rally people will translate to votes.

Hopefully after the next few votes, most of these irritating candidates will be gone.

-- steve


“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS


FLASHZERO CORP: PUMP AND DUMP STOCK SCAM?

Another suspicious e-mail suggesting this penny stock has tremendous upside potential. Looks like a pump and dump scam to me. What say you?

fz1

fz3

fz5

REMEMBER THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU: INVESTIGATE BEFORE YOU INVEST!


“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS


TRUMP THE BUMPER STICKER

Too “yuge” for the bumper …

TRUMP-PINK

T3

T-2

TP1


“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS


WHAT MAKES TRUMP SO DANGEROUS TO AMERICA ...

I am having a hard time even imagining a Trump Presidency. Wondering who or what he would sacrifice to enhance his ego and standing on the world stage. Who might be his advisors and would he select sub-par individuals and talk them up to the heights of disbelief?

trmp-w

  • Trump appears to be a malignant narcissist whose ego knows no bounds. It is all about Trump. A self-absorbed man whose level of pettiness is on display daily. In this manner, he is a progressive republican to be contrasted to Obama’s progressive democrat.
  • Trump is insolated and insulated from any outside forces by his position and wealth. Therefore he can act independently of anyone constrained by either internal and external forces.
  • Trump apparently has no shame and a thick skin; willing to say or do anything he wants with no inner sense of shame or guilt.
  • Trump is following the advice of Fox News’ Chairman Roger Ailes, arguably on the most effective political operatives in history, who told Ronald Reagan, “You didn’t get elected on details. You got elected on themes.”
  • Trump appears to have no core values and fancies himself as a “dealmaker” able to influence anyone rather than a constitutional conservative. He is, for all intents and purposes, whatever suits him in the moment. Willing to lie and mislead if it suits his purpose.
  • Trump steeped in cronyism; and even worse talks up those cronies beyond their real character, abilities, and objectives.
  • Trump’s deal-making modus operandi appears to be flattery, bribery, and then attack. He records every encounter with any individual as an entry in his favor bank and is not adverse to using that transaction to denigrate or belittle you. Imagine what a Trump Administration might do to further politicize our government institutions: the Department of Justice, the Internal Revenue Service, and those Agencies that hand out taxpayer funds or perform regulatory oversight.

 

Bottom line …

Donald Trump is an unstable, untrustworthy petulant child being handed the keys to our nuclear arsenal. 

-- steve


“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS


IS THE GOP AFRAID TO WIN?

The de facto leader of the GOP 
establishment

It almost seems like the establishment GOP is afraid of winning the Presidency, the House, and the Senate. Almost as if they would be on-the-hook, hard-pressed to start fixing our nation. Working together with each other and the progressive socialist democrats to reduce the size of government, curtail wanton government spending, prioritize funding to repair or replace our crumbling infrastructure, solve a union problem that increases political corruption. And, all things considered, act responsible as stewards of this great nation and our planet.

Is the GOP and their candidates up to the task …

With candidates like billionaire bully boy Donald Trump, the go along to get along Marco Rubio, and the constitutional conservative Ted Cruz, we now have a choice of three futures with three outcomes: establishment crony capitalism, a hybrid model of reduced political corruption, or an amazing return to constitutionalism and the transformation of our national goals.

What’s really at stake …

The next President is likely to appoint two to three Supreme Court Justices and radically transform the nature of constitutional jurisprudence.

  • Deciding whether or not the government can confiscate private property from an individual to give to another individual or corporation solely on the basis that it will generate more tax revenue for the government?
  • Deciding whether or not the government can mandate purchases of goods and services in order to further a political agenda?
  • Deciding whether or not the government can go to war without a constitutional declaration?
  • Deciding whether or not the separation of powers clause can keep 9 unelected individuals or the executive branch of the government from usurping Congresses sole law making power?
  • Deciding whether or not the government can continue violating state’s rights by coercing state’s actions by returning taxpayer funds in return for specific non-legislative, non-judicial actions or programs?
  • Deciding whether or not the government can place all Americans in double jeopardy situations by federalizing local and state laws and then prosecuting individuals when politically expedient?

And the list goes on and on.

Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory …

Once again something unsavory appears to be going on in the GOP. The Northeastern liberal elite appears to be disadvantaging any candidate that does not fit the establishment cronyism mold. Willing to destroy viable candidates because they threaten the old status quo.

I look at the recent pronouncements of the greybeards, Senator Orrin Hatch and former Senator Bob Dole, and get the distinct feeling that they would support candidate Trump because he can be counted on making deals with the establishment GOP as well as the democrats and Putin. But, to hear them speak about Senator Ted Cruz, one would think that Cruz would deny them water, food, perks, and privileges away in a fit of “conservatism.”

