:^))
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The oceans’ circulation hasn’t been this sluggish in 1,000 years. That’s bad news.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2018/04/11/the-oceans-circulation-hasnt-been-this-sluggish-in-1000-years-thats-bad-news/?utm_term=.5b6fe476558e
Observed fingerprint of a weakening Atlantic Ocean overturning circulation.
The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC)—a system of ocean currents in the North Atlantic—has a major impact on climate, yet its evolution during the industrial era is poorly known owing to a lack of direct current measurements. Here we provide evidence for a weakening of the AMOC by about 3 ± 1 sverdrups (around 15 per cent) since the mid-twentieth century. This weakening is revealed by a characteristic spatial and seasonal sea-surface temperature ‘fingerprint’—consisting of a pattern of cooling in the subpolar Atlantic Ocean and warming in the Gulf Stream region—and is calibrated through an ensemble of model simulations from the CMIP5 project. We find this fingerprint both in a high-resolution climate model in response to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, and in the temperature trends observed since the late nineteenth century. The pattern can be explained by a slowdown in the AMOC and reduced northward heat transport, as well as an associated northward shift of the Gulf Stream. Comparisons with recent direct measurements from the RAPID project and several other studies provide a consistent depiction of record-low AMOC values in recent years.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0006-5.epdf?referrer_access_token=jis9_J-tw9zZrnTpP9KJpNRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0OdzeJ18XkImxSDnyYEEsE8kZxiCFQRHXUDVk7z88DZuCVSpNT526jCYc7AolNWO0q1VuAzrHmqVEhSpPio75PuDkbmnZMCM7UNkijPz7lF85lllre35b36xIR2bFKP-N8KD_GUVf7qEKH5RpZgKimkm5eaGY-9_iwbrfmXiiwSKC-h6dYZT5WJkAU7Qi4h8o_8yfGCnteJjUPRVV4rc19oLjmhua0qUJhEChUDiojei9sXfj9clqwlCv9z3s2bT581Xz3Pvm52YXzc8i87lzHkB8ySEjgbSSVe8pfr5pxqdL1H2uRvPWxf2UED_W9Rgo9xqSUt38ZWtsYsONWs_ITt&tracking_referrer=www.washingtonpost.com
That's all I have to say about tha'aaat...
Oh'my.. Republican congressman unloads on ‘motherf**ker’ Trump in furious over-the-top message to conservative pundit.
“It’s like Forrest Gump won the presidency, but an evil, really f*cking stupid Forrest Gump. He can’t help himself. He’s just a f**king idiot who thinks he’s winning when people are b*tching about him. He really does see the world as ratings and attention. I hate Forrest Gump.”
https://www.rawstory.com/2018/04/republican-congressman-unloads-motherfker-trump-furious-top-message-conservative-pundit/
Ex-Speaker John Boehner Joins Marijuana Firm’s Advisory Board
The U.S. marijuana industry has a new spokesman: John Boehner.
"The Republican former Speaker of the House has joined the advisory board of Acreage Holdings, a company that cultivates, processes and dispenses cannabis in 11 U.S. states. Boehner’s endorsement, after saying nine years ago he was “unalterably opposed” to legalization, could be considered a watershed event: Marijuana has gone mainstream".
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-11/ex-speaker-john-boehner-joins-marijuana-firm-s-advisory-board
John Boehner Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
Making America Toxic Again
"Scott Pruitt’s job is to protect the environment. Unfortunately, God has other plans for him".
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/02/scott-pruitt-profile-epa-trump/
If Scott Pruitt Gets Fired From the EPA, This Coal Lobbyist Will Take His Place
"It’s like “having a tobacco lobbyist heading up the American Lung Association.”
https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2018/04/if-scott-pruitt-gets-fired-from-the-epa-this-coal-lobbyist-will-take-his-place/
That's fake news. Wag the Dog is coming.
Someone is knocking on the door, but I don't think it's the doorman...I wonder if this crosses any red lines?
FBI raids Trump lawyer's office
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/382341-fbi-raids-trump-lawyers-office
Yo! I love it when a plan comes together, these guys absolutely know what's coming down the pike, before the pike even knows they are there.
They'll make a market for this security, and make money doing it.
Yeah, you can say the lights are on, but nobody is home bla, bla, bla...
But you also don's see this many MM's sitting on a flying carpet getting ready to go nowhere either...
And we have a new winner! Drum roll please!
And it's CDEL coming in @ 50.28 beating out NITE by almost twenty percent! We have the makings of a market maker bidding war coming up my friends! Looking sweet.
