Global
As the week’s news slaps against my consciousness like road slush, some fragments sting more than others. For instance:
“According to the DOJ’s court filing, parents who are not currently in the U.S. may not be eligible for reunification with their children.”
I can’t quite move on with my life after reading a sentence like this. A gouge of incredulity lingers. How is such a cruelly stupid rule possible? What kind of long-term ramification will it have on the entirety of the human race?
A lawsuit seeking information from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) about the prosecution of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman has been dismissed. As often is the case with federal-court matters in Alabama, the final ruling is dubious -- in large part, because Judge Madeline Haikala received documents from the DOJ's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) last spring and sat on the case for roughly 10 months before making a final ruling.
Does Haikala's ruling make sense under the law.? We don't have access to the entire court file, so it's hard to make a determination on that question. But an online summary of the case docket raises troubling questions and suggests powerful conservative forces -- both in Alabama and Washington, D.C. -- are trying to keep the lid on what really happened in a case that has become known as the most notorious political prosecution in American history.
That’s as enthused as I can get. There must be a Republican in the White House. Is there? Oh yeah. Well, maybe that explains it. Or maybe the CPC is just sticking with last year’s budget despite this year’s additional insane increases in military spending and decreases most other places.
As with any dangerous tool, impeachment should be used with proper safety precautions. Among these should be taking care not to increase the chance of a nuclear war while trying to start an impeachment.
Given the overwhelming evidence that activist efforts are failing to halt the accelerating rush to extinction precipitated and maintained by dysfunctional human behavior, it is worth reflecting on why this is happening.
BANGKOK, Thailand -- Several people died, hundreds were missing and
6,600 left homeless Tuesday (July 24) after a partially constructed
dam collapsed in southern Laos, dumping more than 1 billion gallons (5
billion liters) of churning water onto villages below, official
reports from the communist country said.
The collapse of the partially constructed hydroelectric dam on Monday
(July 23) night in Attapeu province was described as an accident
caused by heavy rain.
The 1 billion gallons (5 billion liters) of water which roared out
equals 2 million Olympic-sized swimming pools, according to one
report.
"The incident was caused by a continuous rainstorm which caused a high
volume of water to flow into the project's reservoir," the dam's
Thailand-based Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding reportedly
said in an English-language statement.
Rainwater "fractured" the "Saddle Dam D" and "leaked to the downstream
area," it said.
The dam's other investors include South Korea's Korea Western Power
and the Laos government's Lao Holding State Enterprise.
Director/choreographer Tor Campbell’s rendition of Dreamgirls is an extremely exciting, energetic version and vivid vision of the beloved musical that opened on Broadway in 1981 and onscreen in 2006. With a cast of dozens (including five performers who been part of national Broadway tours), the almost three hour production pulsates with vibrant dancing, singing and live music played by a quartet.
The play, of course, appears to be suggested by actual Motown and other major musical acts, in particular the Supremes, here called the Dreamettes then the Dreams, and finally as Deena Jones (the sultry Shaunte Massard, whose stage credits include Fiddler on the Roof and Ain’t Misbehavin’) & the Dreams. James “Thunder” Early, aka “Jimmy,” seems to be a cross between James Brown with a dash of Little Richard is played mostly for laughs by the scene stealing, charming Chad Ra’shun, who provides comic relief and kinetic pyrotechnics.
Everyone's talking about election hacking these days. In the country's latest reprise of "the Russians are coming," we're all in turmoil about Putin's interference in U.S. elections.
However, don't you find it highly ironic politicians on all sides are so worried about "Russian hacking," while virtually none of them is addressing much more significant forms of election rigging? I'm talking about the criminal fixes arranged by the U.S. officials themselves?
More specifically, these include the retention of the outdated electoral college itself, outrageous gerrymandering of voting districts, super delegates at nominating conventions, voter suppression's many forms (from voter IDs to felony disenfranchisement laws), Koch brother funding of candidates' election campaigns (as in Citizens United), and the use of highly hackable computerized technology that miscounts and discounts millions of votes each election cycle. (No wonder so many of us decide on election day, "Why bother?")