Bottom line …

In California, the voters decided they wanted a corrupt businessman Arnold Schwarzenegger for Governor, while rejecting a conservative Tom McClintock as a conservative Lieutenant Governor. And, we got an historic tax increase and Schwarzenegger acted more like Ted Kennedy than Ronald Regan.

Now I fear, that the voters will decide they want another corrupt celebrity businessman, Donald Trump, with much the same results we saw in California.

The California GOP actively conspired with the progressive socialist democrats to raise the taxes, deciding who could be sacrificed after voting with progressive socialist democrats. For those who were termed out, cushy six figure appointments to do-nothing boards and commissions. And, for that single deciding vote, the turncoat Abel Maldonado was appointed Lt. Governor. Business as usual in the People’s Republic of California.

My view is that with Ted Cruz we have a fighting chance at government reform. With Trump, another Barack Obama – albeit a more competent person who can be shamed or flattered into taking action. A man who wants to "cut deals" with the evildoers and those who are incompetent.

Only with Cruz do you have a chance to work to change the RNC and its decrepit and corrupt leadership.

We are so screwed.

-- steve


“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS


DONALD THE DIVA: TRUMP SCREWS HIMSELF BY BOYCOTTING FOX DEBATE

trump-ab

Instead of appearing presidential, GOP frontrunner Donald Trump is acting like a spoiled, petulant little twit – taking his ball and going home because he can’t bully his way into having Fox remove Megyn Kelly as one of the debate’s co-moderators.

As we all recall, Kelly asked Trump about his verbally abusive style toward women and when Trump responded inappropriately, he did an Obama – blamed everyone but himself.

Now it appears that Donald Trump is playing games with Fox, telling them that he will not appear in their debate because he is not being treated fairly.

Trump will ‘definitely not’ participate in Fox debate, campaign says

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he "most likely" will not take part in the Republican debate hosted by Fox News and Google on Thursday. Trump has been engaged in a public spat with Fox News that began at a debate last August in which he said he was subject to unfair questioning by moderator Megyn Kelly. (Reuters)

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump says he will not attend a debate scheduled for Thursday night in Des Moines, an unexpected twist just days before voters here launch the election process.

"I probably won't be doing the debate. I'm going to have something else in Iowa," he said during a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.

After the press conference, Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski confirmed to The Washington Post that Trump would "definitely not" participate in Thursday's Fox News debate.

“He’s definitely not participating in the Fox News debate," Lewandowski said. "His word is his bond."

He said Trump would remain in Iowa as planned and would instead host an event in the state to raise money for wounded warriors and other veterans groups.

Trump has made such threats before, but he said that the Fox News Channel, which is hosting the debate Thursday night, had gone too far by issuing press statements on Tuesday that he said mocked his concern about Megyn Kelly, one of the debate co-moderators.

"They're dealing with someone who's a little bit different. They can't toy with me like they toy with everybody else," he added.

When Trump saw the press release from Fox, "I said, 'Bye bye,'" he said.

Trump said his event on Thursday will benefit military veterans and service members wounded in war.

Although Trump said there had been too many Republican debates, Lewandowki said the decision applied only to the Fox News debate and that he would be open to participating in future debates.

Source: Trump will ‘definitely not’ participate in Fox debate, campaign says

The statement …

(New York, NY) January 26th, 2016-

As someone who wrote one of the best-selling business books of all time, The Art of the Deal, who has built an incredible company, including some of the most valuable and iconic assets in the world, and as someone who has a personal net worth of many billions of dollars, Mr. Trump knows a bad deal when he sees one. FOX News is making tens of millions of dollars on debates, and setting ratings records (the highest in history), where as in previous years they were low-rated afterthoughts.

Unlike the very stupid, highly incompetent people running our country into the ground, Mr. Trump knows when to walk away. Roger Ailes and FOX News think they can toy with him, but Mr. Trump doesn't play games. There have already been six debates, and according to all online debate polls including Drudge, Slate, Time Magazine, and many others, Mr. Trump has won all of them, in particular the last one. Whereas he has
always been a job creator and not a debater, he nevertheless truly enjoys the debating process- and it has been very good for him, both in polls and popularity.

He will not be participating in the FOX News debate and will instead host an event in Iowa to raise money for the Veterans and Wounded Warriors, who have been treated so horribly by our all talk, no action politicians. Like running for office as an extremely successful person, this takes guts and is the kind mentality our country needs to Make America Great Again.

This could backfire …

One, people could see that Donald Trump is not presidential, can’t really handle discord not of his own making, and is unsuitable for the Presidency of the United States where you can’t simply cut and run.

Two, if he does attend the debate, Trump looks weak and must have a win – like Megyn Kelly being removed from the stage; something that would make Fox look bad.