#msg-139465794
"MM's don't need a reason, their very existence is to be a PITA.
Of the six Market Makers on this stock, NITE is handling 65.77% of the shares traded for the month of February 2018.
Since November of 2017 NITE has consistently handled over 50% of the shares traded with increasing percentages since then.
>> Just punch in ASFX and hit November, December 2017 then January, February 2018, and look to the right for the rising percentage rates beginning with November 2017".
http://otce.finra.org/MonthlyShareVolume
Follow the $money$, all roads lead to the $bank$
Your welcome Streett, thxs for posting up the PACER stuff as well...
Come on Notice of Discharge!!!
Just right around the corner, and then we'll be cooking with gas!
Same MO - Massive Illegal Pot Grow In Western Washington Allegedly Has Connections to China.
By Tom Banse • Nov 30, 2017
A small portion of the illicit marijuana found during a three-county bust on Tuesday.
Grays Harbor County Sheriff's Office
We're learning more about a massive illegal marijuana growing operation busted by police in Western Washington this week. One unusual aspect of this case is that the 44 people arrested at a network of grow houses were all Chinese.
"Chinese involvement in sophisticated illegal marijuana operations struck him as surprising and new, he said in an interview Thursday. But then further research uncovered recent marijuana busts involving Chinese citizens in Colorado and California, states that have also legalized pot for recreational use by adults. Court records from Colorado and California describe money transfers from China and a similar modus operandi to what investigators believe they uncovered in Western Washington".
http://nwnewsnetwork.org/post/massive-illegal-pot-grow-western-washington-allegedly-has-connections-china
Raids on pot grow houses finding more Chinese nationals, mysterious financing
“I’m aware of several cases where (Chinese) people have been waiting for months and months,” said the interpreter, who asked to remain nameless because he was not authorized to talk to the media. “China will not take them back. So they periodically report to an ICE agent in town and get on with their lives. But they have no legal status. Some are stateless. Their Chinese passports have expired.”
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article179260411.html
We don't need to step up border protection and accountability because of what now???
Come again?
Pentagon establishes 24/7 operation after Trump orders military to Mexico border.
The new planning cell will be manned 24/7 to liaise and support both Homeland Security and the Border Patrol; national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin reports from the Pentagon.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/04/05/pentagon-establishes-247-operation-after-trump-orders-military-to-border.html
The Pentagon said Thursday it is establishing a new “border security support cell” that will be manned 24 hours a day after President Trump ordered the military to help secure the southern border.
Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said Trump authorized the National Guard to “enhance its support” for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection along the border.
“This is not business as usual,” White said.
She said their efforts will include aviation, "Engineer", surveillance, communications, vehicle maintenance and logistics support.
Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
This accommodates a pretty "HUGE UMBRELLA" of support by the National Guard units. There not going to be just down there as observers.
M-
About time don't you think?
Justice Department announces 'zero-tolerance' policy on illegal border crossings
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/04/06/justice-department-announces-zero-tolerance-policy-on-illegal-border-crossings.html
Far be it from me to get all up in yer bidness Paulie, but what R U going to do with all your free time now?
Just saying-
Sex ads website Backpage.com seized by U.S. authorities: posting
Sarah N. Lynch, Lisa Lambert
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. law enforcement agencies have seized the sex marketplace website Backpage.com as part of an enforcement action by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to a posting on the Backpage website on Friday.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-backpage-justice/sex-ads-website-backpage-com-seized-by-u-s-authorities-posting-idUSKCN1HD2QP?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=Social
An image of the current home page of the website backpage.com shows logos of U.S. law enforcement agencies after they seized the sex marketplace site April 6, 2018. backpage.com via REUTERS
Can President Donald Trump send the military to secure the border?
"Under Title 32 duty status, members are under the command and control of the state governor but paid by the federal government and can undertake "Homeland Defense activities." That means activities that protect territories, domestic U.S. population, infrastructure or other assets from a threat or aggression against the United States.
Deployment could begin immediately, Nielsen said. The National Guard would offer U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers support, such as aerial surveillance, she said".
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2018/apr/04/can-president-donald-trump-send-military-secure-bo/
So, if the National Guard was ordered by the President as commander in chief, to assist in our nations security by helping in any way they can in the building, construction, transport and the protection there of, during the full extent, until the completion of a wall or barrier to illegal entry. Would be within the scope of the Presidents authority as commander in chief to protect the safety and security of the Nation.
You can bitch, you can moan, you can even file a law suit, or a whole bunch of law suits all the way up to the Supreme Court. Even if the court decided to hear the case [which I doubt they would] they would just decide that the president has the authority to protect the borders of the united states.
End of Story-
Good question Street, it reverts back to all the rules and regulations and most especially the qualifications of a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy:
If the debtor's "current monthly income" (1) is more than the state median, the Bankruptcy Code requires application of a "means test" to determine whether the chapter 7 filing is preemptively abusive. "Abuse is presumed if the debtor's aggregate current monthly income over 5 years, net of certain statutorily allowed expenses, is more than (i) $12,850, or (ii) 25% of the debtor's nonpriority unsecured debt, as long as that amount is at least $7,700". (2) The debtor may rebut a presumption of abuse only by a showing of special circumstances that justify additional expenses or adjustments of current monthly income. Unless the debtor overcomes the presumption of abuse, the case will generally be converted to chapter 13 (with the debtor's consent) or will be dismissed. 11 U.S.C. § 707(b)(1).
Debtors should also be aware that out-of-court agreements with creditors or debt counseling services may provide an alternative to a bankruptcy filing.
http://www.uscourts.gov/services-forms/bankruptcy/bankruptcy-basics/chapter-7-bankruptcy-basics
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**So... a couple of things Street...
1st, I think this CH 7 dragged on for 5 years is to see if they disqualified themselves for a CH 7, then the creditors could file an objection based on earnings and have it bumped up to a CH 13 which is a whole nother ball of wax. The creditors could could place a lien on ASFX for like "Forever" putting a strangle hold on "all" earnings until all the creditors were "Paid in Full" going forward.
With a "Chapter 7" which has now completed the five years, creditors have been compensated and all took a percentage loss, and have no future legal right going forward after the judge signs off and closes the case file, here in just under thirty days or so. [we think] The time for objections to be filed has expired, and there were none filed.
Trump to sign proclamation sending National Guard to the border immediately.
"The Trump administration announced Wednesday that President Trump will sign a proclamation to send the National Guard to the southern border immediately in response to what it described as an "unacceptable" flow of drugs, criminal activity and illegal immigrants".
"Trump's plan to deploy troops to the border sparks debate
Trump pledges to send U.S. military to the southern border until wall is built". Border Angels director Enrique Morones and Fox News contributor Monica Crowley debate on 'The Ingraham Angle.'
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/04/04/trump-to-sign-proclamation-sending-national-guard-to-border-immediately.html
President Trump To Sign Proclamation To Send National Guard Troops To Mexican Border.
"A member of the National Guard checks on his colleague inside a Border Patrol Skybox near the U.S.-Mexico border in Hidalgo, Texas, in this 2011 photo. President Trump is calling for troops on the southern border, something the past five presidents have all done on a limited basis".
Delcia Lopez/AP
"President Trump will sign a proclamation Wednesday for the deployment of National Guard troops along the southern border with Mexico in a bid to cut down on illegal immigration.
Kirstjen Nielsen, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said Trump's order would direct her department and the Pentagon to work with governors of the states along the southwestern border.
Speaking at the White House, Nielsen said, "Our current border security and immigration laws fail the American people. The system rewards bad behavior. It does not punish lawbreakers. It undermines our nation's economic interests."
She said the National Guard troops would be deployed as quickly as possible and gave no indication of how long the mission might last. Asked how many troops would be involved, Nielsen declined to give a number, saying, "As many as is needed to fill the gaps today."
https://www.npr.org/2018/04/04/599436746/president-trump-to-sign-proclamation-to-send-national-guard-troops-to-mexican-bo
I disagree with Ret.Admiral Stavridis on his views against using the Military, and Military funds for border security.
https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/2018/04/04/a-rs-210-crore-company-cost-icici-bank-shareholders-rs-27000-crore
No.1 It's the job of the National Guard to guard the nation..Right?
Other presidents have ordered the National guard for border protection, what is the difference with this president?
President Bush ordering up to 6,000 guard to border.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/12796688/ns/us_news-security/t/bush-ordering-guard-border#.WsUqsujwZMw
Obama to Deploy Up to 1,200 National Guard Troops to U.S.-Mexico Border.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/05/25/obama-deploy-national-guard-troops-mexico-border.html
Obama to keep National Guard on border
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/may/10/obama-keep-national-guard-border/
There obviously has been protocols set in place in the past dealing with this issue, I fail to see how now is any different with our current president.
No.2
This Week in Seabee History (Week of January 14 – January 20)
http://seabeemagazine.navylive.dodlive.mil/2018/01/14/this-week-in-seabee-history-week-of-january-14-january-20/
https://www.facebook.com/PHIBCBONE/?fref=mentions
US Navy SeaBees have a history of domestic "In Country" projects, why not send them down to the border to assist with our national security? Makes sense to me as I've already stated: #msg-139534378 in regards to the USACE, the DOD has all kinds of domestic projects.
NAVFAC - Naval Facilities Engineering Command
https://www.navfac.navy.mil/
https://www.navfac.navy.mil/jobs/students_and_grads/CEC_Collegiate_Program.html
For all the talk of security for our country, I fail to understand why border security isn't in wide support across the political spectrum. It baffles the mind.
M-
Speaking of Wisconsin. Liberals just won a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court by a huge margin.
"Another defeat for Republicans in state elections during the Trump era".
"Liberal candidate Rebecca Dallet has won election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, according to Decision Desk. Dallet defeated her conservative opponent for the open seat, Michael Screnock, easily, and her victory will cut the conservative majority on the court from 5-2 to just 4-3".
Gov. Scott Walker (R) saw his preferred candidate, Michael Screnock, lose to Rebecca Dallet in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court election Tuesday. Win McNamee/Getty
https://www.vox.com/2018/4/3/17195062/wisconsin-supreme-court-election-results
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DA9AKyQXoAA2Ogk.jpg
Your welcome, here's a couple more. I suggest you read all of them to be more informed about the changes to local news media across the country to a slanted propaganda machine, that has more to do with cult style programming of the populace, than it does to "News".
But then, you already knew that.
https://alliedprogress.org/research/?campaign_id=2852
Sinclair Scandal Foreshadows the Danger of Growing Media Consolidation.
"That takes place within the context that just six media companies own most of the major media influencers, as reported by WebpageFX and other media analysts. This ironically does not include Sinclair Broadcast Group, which is run by the family of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. However, the growth of Sinclair into a behemoth of television news represents a trend that has been accelerating since Ronald Reagan's presidency: the centralization of media control, accompanied by the narrowing of the range of voices and perspectives offered in mainstream news outlets.
With the elimination of the fairness doctrine in 1987, the gates were opened for the kind of mandated local station propaganda on behalf of the Trump administration Sinclair is engaged in. As Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) reported back in 2005"
http://buzzflash.com/commentary/sinclair-controversy-reinforces-the-danger-of-growing-media-consolidation
FCC Commissioner Slams Her Own Agency for Policies 'Custom-Built' to Favor Sinclair-Tribune Merger
"We're burning down the values of media policy in this agency in order to service this company."
"Pai's machinations have been so concerning that the agency's top internal watchdog launched an investigation into whether the chairman pushed to change media ownership rules to benefit the Sinclair-Tribune merger deal," Nichols wrote. "This is a moment that requires a public outcry on behalf of diverse and competitive, community-focused and service-oriented local news. That outcry must, as a beginning, demand that Pai recuse himself from deliberations regarding the Sinclair-Tribune deal."
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/04/03/fcc-commissioner-slams-her-own-agency-policies-custom-built-favor-sinclair-tribune
Internal Memo Shows Sinclair Threatening Employees to Keep Mouths Shut About 'Must-Read' Scripts
"Everything Sinclair gives us or forces upon us is met with uproar, but we have no choice," one employee said.
Sinclair Broadcast Group really doesn't want its employees talking to the press about the Trumpian "fake news" script it has recently been forcing local news anchors to recite.
"This was made clear by a memo warning staff at the Sinclair-owned station KATU in Portland, Oregon that "giving statements to the media or sharing negative information about the company can have huge implications."
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/04/04/internal-memo-shows-sinclair-threatening-employees-keep-mouths-shut-about-must-read
OK, here's one or two: Sinclair-owned station revolts, refuses to air ‘must-run’ segment written by pro-Trump ownership.
"Fox 47 Madison says it's staying true to its commitment to provide viewers with actual news".
https://thinkprogress.org/sinclair-news-station-refuses-fake-news-segment-5e1f5dac6da3/
No, the Postal Service isn't losing a fortune on Amazon.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2018/apr/02/donald-trump/trump-usps-postal-service-amazon-losing-fortune/
Fact-checking Donald Trump’s tweets about the border, DACA
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2018/apr/02/fact-checking-donald-trumps-tweets-about-border-da/
Scams and Frauds Continues Impacting Cryptocurrency Market Credibility
"Crypto scams and frauds are tightly connected to the cryptocurrency markets due to their unregulated nature and lack of trading guidelines. Regulators, analysts and advertisement companies have been criticizing crypto coins with concerns related to illegal activities. Mark Carney thinks crypto traders are fools while Business magnates like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet call it a market for criminals".
https://cryptocurrencynews.com/daily-news/crypto-news/crypto-scams-and-frauds/
MWI PODCAST: CHINA’S QUEST FOR ENHANCED MILITARY TECHNOLOGY
https://mwi.usma.edu/mwi-podcast-chinas-quest-enhanced-military-technology/
Image credit: Staff Sgt. D. Myles Cullen, US Air Force
"In this episode of the MWI Podcast, we speak to Elsa Kania, an Adjunct Fellow with the Technology and National Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, whose research is at the forefront of efforts to better understand the way China approaches innovation and military technology. From artificial intelligence to automation to railgun technology, we discuss Chinese technological priorities and how they overlay on the Chinese government’s strategic objectives".
Respectfully sir, in reality you do realize that I'm an ultra neoconservative at heart don't you?
DANCING WITH THE DEVIL? WHY JOHN BOLTON COULD BE THE MAN WHO KEEPS AMERICA OUT OF WAR.
"As the American economist and deterrence theorist Thomas Schelling wrote more than half a century ago, effective threats require three things. First, the maker of the threat must be capable of carrying out the threat. Second, a threat must be clearly communicated. And lastly, threats must be credible. Rarely over the past several decades has the United States achieved all three simultaneously—a situation which appears to have changed under the Trump administration. Trump’s bolstering of the military’s budget and continuation of the Obama-era nuclear modernization program have increased US capability. Furthermore, although perhaps uncomfortable to many, President Trump has effectively and unambiguously communicated his intent to Pyongyang. And now, with the appointment of Bolton, along with that of Mike Pompeo as secretary of state, President Trump has enhanced the credibility of US threats".
https://mwi.usma.edu/dancing-devil-john-bolton-man-keeps-america-war/
Army to Fire Ground Artillery, Rockets From Navy Ships
"As part of the cross-domain effort, the Army and Navy are looking at improving ways to connect their respective networks; Adm. Harris said “joint effects” in combat can be challenged by a lack of integration between different services’ “tactical ISR, target acquisition and fire control systems.”
For example the Navy’s integrated sensor network known as Cooperative Engagement Capability connects targeting and ISR nodes across the force. The emphasis now is to connect these kinds of systems with, for instance, Army weapons such as ground-fired Patriot missiles and Theater High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, missile defense weapons".
Raytheon photo
https://www.themaven.net/warriormaven/future-weapons/army-to-fire-ground-artillery-rockets-from-navy-ships-q7SwrQBYeUy_3esFmTClZQ/
There's a reason the GOP tax law isn't resonating at the polls—most people aren't feeling it.
"Republicans haven't had much luck selling voters on their tax law in special elections this year and now we may know why. A poll released late last week found that only about a third of voters have noticed any increase in their paychecks at all and only a fraction of those same voters think it's actually helping them".
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/4/2/1753896/-There-s-a-reason-the-GOP-tax-law-isn-t-resonating-at-the-polls-most-people-aren-t-feeling-it
Inside the Decade-Long Russian Campaign to Infiltrate the NRA and Help Elect Trump
"Femme fatales, lavish Moscow parties and dark money – how Russia worked the National Rifle Association"
"But Russia experts believe Torshin's interest in U.S. gun culture masked a dark, ulterior motive. "It's all a big charade, basically," Glenn Simpson, founder of the research firm behind the infamous Steele Dossier, testified to the House Intelligence Committee. Much of what passes for civil society in modern Russia is, in fact, controlled by Putin. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee published a January 2018 report on "Putin's Asymmetric Assault on Democracy," which describes how the Kremlin has "sought to co-opt civil society by 'devot[ing] massive resources to the creation and activities of state-sponsored and state-controlled NGOs."
Some of these faux grassroots groups buttress the Kremlin's domestic agenda. Others are projections of Putin's foreign policy. Sen. Ben Cardin, the ranking Democrat on the committee, says it is common for Russian groups that "appear to be independent" but are "really Putin groups" to build relationships with civic groups in Western democracies, like the NRA – "to have tentacles," Cardin says, "to try and influence public opinion here in the United States. It is certainly part of Putin's MO."
Hall agrees. "The idea of private gun ownership is anathema to Putin," he says. "So then the question is, 'Why?'?" Why was a pro-gun campaign being hatched by a leader in Putin's own party? The answer, according to Hall, is that Putin was baiting a trap. "He's reaching out to attract the NRA, specifically, over to Russia."
The FBI is now investigating whether Torshin, the current deputy governor of the Russian central bank, illegally funneled cash to the NRA to support the election of Donald Trump, according to a report by McClatchy that has sparked a probe by the Federal Elections Commission. Moscow's NRA connections have also become a focus of House and Senate Russia investigators. In his House testimony, made public in January, Simpson pointed to "Russian banker-slash-Duma-member-slash-Mafia-leader" Torshin and his "suspicious" protégé, a young gun activist named Marina Butina". "It appears the Russians," Simpson said, "infiltrated the NRA."
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/russian-campaign-to-infiltrate-nra-elect-trump-w518587
PHOTOS: Why They Marched, In Their Own Words
https://www.npr.org/2018/04/02/598287888/photos-why-they-marched-in-their-own-words
Voters' Belief in Fairness Will Toss Republicans from Office
"They passed a tax cut, but it isn't going to save them".
"But it's hard to convince people that you just changed their lives for the better with a tax cut if they aren't seeing the rewards—and they know who is. According to a new report from the Tax Policy Center, people in the lowest income quintile will average a $40 tax cut from the law, or $1.54 per two-week pay period, just like Paul Ryan's lucky secretary. Those in the middle quintile will average $800, or about $30 per paycheck. And those in the top 1 percent? Their average cut is almost $33,000.
Which is about what everyone expects from a Republican tax plan. And when you play right into people's expectations, it doesn't take much to convince them that you have in fact done exactly what they expected you to.
That's not to mention the fact that if they were looking to win people's approval for a change to the tax system, they would have done exactly the opposite of what they did. For years, polls have consistently found that what bothered people the most isn't the amount they have to pay in taxes, even if everyone might like to pay less. The chief complaint voters have long had is that the corporations and the wealthy don't pay their fair share. So Republicans lowered taxes on corporations and the wealthy, making the system even less fair than it was before.
They were always going to face a fundamental problem in this year's elections: Especially in midterms, anger at politicians is a much stronger motivation than approval of what they've done with their time in power. But if they were going to pick one thing to run on, this tax bill shouldn't have been it. Of course, they did it because cutting taxes is the one thing they believe most fervently in, and no matter what else they failed to achieve, they were going to get that bill through. It may mean they lose their congressional majorities, though—and there's nothing unfair about that".
http://prospect.org/article/voters-belief-fairness-will-toss-republicans-office
Under GOP Tax Law, Top 1% Get Extra $33,000 Per Year. The Poor? $40
"While most of the corporate tax cuts flow to the top of the income distribution, what this shows is that even in the direct changes to the individual-side of the tax code, most of those changes are still being allocated to the top."
"As the Washington Post's Jeff Stein noted in a breakdown of TPC's analysis on Friday, the tax break for the wealthiest is even larger—$51,140—when the corporate tax cuts and the reduction of the estate tax are factored in". (Photo: Stop the GOP Tax Scam)
In its first analysis of how the GOP tax plan will affect Americans personal income taxes alone, the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center (TPC) this week underscored what experts and most of the public already knew: that the Republican tax law will pour tens of thousands of extra dollars into pockets of the wealthy few while providing mere crumbs for the poor.
Specifically, according to TPC's new report, the top one percent of earners will receive an average annual tax cut of around $33,000 just from individual tax changes under the GOP law. The poorest Americans, by contrast, will see an average break of about $40 per year.
"While most of the corporate tax cuts flow to the top of the income distribution, what this shows is that even in the direct changes to the individual-side of the tax code, most of those changes are still being allocated to the top," Kim Rueben, a senior fellow at TPC, told the Washington Post.
The Post published a visual of the disproportionate gains seen by those at the very top:
As the Post's Jeff Stein noted in a breakdown of TPC's analysis on Friday, the tax break for the wealthiest is even larger—$51,140—when the corporate tax cuts and the reduction of the estate tax are factored in.
TPC's analysis of the Republican tax plan—which President Donald Trump signed into law last December—comes as profitable companies continue their stock buyback binge while most Americans report seeing very few if any changes in their paychecks.
Despite Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin's promise that Americans would start seeing a positive bump in their checks no later than February 15, the majority of the public said they have yet to see any boost from the GOP tax law, according to a CNBC poll published on Tuesday.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/03/30/under-gop-tax-law-top-1-get-extra-33000-year-poor-40
Turning The Tables Listening Party: Women Of Roots And Americana
https://www.npr.org/sections/world-cafe/2018/03/21/593471728/turning-the-tables-listening-party-women-of-roots-and-americana
In July , NPR Music published Turning The Tables, its list of The 150 Greatest Albums By Women released during the "classic album era," defined as 1964-2016. Our occasional listening parties bring together voters to discuss some of their favorites from the list.
Playlist
Bonnie Raitt - "Nick Of Time"
Lucinda Williams - "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road"
Bonnie Raitt - "Real Man"
Bonnie Raitt - "Thing Called Love"
Lucinda Williams - "Joy"
Today, we're diving into the roots and Americana side of the list by spending some time with two of the milestone albums in that realm: Bonnie Raitt's 1989 release Nick of Time and Lucinda Williams' 1998 masterpiece, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. Raitt turned 40 the year she released Nick of Time, which became the definitive statement of a rocking woman at midlife. And Williams' Car Wheels on a Gravel Road signaled a sea change in Americana music and helped define a kind of Southern gothic aesthetic in the genre.
In this episode, NPR Music critic and correspondent Ann Powers, who spearheaded Turning The Tables, is joined by two fellow Nashville-based NPR colleagues: Jessie Scott, program director for WMOT, and Jewly Hight, contributor to World Cafe and NPR Music. Together, they discuss how these albums impacted Raitt and Williams' careers, how these artists articulate their desires on these albums, how they serve as role models to other women in Americana.
Stream the full Turning the Tables listening party in the player.
On this episode of World Cafe, we discuss Bonnie Raitt's 1989 release Nick of Time.
Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for Americana Music
https://www.npr.org/sections/world-cafe/
World Cafe Nashville: Erin Rae
https://www.npr.org/sections/world-cafe/2018/03/29/597930368/world-cafe-nashville-erin-rae
Set List
"Wild Blue Wind"
"Can't Cut Loose"
"Bad Mind"
"The Real Thing"
Mention Erin Rae's name in Nashville indie music circles and you'll get a certain reaction: people's eyes light up, they sigh, and use words like "angelic" and "mesmerizing." Rae's gentle voice and subtle, deeply insightful songwriting have made her a standout among the city's folk and Americana artists for years.
Growing up in Jackson, Tenn. — halfway between Nashville and Memphis — she joined in with her folk-singing parents at local coffee houses. Rae moved to Nashville as a teenager and began forging her own path as a songwriter and performer. She is a sought after collaborator, singing background with the likes of Margo Price or Andrew Combs. Eventually she formed a band, Erin Rae and the Meanwhiles, releasing a 2010 EP and the critically acclaimed 2015 album, Soon Enough.
For her latest album, Putting on Airs, Rae journeyed to Appleton, Wis., where she recorded at the Refuge, an artist's retreat housed in a former monastery run by singer-songwriters Cory Chisel and Adriel Denae. Putting On Airs augments Rae's natural grace with subtle strokes of Mellotron and pedal steel, recalling the dreamy folk-pop of artists like Jackson Browne or even the Carpenters.
Erin Rae joined us for some songs from Putting On Airs and conversation at Nashville's Sound Stage Studios. Hear it all in the player above.
https://www.npr.org/sections/world-cafe/
Folkadelphia's Hypnotic New Compilation Brings Together 19 Artists
https://www.npr.org/sections/world-cafe/2018/03/28/597583742/folkadelphias-hypnotic-new-compilation-brings-together-19-artists
Julie Byrne
Rachel Del Sordo/WXPN
Lydia Loveless, Julie Byrne, Eva Salina, Sera Cahoone and Western Centuries are just a handful of the 19 musicians featured on the latest compilation of sessions recorded for Folkadelphia, a weekly folk show produced at WXPN and recorded in the World Cafe Performance Studio in Philadelphia. Since 2008, Folkadelphia has been hosted and produced by Fred Knittel. Each week the show explores the music makers in the world of folk, broadly defined. The sessions are the cornerstone of the show and feature Americana, country, bluegrass, singer-songwriters, and "folk adjacent" musicians old and new, ranging from the fringe to the familiar to the freaky.
Folkadelphia Sessions Volume V includes some beautiful performances like "Black River" by Sierra Hull accompanied by Ethan Jodziewicz on bass and Justin Moses on banjo and vocals, the hypnotic, finger-picking "Green Mountain Road" by Brooklyn singer-songwriter Katie Von Schleichter and Adam Torres and the longing intimacy of "Yr Undertaker" by Shannen Moser.
Download the compilation below and download previous Folkadelphia compilations and sessions from Bandcamp.
Beware the privatization of your town’s water
People often assume private providers will be cheaper and more efficient; often the opposite is true.
https://www.hcn.org/articles/opinion-beware-the-privatization-of-your-towns-water
Kayakers enjoy the Clark Fork River next to downtown Missoula, Montana.
