One Citizen Speaking

Previous month:
February 13, 2022 - February 19, 2022

Next month:
February 27, 2022 - March 5, 2022

IS HILLARY CLINTON INSANE OR JUST DRUNK?

One might expect Hillary Clinton, the former Secretary of State, to understand the basic elements of diplomacy and its alternative, war.

The basic rules…

Hope is not a plan.

The enemy gets a vote.

You keep your mouth shut. Where you don't telegraph contemplated or planned future actions to your enemy or openly suggest actions that makes your homeland vulnerable to counterattack.

So, in what universe does a malignant American political actor like Clinton openly call for a cyberattack, an act of war, against the Russian homeland -- a major nuclear power with potentially indefensible hypersonic missiles?

Openly revealing that it was America that precipitated the attack and allowing our enemies in Communist China, North Korea, Iran, and elsewhere to spoof attacks on America’s enemy that makes America more vulnerable to attack?

Hillary Clinton promotes cyberattacks against Russia

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton touted the use of cyberattacks against Russia in response to its brutal military assault on Ukraine.

Referencing hacktivist group Anonymous’ recent cyberattack on a Russian state news site, Clinton advocated people who "believe in freedom" to employ cyberwarfare to undermine key Russian institutions and aid Ukraine. <Source>

Stupid is as stupid does…

During the phase of Russia’s troop buildup that began last fall, the White House presented evidence of Russia’s activities surrounding Ukraine to Qin Gang, China’s ambassador to the U.S., according to the New York Times. Instead of pressuring Moscow to back down, the Chinese government shared that intelligence with the Kremlin. <Source>

Bottom line...

America, notably under Obama, Clinton, and Biden created the disaster in Ukraine and are now walking away.

We are facing a dangerous situation being led by a cognitively-impaired president, Obama’s retreads in positions of power, and progressive communist democrat propagandists in the media that endlessly feature ignorant commentary.

We are screwed and there is no solution in sight until the 2022 election.

We are so screwed.

-- steve

“Nullius in verba.”-- take nobody's word for it!

“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

Permalink | Comments (0)

A FINAL SALUTE TO THE 13 BRAVE UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS WHO TOLD RUSSIA TO "GO F*** YOURSELF"

UPDATE: It appears that the 13 soldiers may have been captured and imprisoned according to media sources.

“This is a military warship. This is a Russian military warship. I suggest you lay down your weapons and surrender to avoid bloodshed and needless casualties. Otherwise, you will be bombed.”

“Russian warship, go f*** yourself.”

Snake Island, a small 40-acre rocky Ukrainian island in the Black Sea, located approximately 25 miles from Romania, a NATO member nation, came under attack from the Russian Navy. Defiantly defended by 13 Ukrainian soldiers acting as border guards who died when attacked by a superior force against which they had no defense.

The strategic value of Snake Island is that it legally allows Russia to exert a 12-mile territorial waters control zone which impacts upon strategic shipping channels that could isolate the port cities of Odesa, Mykolaiv, and Kherson to crush the Ukraine economy and curtail the resupply of expended weaponry.

Bottom line…

Honor and national pride are not dead.

May these soldiers rest in peace, having rendered the ultimate sacrifice to their nation.

-- steve

“Nullius in verba.”-- take nobody's word for it!

“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

Permalink | Comments (0)

THE DEMOCRATS ARE IN DISARRAY AS PUTIN ATTACKS UKRAINE

If anyone is gloating over the diminishment of the United States of America as the leader of the free world, it is the progressive communist democrat who wants to destroy America from within…

Once again, I wonder about the fitness of President Biden to serve as the President of the United States in times of a grave threat to our national interests.

It is abundantly clear that diplomacy has failed and that the actions of Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, and others are manifestly inadequate to the task of dealing with our enemies. Biden can’t keep his mouth shut as he incoherently spews lies and informs the enemy of our plans. It is no wonder that Biden’s “strategy” to oppose implementing sanctions on Russia before Putin invaded Ukraine failed.

Like his comment to the American people when he claimed, “no one expected sanctions would prevent anything.” <Source> Perhaps forgetting that Vice President Harris said, "Sanctions will 'absolutely' deter Putin from invading." <Source> Nothing like incoherent messaging from the Administration.

NATO is what stands between freedom and Russia's expansion into bordering sovereign states...

Ask yourself why Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, and several other nations are members of the alliance known as NATO? Had Ukraine been a member of NATO, do you think Putin would have ignored Article Five of the treaty that states that, if an armed attack occurs against one of the member states, it shall be considered an attack against all members, and other members shall assist the attacked member, with armed forces if necessary?

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Citizens of Russia, friends

I consider it necessary today to speak again about the tragic events in Donbass and the key aspects of ensuring the security of Russia.

I will begin with what I said in my address on February 21, 2022. I spoke about our biggest concerns and worries, and about the fundamental threats which irresponsible Western politicians created for Russia consistently, rudely and unceremoniously from year to year. I am referring to the eastward expansion of NATO, which is moving its military infrastructure ever closer to the Russian border. <Source>

Biden deflects the high cost of energy in the United States...

In a speech to Americans, Biden couldn’t help saying, “U.S. gas companies ‘should not exploit' this crisis to raise prices for Americans at the pump, he said, as he explained that allies are also working to keep fuel supplies flowing.”

Forgetting to mention it was Biden and his progressive communist democrats who killed the Keystone Pipeline, destroyed the coal business, diminished the natural gas business, and replaced reliable energy with expensive, unreliable energy.

Do you think the progressive communist democrats care about $6/gallon gas -- that's what the progressives have wanted for years to drive us from our cars? Especially, when higher energy prices yield greater tax revenues.

Had we been able to return to energy independence and a net exporter of gas, oil, and liquid natural gas, Europe would have little incentive to appease Russia to keep warm in the winter.

If there is ever a reason to condemn Democrat Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s leadership, it is the statement that “Senators will get a classified briefing when they return from recess on February 28.

As bombs are falling in Ukraine and the United States has been threatened with a Russian nuclear response if we interfere with Russia’s illegal kinetic attack on Ukraine-- you would think that the Senators would return to Washington to lend support in sending weapons to Ukraine and convincing our allies that the United States is still trustworthy.

And then there is the dumb son-of-a bitch John Kerry who is worried about climate change while people are dying.

John Kerry urges Putin to not let Ukraine invasion distract from combating climate change

The White House’s international climate envoy, John Kerry, warned Russia to not lose sight of the bigger need to combat climate change as it targets Ukraine.

Mr. Kerry, a former secretary of state, told BBC News earlier this week that it was important for Russian President Vladimir Putin and other global leaders to remain committed to lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

“I hope diplomacy will win … but equally importantly, you’re going to lose people’s focus, you’re going to lose, certainly big country attention,” Mr. Kerry said. “I think hopefully, President Putin would realize that in the northern part of his country, they used to live on 66% of … frozen land. Now it’s thawing and his infrastructure is at risk, and the people of Russia are at risk.” <Source>

And other progressive communist democrat schmucks like radio host Dean Obeidallah who treat this severe matter as just another excuse to attack Trump and divert attention from the abject failure of the Democrats…

And, then there are the RINO (Republican In Name Only) "never Trumpers" who are as ignorant as Democrats...

GOP Senate candidate JD Vance said he doesn't 'really care what happens to Ukraine'

JD Vance, a Republican running for US Senate in Ohio, said he's not particularly interested in the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

"I gotta be honest with you, I don't really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another," Vance said on an episode of Steve Bannon's War Room. "I do care about the fact that in my community right now the leading cause of death among 18-45-year-olds is Mexican fentanyl that's coming across the southern border."

"I'm sick of Joe Biden focusing on the border of a country I don't care about while he lets the border of his own country become a total war zone," Vance said. <Source>

What a near-sighted buffoon.

Bottom line…

By now, you should be wondering why the progressive communist democrat propagandists in the mainstream media haven't noted that while Biden poses as a "tough guy," his family received millions from Russian and pro-Russian Ukrainian politicians.

We’ve got eyes on the situation from a safe 55,000-foot perch with no human at risk. A reminder to Putin we are giving real-time intel to Ukraine, documenting strikes on purely civilian targets, and will be assigning blame should there be an accidental strike against a commercial airliner like Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 that was shot down over Ukraine in July 2014 -- murdering 298 passengers and crew.

If we don't protect Ukraine, indirectly, without boots on the ground, who is going to trust the United States as allies, as trading partners, and when China, Russia, and others team up economically against the United States and bring the fight to our homeland?

Isolationism, appeasement, and stupidity don't work.

Why are we not strengthening our infrastructure, our military, and our spines?

We are so screwed.

-- steve

“Nullius in verba.”-- take nobody's word for it!

“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

Permalink | Comments (0)

WARNING: CANADA TO SCREW CITIZENS WITH BAIT AND SWITCH

It appears that two days after Canadian lawmakers voted to extend emergency powers allowing police to quell potential unrest, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is now set to revoke them now that the Ottawa trucker’s protest is apparently at an end.

This is bullpucky because nobody is talking about the Canadian government’s actions concerning the financial institutions that allow them to unilaterally freeze or cancel accounts at will and be held harmless from their actions by the government. There is little or no doubt that Canada is implementing the Chinese Communist system of State Capitalism, where companies are allowed to own and operate privately-held assets but are responsible for following government suggestions rather than mandates. Using the government’s investigation, regulatory, and judicial powers to coerce private organizations into actions prohibited or too politically untenable for a government mandate.

It appears that, even with the emergency powers revoked, Canadians may still be screwed by other government policies.

Pray for the freedom-loving Canadians.

-- steve

“Nullius in verba.”-- take nobody's word for it!

“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

Permalink | Comments (0)

JUST ASKING...

I wonder if Putin asked Hillary Clinton’s permission to invade Ukraine and sweetened her 2022 campaign fund? I also wonder if they are pissed at Biden because he wouldn’t stay bought.

“Nullius in verba.”-- take nobody's word for it!

“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

Permalink | Comments (0)

GUN CONTROL: ACADEMICS INVENT NEW MEANINGLESS METRIC

The headlines scream, “Gun deaths overtook car crashes as leading cause of trauma death in the U.S., study shows,” but what does it really mean?

It means that a group of progressive virtue-signaling physicians has published another nonsensical paper trying to distort the facts to pursue a gun control agenda. Even worse, they introduce a meaningless metric called “years of potential life lost,” which is a reductio ad absurdum result, the disproof of a proposition by showing that it leads to absurd or untenable conclusions. Especially if one applies that years of potential life lost metric to the number of children aborted each year or the deaths caused by heart disease, cancer, or other medical conditions.

The study details are published in Trauma and Acute Care Open journal.

Abstract

Objectives Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that firearm deaths are increasing in the USA. The aims of this study were to determine the magnitude of potential years of life lost due to firearms and to examine the evolution of firearm deaths on the basis of sex, race, and geographical location within the USA.

[OCS: From what we have seen, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is no longer a trustworthy source of medical statistics, given large variances in the quality of underlying data collection. The metric. potential years of life lost is totally meaningless as it does not account for the quality of life, a major factor in suicides, or the productivity of individuals near the end of their careers.]

Methods Data was extracted (2009–2018) from the National Vital Statistics Reports from the CDC and the Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System database. Years of potential life lost was calculated by the CDC standard of subtracting the age at death from the standard year of 80, and then summing the individual years of potential life lost (YPLL) across each cause of death.

[OCS: Standard year of 80? A strange number considering that the CDC notes the average life expectancy is 77.0 years (Source: Mortality in the United States, 2020). And there are additional caveats buried in the research paper.

Limitations

Within the CDC WISQARS database, firearm deaths are currently only categorized into three different mechanisms: homicide, suicide, and legal firearm interventions. The legal firearm interventions remained constant throughout the study period and were not statistically significant in comparison with the YPLL secondary to homicide and suicide; therefore, it was only briefly mentioned in our article. Although the data obtained for this study are publicly available through the CDC website, there has been no previous systematic analysis and presentation of these data as has been performed in this study. This study summarizes the available data and therefore cannot fully determine the etiology behind the changes in YPLL caused by firearms without demonstrating bias.

Results The YPLL in 2017 and 2018 was higher for firearms than motor vehicle crashes (MVCs). In 2018, the YPLL for firearms was 1.42 million and 1.34 million for MVC. Males comprised the majority (85.4%) of the 38 929 firearm deaths. White males had the most YPLL due to suicide, with 4.95 million YPLL during the course of the 10-year period; black males had the most YPLL due to homicide with 3.2 million YPLL during the same time period. The largest number of suicides by firearms was in older white males. Firearm-related injury deaths were highest in the South, followed by the West, Midwest, and Northeast, respectively.

Conclusion Firearms are now the leading cause of YPLL in trauma. Firearm deaths have overtaken MVC as the mechanism for the main cause of potential years of life lost since 2017. Suicide in white males accounts for more YPLL than homicides. Deaths related to firearms are potentially preventable causes of death and prevention efforts should be redirected.

[OCS: Deaths relating to drunk driving are also potentially preventable, but we do not outlaw alcohol or vehicles.]

Level of evidence Level III—Descriptive Study.

Why I think this paper is politically motivated…

“Previous studies have shown that firearm ownership, mass shootings, injuries, and death are more of a problem in the USA as compared with other developed countries.”

[OCS: There can be no comparison to other countries as the United States is unique given its size, structural freedoms and governance, population diversity. And reducing numbers to per capita metrics is statistically questionable when one considers underlying confounding factors, components of a study that make it difficult or impossible to isolate the effect of the variable being examined.]

“The demand for total freedom and the second amendment have resulted in high access to firearms in this country and this is undisputable. The main argument is that the right to bear arms to prevent injury or to defend against aggressors may result in a small number of preventable deaths is a plausible theory, however, the data reveal that the resulting access to firearms has equated to magnitudes of death due to firearm suicides in the same individuals demanding access to firearms. Effective suicide prevention efforts should include limiting access to all methods of suicide—including firearms—for at-risk populations.”

I am confused. Isn’t this the same group that demands freedom and “body sovereignty” when it comes to abortion while demanding total obedience to state mandates when accepting medical treatments with questionable efficacy and potentially life-threatening side effects in some cohorts?

There is no effective method, short of incarceration, that limits access to all methods of suicide for at-risk populations. And, as Jeffrey Epstein demonstrated, even close-watch incarceration may not be enough.

Bottom line…

Another bullshit study. It is little more than a trivia item that total gun deaths have overtaken car crashes as the leading cause of trauma death in the United States.

The findings that “suicides among older White men account for a large share of the problem” and “deaths in the black male population due to firearm homicide was significantly less than the total number of white male suicides” might be interesting but not really actionable. It is statistical bullpucky to note, “For each death, on average, black male homicides accounted for 50.5 YPLL, whereas white male suicides accounted for 29.1 YPLL.”

The truth is simple. Given the number of gun deaths in the U.S. population, as a percentage of the total population, the number is insignificant except as a political talking point. Instead of attempting to disarm the entire law-abiding population of gun owners, merely enforcing the gun laws on the books without favoring minorities or allowing plea bargains and curbing gangs would solve the majority of the homicide-related problem.

We are so screwed when you realize the regime wants to take away your guns as an effective method of resisting government tyranny – the original purpose of the Second Amendment.

-- steve

“Nullius in verba.”-- take nobody's word for it!

“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

Permalink | Comments (0)

TODAY'S RANT: WHAT YOU DON'T SEE CAN HURT YOU!

I have been dealing with technology for at least fifty years, so I am never surprised by outages, glitches, bugs, and other routine events. So when my onecitizenspeaking email stopped working, there was little cause for panic.

I checked my connection.
I checked my email vendor for outages.
I logged on to the vendor's web client and found no issues.
I checked for operating system updates.
I checked for email client updates.
I reviewed my email client settings, including log-on credentials.
I rebooted my computer.
I enabled advanced logging and sent a series of test messages.

Aha!

Congrats! Your email has been successfully updated to Microsoft 365. Check out your new dashboard!

Get Advanced Email Security for $4.99 per user/month and keep your emails safe from viruses and phishing.

My email vendor switched their account settings to those used by Microsoft 365, which is now their email provider of choice.

I updated my settings to accommodate the switch to Microsoft, cleared the logs, and re-sent my series of test messages.

All was well – or was it?

In the discovery process, I found that my email was being filtered by an unknown third party, Microsoft, and other than explicitly whitelisting domains or specific email addresses, I had lost control of my incoming and outgoing messaging. Since they are scanning my email, who knows what they are eliminating? Especially when we see big tech censoring and canceling conservative individuals, organizations, and sites.

There was no comfort in learning, "Your email is stored on Microsoft's secure servers, which prevent any damage while your email is at rest. However, when you send and receive messages, they can be exposed to attackers while in transit. That's where the Advanced Email Security add-on comes in. It keeps your emails safe from ever being seen or tampered with and helps prevent some of the common mistakes that can lead to compromises."

I confirmed that there was no way to really turn off this third-party spam filtering, only adjusting parameters; and that after fifteen days, any mail in the spam folder would be automatically deleted.

And, I am not the only one in the community with a problem with this policy.

When I have called GoDaddy about this (several times), they have not offered any solutions except to try to create Rules to take all incoming emails and send them to the Inbox. I am experimenting with this now to see if it will completely bypass the junk email filter. Ridiculous that turning off the junk email filter is not a selectable option, but it is a workaround that we will see if it hopefully works. -- Scott

Rules will not work - mail is filtered before the rules run. --Diane

I discussed this several times directly with Microsoft tech support and also discussed with an independent Outlook consultant. They said that the ability to turn off the junk email filter previously existed though it was removed from user control at some point. --Scott

Bottom line…

It is time to separate my email from my domain provider to another more secure vendor who is not likely to censor or cancel the account.

It is time for legislation to return ownership and control over users' information to the user, and restrict those onerous third-party unilateral terms of services that rape users.

I pay for my email service and expect it to be free from vendor manipulation.

We are so screwed.

-- steve

“Nullius in verba.”-- take nobody's word for it!

“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

Permalink | Comments (0)

WHERE ARE THE GOOD MEN WHO ARE WILLING TO FIGHT EVIL?

There is no doubt in my mind that President Biden is incapable of performing the duties required of the President of the United States, much less acting as the Commander-in-Chief of the United States military.

I believe that Biden is following the direction of former President Obama's minions like Jake Sullivan, Susan Rice, and Obama's hand-picked generals and apparatchiks.

These are the same people involved in spying on Americans, corrupting our nation's premier intelligence and law enforcement agencies, and who have produced a movement of corrupt and feckless diplomats in the State Department. Their foreign policy prescriptions have been a complete and utter disaster.

Don't blame our former allies for not trusting the word of the United States…

The United States pressured Ukraine into giving up its nuclear weapons by promising protection against invasion. Now, we are reluctant to provide offensive weapons to deter Russian aggression.

The United States removed nuclear weapons from South Korea as part of an agreement with North Korea to halt their development of atomic weapons.

The Biden administration ignores Israel and tries to cut another foolish nuclear agreement with Iran, brokered by the Russians, to save Obama's alleged legacy. I say allegedly because the deal was a sham from the start, and Iran continued toward their goal of producing an intercontinental ballistic missile with a nuclear payload.

Afghanistan was just a preview of the damage wrought by the Biden Administration as they left Americans behind enemy lines.

Look around…

Consider Canada, our neighbor to the North. Black Lives Matter rampages without consequences, and when truckers protest, the Canadian political leadership turns authoritarian and oppressive.

Consider Mexico, our neighbor to the South. America is being invaded by illegal aliens from Mexico who are being secreted everywhere throughout the United States.

Consider that many illegal aliens legally fly into the United States with valid paperwork and overstay their Visas. The Biden Administration refuses to track exits and go after those breaking the law.

Bottom line…

Where are the good men and women in and outside our government?

Now is not the time for Republicans like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who looks at the enemy and tries to find bi-partisan measures to he can advance their agenda, freedom be damned.

I believe there is a special place in hell for the mainstream media who refuses to speak truth to power.

We are so screwed.

-- steve

“Nullius in verba.”-- take nobody's word for it!

“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

Permalink | Comments (0)

IS THE FDA THE CANARY IN THE COAL MINE WHEN IT COMES TO GOVERNMENT TREACHERY?

The FDA is analogous to a trusted third-party financial rating agency…

One of the most damaging factors in the 2008 mortgage meltdown and the broader financial crisis was the appearance of trusted third-party rating agencies to vouch for the underlying integrity of securities being sold to the public and institutional investors. We later found that the trusted third-party rating agencies were not only paid by those seeking ratings but were competing among the other rating agencies to secure business. While business competition is good for the buyer, it often produces false impressions for the consumer as the rating agency bends its “gold standard” analysis to generate revenue.

Similarly, we see the same thing with the FDA, a trusted third-party rating agency for the pharmaceutical industry that derives a significant portion of its funding from the “user fees” paid by the pharmaceutical companies seeking approval for their drugs and medical devices.

Has the FDA been corrupted in the same manner as the rating agencies?

At this point, one can only suspect that the FDA has been politicized and has altered their off-label approvals, recommendations, and conditional use permits to satisfy those in the pharmaceutical industry who have invested large sums of money in a taxpayer-funded, consistently profitable "vaccine" business, worth billions of dollars per year.

Science or “the science?”

There is no such thing as “the science.” The underlying science of our universe is immutable and not easily subject or susceptible to change. What changes in our understanding of science as time progresses. In fact, the one variable that cannot be simulated to any degree of certainty is time, especially how any pharmaceutical product will work over long time periods in the general population.

Why should the FDA be suspect?

One, they are corrupting the scientific method by withholding the public dissemination of information about the approval process itself as well as the information submitted by the companies seeking approvals -- often under the guise of “proprietary information” or “trade secret” claims.

Two, the FDA discourages public comment and dissent, even from well-educated, well-credentialed, and well-experienced individuals, as if their findings and opinions could be imputed to incompetence, inefficiency, and, yes, corruption within the FDA itself.

Three, in managing the approval process where multiple entities are competing in the same marketplace and time is of the essence in terms of first-mover advantage, the FDA may be afraid of appearing biased or being attacked in the media?

Worst case scenario?

What if conventional, low-cost drugs could have been used for the early treatment of symptomatic COVID-19 individuals?

What if the efficacy of COVID-19 treatments had limited viability and decreased over time?

What if the current treatments have undisclosed or under-reported life-threatening side effects?

What if age- and co-morbidity stratified cohorts were not at extreme risk for developing severe COVID-19 symptoms and forced to accept treatments that carried demonstrably higher risks of serious side effects? Where the untreated population fares better than the treated population?

What if the major pharmaceutical companies become liable for damages based on misrepresenting data or perpetrating fraud on the public?

Bottom line…

It all comes down to who you can trust in a government preoccupied with gaining or maintaining power and perpetuating the regime’s governance.

What can the public make of a government willing to threaten or punish healthcare professionals if they step beyond government-promoted orthodoxy and adherence to "correct" or accepted narratives?

There are no concrete answers at this time, only inferences, as we ask why the FDA, together with Pfizer and others, are trying to hide the clinical data used in the approval process.

And, it appears that we are about to find out how corrupt our government has become and the social and financial consequences of their treachery and breach of faith.

We are so screwed when we find no pharmaceutical science without pharmaceutical politics.

-- steve

“Nullius in verba.”-- take nobody's word for it!

“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

Permalink | Comments (0)

CANADIAN MOUNTED POLICE: THE REGIME'S NEW ENFORCERS?

How times have changed…

I grew up watching “The Untouchables” featuring Robert Stack as the incorruptible Elliot Ness, thinking that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was incorruptible, heroically and honorably protecting our nation. From court proceedings, documentary evidence, and sworn testimony, it is now apparent that regime politics have demonstrably corrupted the leadership of both the Department of Justice and the FBI.

Likewise, I grew up with Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, featuring Dick Simmons as Canadian Mountie Sgt. Preston as he patrols the wilds of the Yukon with his horse Rex and his faithful dog Yukon King. An incorruptible paragon of honor serving Canadians much like the FBI used to serve American Citizens.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), often known as the Mounties, are Canada's federal and national police service, providing law enforcement at the federal level.

Will the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Regime do the Mounties what President Obama did to the FBI?

Democracy Dies in Canada: Trudeau Government to Make Some of Their New Authoritarian Measures Permanent

Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland announced the Trudeau regime’s intention to make some of their new authoritarian powers permanent.

When the Emergencies Act was first invoked on Feb. 14, Freeland explained that the Freedom Convoy’s bank accounts would be frozen: “As part of invoking the Emergencies Act, we are announcing the following immediate actions: First: we are broadening the scope of Canada’s anti-money laundering and terrorist financing rules so that they cover crowdfunding platforms and the payment service providers they use. These changes cover all forms of transactions, including digital assets such as cryptocurrencies.”

In order to strangle the protests financially, Freeland declared: “As of today, all crowdfunding platforms, and the payment service providers they use, must register with FINTRAC [Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada] and they must report large and suspicious transactions to FINTRAC. This will help mitigate the risk that these platforms receive illicit funds; increase the quality and quantity of intelligence received by FINTRAC; and make more information available to support investigations by law enforcement into these illegal blockades. This is about following the money. This is about stopping the financing of these illegal blockades. We are today serving notice, if your truck is being used in these illegal blockades your corporate accounts will be frozen.”

Freeland said even on Feb. 14 that “the government will also bring forward legislation to provide these authorities to FINTRAC on a permanent basis.” <Source>

Stifling dissent and protecting the regime against legitimate protest…

Essentially, the despotic Trudeau regime is coercing financial institutions, with the threat of regulatory action and massive fines, to take action against the regime’s enemies -- hard-working truckers and others whose lives and livelihoods are being put at risk from mandates NOT backed by science.

This process is insidious and dangerous because the regime requires private financial institutions to freeze or close accounts without due process and indemnifies them from legal action even if they make a mistake that costs untold harm to their customer.

This is a dictatorial power usually seen in Communist China, Russia, North Korea, and other despotic regimes.

Banks have started to freeze accounts linked to the protests, Freeland says

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Thursday financial institutions have moved quickly to freeze the accounts of people linked to the demonstrations in Ottawa, leaving an unknown number of protesters in financial limbo.

Freeland vowed to take more accounts offline in the coming days in an attempt to starve the organizers of the funds they need to continue their occupation of the nation's capital.

Freeland, who is also the finance minister, said the RCMP and other law enforcement agencies have been gathering intelligence on convoy protesters and their supporters and sharing that information with financial institutions to restrict access to cash and cryptocurrency.

The law also allows banks to target for account closure donors to the GoFundMe and the GiveSendGo fundraising campaigns that fueled this protest. Freeland said she wouldn't get into the "specifics of whose accounts are being frozen." <Source>

Uncivil forfeiture?

We have heard numerous accounts of individuals robbed by the authorities on vague suspicions and who have lost millions of dollars in cash and property without ever being charged with a crime. Unfortunately, if the money is ever recovered, it is rarely the amount taken and greatly diminished by attorney's fees and "negotiated" settlements. Not only is this manifestly illegal, unconstitutional, and manifestly unfair, it appears that the politicians, most of whom have legal training, are reluctant to curb abuses as it partially funds government activities without the need to raise taxes.

Trudeau's scheme appears to be little more than Canada's version of civil forfeiture.

Bottom line…

Trudeau is a Marxist and openly admires Communist regimes. This latest ploy is an example of Communist Chinese "State Capitalism"-- where private entities may retain ownership of their assets but must act under state dictates – including the suppression of dissent.

Will the Mounties lose their honor by attacking the very people they serve?

Will the Canadians be as screwed as Americans?

-- steve

“Nullius in verba.”-- take nobody's word for it!

“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

Permalink | Comments (0)