Three, if he does not attend the debate, he gives his challengers, the two most likely candidates Cruz and Rubio, additional time that could either enhance their standing or destroy their chances.

Four, if this is simply a cheap media stunt, it demonstrates that Trump will say or do anything for personal attention – something that we absolutely do not need in a president.

Bottom line …

I am extremely pleased that The Donald has his diva moment.

-- steve


“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS


PROGRESSIVES: ALIENS ARE DEAD BECAUSE OF GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE?

No, not the illegal aliens pouring across the border to create a perpetual progressive socialist democrat constituency, destroying  our infrastructure, social safety net, economy, and way of life in the process. But extraterrestrial aliens from other planets. 

When you are a scientist and must publish …

The Aliens Are Silent Because They're Dead

Life on other planets would probably go extinct soon after its origin, due to runaway heating or cooling on their fledgling planets

Life on other planets would likely be brief and become extinct very quickly, say astrobiologists from The Australian National University (ANU).

In research aiming to understand how life might develop, the scientists realised new life would commonly die out due to runaway heating or cooling on their fledgling planets.

[This is absolute speculation, the same as the speculative hypothesis that suggests that global climate change can destroy our planet when nature’s feedback loops and other protective mechanisms tend to show results that regress to a mean value instead of running away and consuming the planet. Of course, these hypotheses are based on incomplete models using questionable data to produce scenarios that have a low probability – all to drive public policies that support a progressive and totalitarian agenda.]

"The universe is probably filled with habitable planets, so many scientists think it should be teeming with aliens," said Dr Aditya Chopra from the ANU Research School of Earth Sciences and lead author on the paper, which is published in Astrobiology.

[That would assume facts not in evidence: that life would be similar to that found on Earth and be subject to the same physical laws and conditions.]

"Early life is fragile, so we believe it rarely evolves quickly enough to survive."

[How do these scientists involved explain the strange creatures that live at depths that would crush submarines and feed off of toxic elements in an extremely hostile environment?

“Travel to a world of perpetual night--the deep ocean hydrothermal vents near the Galapagos Rift where life thrives around superheated water spewing from deep inside the Earth. Discovered only in 1977, hydrothermal vents are home to dozens of previously unknown species. Huge red-tipped tube worms, ghostly fish, strange shrimp with eyes on their backs and other unique species thrive in these extreme deep ocean ecosystems found near undersea volcanic chains. How is life possible here? In a process called chemosynthesis, microbes at the base of the food chain convert chemicals from the vents into usable energy.” See the video here.]

"Most early planetary environments are unstable. To produce a habitable planet, life forms need to regulate greenhouse gases such as water and carbon dioxide to keep surface temperatures stable."

[This assumes life as we know it and that seems unlikely given the diversity of species on the Earth and the multiplicity of physical conditions on many other planets.]

About four billion years ago Earth, Venus and Mars may have all been habitable. However, a billion years or so after formation, Venus turned into a hothouse and Mars froze into an icebox.

[This is one of those rhetorical devices that is meaningless as the Earth will cease to exist in approximately 5 billion years as Our Sun becomes a red giant. Or in about 4.5 billion years when our galaxy, the Milky Way, collides with the galaxy known as Andromeda. This is the scientific version of shoulda, woulda, coulda.]

Early microbial life on Venus and Mars, if there was any, failed to stabilise the rapidly changing environment, said co-author Associate Professor Charley Lineweaver from the ANU Planetary Science Institute.

"Life on Earth probably played a leading role in stabilising the planet's climate," he said.

[This is bullpucky given the present powers of our evolved species and comparing them to the efforts of early microbial life. Consider man’s present ability to affect the driver’s of natural climate change: Sun’s solar output, the Earth’s position relative to the Sun,  the production of cosmic rays and high-energy particles, the Earth’s precessional and rotational dynamics; the deep ocean currents; the Earth’s tectonic and volcanic activity; and the greatest greenhouse gas of all – water vapor (clouds) which form a self-regulating feedback mechanism. All of which are impervious to man’s puny actions.

We may be more likely to be destroyed in an cataclysmic collision with an asteroid, laid low by a runaway man-made virus, or our civilized and internet-integrated populations decimated by an electromagnetic pulse from the Sun.] 

Dr Chopra said their theory solved a puzzle.

"The mystery of why we haven't yet found signs of aliens may have less to do with the likelihood of the origin of life or intelligence and have more to do with the rarity of the rapid emergence of biological regulation of feedback cycles on planetary surfaces," he said.

[Theories do not solve even hypothetical puzzles, they point to possibilities, but not solutions. The truth is that nature cares not one whit for man and his puny political and industrial actions. Man is simply a small part of the evolved and still emerging ecosystem. Man has no clue to the true origin of our universe, the origin of the species, or any hard evidence about live anywhere else; especially life in hostile environments.]