Micah Sheldon/Flickr
Youth Voices from the March for Our Lives
Web Exclusive March 30, 2018
https://www.democracynow.org/2018/3/30/youth_voices_from_the_march_for
In Ploy to 'Force' Deep Safety Net Cuts, GOP Reportedly Planning Vote on Balanced Budget Amendment
"Lying, ultra-hypocritical Republicans to take up a balanced budget amendment to deflect attention from their massive $2 trillion increase in the deficit with their tax give-away to the wealthy."
Bruce Bartlett—a historian who by his own admission helped create the GOP myth that tax cuts lead to economic growth—argued that Republicans are also demonstrating their eagerness to "deflect attention" from the fact that their tax bill will dramatically increase the deficit by expressing support for a balanced budget amendment that is unlikely to pass Congress.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/03/28/ploy-force-deep-safety-net-cuts-gop-reportedly-planning-vote-balanced-budget
Newsflash: President Donald J. Trump had sex with a whore twelve years ago.
Dunno Why There’s No Sun Up in the Sky
Clusterfuck Nation
Newsflash: President Donald J. Trump had sex with a whore twelve years ago. Let that sink into your limbic lobes, you poor, opiated, Facebook-addled, morbidly-obese, fly-over nation of lumbering, deplorable, gun-gripping, Jesus-haunted voters. A hoor! Do you hear?
Wait a minute, you say. Stormy Daniels is no such thing, She’s an actress in, and director of, adult films, an auteur, if you like, at least a sex worker, toiling in the rolling mills of eros, sweating and grunting as much as any Mahoning Valley steel worker, or hood ornament buffer on the Tesla assembly line. And anyway, three times over the years she denied having sex with that man, at least once in writing, though last night on CBS’s Sixty Minutes she stated that she actually did have sex with the Golden Golem of Greatness. In which case, she may be some kind of a lyin’ hoor… or savior of a nation yearning to cast off the loathsome rule of this odious president-by-mistake.
The Sixty Minutes make-up and costume crew knocked themselves out coming up with her on-camera look Sunday night: WalMart Shopper. That reddish blouse, for instance, which did not display Stormy’s… er… assets in the usual way (i.e., an enticing fleshy slot descending into deep milky realms of mystery), but just innocently swimming around in there like a couple of frolicking dolphins confined in an above-the-ground backyard pool. Who wouldn’t want to jump in and swim with them?
Maybe not the undistractible Anderson Cooper, who did ferret out many interesting particulars of that one romantic encounter: Stormy accepted Trump’s invitation for dinner… in his hotel suite. Just the two of them, ahem. They watched a TV show about sharks. It apparently lacked aphrodisiac punch. So he showed her a magazine with his picture on the cover, perhaps to get the point across that he was a really important person in case she didn’t already know. She said she ought to take it and spank him with it. He concurred, dropped trou, and presented the rear of his tighty-whitey small-clothes to facilitate that proposal. After that ice-breaker, he said, “I really like you!” and “You remind me of my daughter” — instantly be-sliming the proceedings with overtones of incest. Stormy went to the bathroom and emerged to find Trump perched on the bed. “Here we go,” the thought popped into her head, she says.
But she didn’t say “no.” After all, was this performance that much different from the… I dunno, just guessing… 1043 previous scenes with co-stars she had enacted amorous relations with on-camera? Surely not all of them were husband-material, or crushes. Oh, she didn’t ask him to wear a condom, and he didn’t gallantly volunteer to do so. (A love-child was not conceived.) At some point in the proceedings, Trump dangled the possibility of a role on his fabulous TV show, Celebrity Apprentice. But I suppose that was just the cherry-on-top of a romantic confection baked in the oven of America’s great dream industry. As it happened, Stormy didn’t get on the show. I suspect she didn’t try hard enough.
And now, as the cartoon Puritans of America’s great judgment industry say, there is hell to pay. Stormy received a large-ish check for $130,000 from an attorney associated with Mr. Trump. It is proposed by legal scholars at Anderson Cooper’s home-base, CNN, that this might have constituted an illegal campaign contribution, and is surely something that must be brought to the attention of Robert Mueller, special prosecutor for the Russia collusion case. That will be an interesting hook-up, all right. I have to say, Mr. Mueller would probably benefit from a spanking with the Penn Law Review, and who knows what side benefits might accrue from the encounter. Perhaps Stormy will wear a pair of Russian army tactical Spetsnaz boots instead of those four-inch heels and a Russian bearskin hat. I’d pay to see a film of that!
http://kunstler.com/clusterfuck-nation/dunno-theres-no-sun-sky/