Wet, rocky planets, with the ingredients and energy sources required for life seem to be ubiquitous, however, as physicist Enrico Fermi pointed out in 1950, no signs of surviving extra-terrestrial life have been found.

A plausible solution to Fermi's paradox, say the researchers, is near universal early extinction, which they have named the Gaian Bottleneck.

[Giving a theory a name does not make its assumptions true or its conclusions valid.]

"One intriguing prediction of the Gaian Bottleneck model is that the vast majority of fossils in the universe will be from extinct microbial life, not from multicellular species such as dinosaurs or humanoids that take billions of years to evolve," said Associate Professor Lineweaver.

[Assuming time is a constant everywhere in the universe and no multiverses such as those posited by string theorists really exist. Perhaps, it is equally conceivable that all manner of things exist in the probabilities of superposition and only manifest when they are observed and their wavefronts collapse to point particles?]

A copy of the paper can be downloaded at <Source>.

Source: The Aliens Are Silent Because They're Dead

On the chance that the author’s work has been hyped for distribution in the popular media, let us look at the paper’s abstract …

The Case for a Gaian Bottleneck:
The Biology of Habitability
Aditya Chopra and Charles H. Lineweaver
Abstract

 

The prerequisites and ingredients for life seem to be abundantly available in the Universe. However, the Universe does not seem to be teeming with life.

The most common explanation for this is a low probability for the emergence of life (an emergence bottleneck), notionally due to the intricacies of the molecular recipe.

Here, we present an alternative Gaian bottleneck explanation: If life emerges on a planet, it only rarely evolves quickly enough to regulate greenhouse gases and albedo, thereby maintaining surface temperatures compatible with liquid water and habitability.

Such a Gaian bottleneck suggests that (i) extinction is the cosmic default for most life
that has ever emerged on the surfaces of wet rocky planets in the Universe and (ii) rocky planets need to be inhabited to remain habitable.

In the Gaian bottleneck model, the maintenance of planetary habitability is a
property more associated with an unusually rapid evolution of biological regulation of surface volatiles than with the luminosity and distance to the host star.

This is scientific science fiction …

As far as the actual paper goes, it is a decent speculative piece on a possible reason that we may not find life on other planets.

But, the linkage of the causal hypothesis to what appears to be the global climate change meme and the anthropogenic causatives over more powerful omnipresent physical phenomena appears to me to be a raison d'être, something that speaks more to fashionable science, funding, and publishing opportunities.

“… maintenance of planetary habitability is a property more associated with an unusually rapid evolution of biological regulation (man-made) of surface volatiles (“fossil fuels”) than with the luminosity and distance to the host star. (naturally occurring physical phenomena beyond man’s control”)

Bottom line …

We do not know that which we do not know. Man’s arrogance, hubris if you will, in insisting that man can dominate nature’s forces by public policy based on little more than crafted science to advance a political agenda is abhorrent to me. And, before anyone cites the preponderance of research, let us consider that research institutions, project administrators, and scientists are all likely to follow the money and media attention involved in “fashionable” science than they are to present contrarian science-based opinions or refutations of work by established scientists. In many cases, a younger practitioner who attacks on older, well-established practitioner, becomes a threat to other researchers and often sees his career sidetracked or destroyed altogether as he is denied educational positions, project funding, and collaboration and publication opportunities.

Perhaps if this work was simply published in a peer-reviewed journal and discussed in scientific circles rather than being the subject of a press release with a catchy headline, I would have not had such a visceral reaction to the nonsense of exporting global climate change to other planets as a reason we cannot detect life.

Here is a little cosmological insight that few very rarely consider. Consider aliens looking at our planet from 65 to 228 million light-years distant and drawing conclusions about our planet based on the long-dead dinosaurs they see. Gives one pause and points out that one reason aliens remain undetectable is the vast space, of well, space. Besides I like my theory better because it has nothing to do with man or fossil fuels – simple everyday physics.

-- steve

Interesting …

From the total of 2049 known exoplanets [planets beyond our own solar system.] orbiting around 1297 different stars (as of January 20, 2016), only a small fraction are located in the vicinity of the Solar System. At the beginning of 2015, the nearest 71 confirmed exoplanets were located within 50 light-years (15.3 pc), with some 38 other unconfirmed candidates. Among the estimated 1,400 stars located within 50 light-years, only 37 have confirmed planetary systems and 13 have only unconfirmed exoplanets. Of the 133 stars within 50 light-years that are bright enough to be visible with the naked eye, and only 18 have confirmed planetary systems. Among the nearest 100 known star systems that are less than 20 light-years away, only three (Gliese 674, Gliese 876, and Gliese 832) have confirmed exoplanets, although proposals have been made for another ten systems. <Source: Exoplanets>


“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS