swordfish

Hopefully you were able to spend some time with your dad after his HA. My father knew he had issues, even had nitro pills prescribed (we found out later according to his doctor) but didn't listen to him. An exploding aorta in his sleep took care of him. RIP - 32 years ago.

Oh man - Too Funny!!

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/feb/17/alan-dershowitz-obama-sought-fbi-probe-behalf-geor/ In an interview with Breitbart News, Mr. Dershowitz said that President Trump’s leaning on the Justice Department might be imprudent or crude, but it both passes constitutional muster and is very far from unprecedented. “There was a lot of White House control of the Justice Department during the Kennedy administration and I don’t think we saw very many liberal professors arguing against that,” the emeritus professor and longtime liberal champion said in the interview, which first aired on SiriusXM. “I have some information … about how President Obama personally asked the FBI to investigate somebody on behalf of George Soros, who was a close ally of his,” he added without specifying who the target was. But, he said, “I have in my possession the actual 302 [witness report] form which documents this issue and it will at the right time come out.” A surprised Joel Pollak of Breitbart News pressed Mr. Dershowitz for details and whether he had heard him correctly about Mr. Soros and Mr. Obama. “That’s going to come out in a lawsuit in the near future, yeah,” he said, continuing to parry his hosts on details and disclosure. The case “will be disclosed in a lawsuit at some point, but I’m not prepared to disclose it now,” he said. Mr. Dershowitz, a liberal who also has long been a supporter of presidential power and critic of prosecutorial abuse and broad conspiracy laws, did not actually defend Mr. Trump’s conduct on matters such as tweeting about active criminal cases such as that of Roger Stone. The president’s tweeting, according to Attorney General William P. Barr, makes his job impossible. “That is not unusual. People whisper to presidents all the time; presidents whisper to the Justice Department all the time. It’s very common; it’s wrong, whoever does it — but it’s common, and we shouldn’t think it’s unique to any particular president,” Mr. Dershowitz said. The difference, he noted, is Mr. Trump’s overt manner. “We’ve seen this kind of White House influence on the Justice Department virtually in every Justice Department. The difference: This president is much more overt about it, he tweets about it. President Obama whispered to the Justice Department about it,” he explained. Yeahbut - Impeach the bad orange man......

https://www.npr.org/2020/01/28/800442646/acclaimed-harvard-scientist-is-arrested-accused-of-lying-about-ties-to-china Charles Lieber, the chair of Harvard University's Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, has been arrested and criminally charged with making "false, fictitious and fraudulent statements" to the U.S. Defense Department about his ties to a Chinese government program to recruit foreign scientists and researchers. The Justice Department says Lieber, 60, lied about his contact with the Chinese program known as the Thousand Talents Plan, which the U.S. has previously flagged as a serious intelligence concern. He also is accused of lying about about a lucrative contract he signed with China's Wuhan University of Technology. In an affidavit unsealed Tuesday, FBI Special Agent Robert Plumb said Lieber, who led a Harvard research group focusing on nanoscience, had established a research lab at the Wuhan university — apparently unbeknownst to Harvard. In response to the charges against Lieber, Harvard said in a statement to NPR: "The charges brought by the U.S. government against Professor Lieber are extremely serious. Harvard is cooperating with federal authorities, including the National Institutes of Health, and is initiating its own review of the alleged misconduct. Professor Lieber has been placed on indefinite administrative leave." https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/02/why-did-chinese-university-hire-charles-lieber-do-battery-research Why did a Chinese university hire Charles Lieber to do battery research? By Robert F. ServiceFeb. 4, 2020 , 12:45 PM Among the ongoing mysteries surrounding last week’s arrest of Harvard University nanoscientist Charles Lieber is the precise nature of the research program Lieber was conducting in his cooperation with Chinese researchers. Lieber was arrested on 28 January on charges of making false statements to U.S. law enforcement officials and federal funding agencies about a collaboration he forged with researchers in China. He was released two days later on a $1 million bond. An affidavit outlining the charges against Lieber notes that in January 2013, he signed an agreement between Harvard and Wuhan University of Technology (WUT) in China. According to the affidavit, “The stated purpose of the agreement, which had a five-year effective term, was to ‘carry out advanced research and development of nanowire-based lithium ion batteries with high performance for electric vehicles.’” Officials at WUT have not responded to requests for comment on their agreement with Lieber. But it outlines just the kind of high-tech work that U.S. prosecutors involved in efforts to investigate Chinese attempts to acquire advanced technology from U.S.-based researchers say they are concerned about. They allege that the Chinese government has used such collaborations to improperly take advantage of the federally funded research enterprise, and gain an edge in economic and military advances. In Lieber’s case, however, the battery angle poses a puzzle. That’s because a search of the titles of Lieber’s more than 400 papers and more than 75 U.S. and Chinese patents reveals no mentions of “battery,” “batteries,” “vehicle,” or “vehicles.” (According to Lieber’s CV, through 2019 he has co-authored 412 research papers and has 65 awarded and pending U.S. patents. The website of the Chinese National Intellectual Property Administration indicates that Lieber has been awarded 11 Chinese patents.) In fact, one U.S. nanoscientist and former student of Lieber’s says: “I have never seen Charlie working on batteries or nanowire batteries.” (The scientist asked that their name not be used because of the sensitivity surrounding Lieber’s case.) Lieber joined Harvard in 1991. Early on he pioneered a variety of techniques for growing nanowires from the bottom up in a chemical flask. Researchers have long been able to etch large chunks of semiconductors, metals, and other materials to make wirelike structures. But this top-down approach typically requires the use of expensive clean room facilities, the sorts used by computer chip–makers. Lieber’s strategy opened the door to making pristine nanostructures with simple and inexpensive chemical techniques. He went on to show that he could use these nanowires to serve as transistors, complex logic circuits, data storage devices, and even sensors. More recently, Lieber’s Harvard lab has shifted gears to integrate nanowires with biology. In 2017, for example, he reported creating soft, flexible 3D nanowire mesh that could be injected into the brains or retina of animals, unfurl and wrap around neurons, and eavesdrop on the electrical communication between cells. Other research groups have adopted Lieber’s nanowire growth methods to fabricate nanomaterials useful in making batteries. But that’s never been the focus of Lieber’s research. Which begs the question of why his supposed collaboration in Wuhan was focused on a line of research outside of his specialty. Isn't Wuhan the "ground zero" for the latest virus?

So what does the group think the next impeachment attempt will be for? 1) Trump is accused of influencing his AJ Barr. 2) Trump took the Beast for a lap around the Daytona Speedway. These 2 "impeachable" infractions happened in the past week.......

Anyone else find it peculiar that even though "stop and frisk" was started, implemented and promoted by Mayor Bloomberg in NYC, that Donald Trump, (mentioning it favorably in one of his speeches) was plastered all over multiple media outlets uttering "stop and frisk" this morning........ Did this just become DJT's fault?

Too funny not to share......

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/video-shows-black-woman-shouting-she-is-uncomfortable-by-too-many-whites-at-uva-multicultural-center A video shows a woman announcing that she felt "uncomfortable" by the presence of white students at a new Multicultural Student Center on the campus of the University of Virginia. The clip of the incident was shared Wednesday on social media by the Young America's Foundation, a conservative youth group. "Public service announcement," the woman, who appears to be black, said as she paced in the center. "If y'all didn't know, this is the MSC, and, frankly, there's just too many white people in here, and this is a space for people of color, so, just be really cognizant of the space that you're taking up because it does make some of us POCs uncomfortable when we see too many white people in here." "There's a whole university for a lot of y'all to be at, and there's very few spaces for us, so keep that in mind," she added. The comments were met with applause by people not visible in the video. YAF confirmed to the Washington Examiner that the group obtained the clip from the Twitter account @WafaFlafa_Flame, which lists UVA in the bio field. YAF also said the original video source was deleted on Wednesday. The video has hundreds of thousands of views and grabbed the attention of Rep. Chip Roy, a Republican from Texas. "Hey, @UVa, this is what a 'multicultural center' causes. More race-based thinking and segregating. One of many reasons I have not contributed to UVa in 20 years (which of course means not on the most-favored list)," he said in a tweet on Wednesday. The Washington Examiner has been unable to verify the identity of the woman seen in the video or if she has any affiliation with the university. University of Virginia spokesman Brian Coy confirmed he is aware of the video before forwarding a statement that outlined the goals of the Multicultural Student Center. "I believe deeply that we need to build a community that is not just diverse, but also inclusive," read part of the statement provided by Coy. The Multicultural Student Center at UVA opened this week is intended as a "student-centered, collaborative space that supports underrepresented and marginalized communities, while cultivating the holistic empowerment of all students." Yet she isn't racist? So a POC (People or Person Of Color) is now a thing/class? And I was so close about a decade ago to being colorblind......

LOL - Wut......😵 Don't give em any ideas........

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/02/13/trump-budget-presidents-1-raise-government-workers-fair/4742634002/ President Trump this week proposed a modest 1% pay increase and less generous retirement benefits for federal workers. The proposal, included in Trump’s fiscal 2021 budget blueprint, is reigniting a longstanding debate over whether federal employees earn too much, or too little, compared to their private-sector counterparts. The president’s budget cites a 2017 Congressional Budget Office study that found federal workers’ total compensation on average is 17% higher than private-sector workers in similar jobs, chiefly because of their benefits. “CBO found that, in comparison to the private sector, the federal government continues to offer a very generous package of retirement benefits,” the budget plan says. Federal employee advocates disagreed. “For an administration that has added $3 trillion to the federal debt, gouging federal employee pay and benefits in the name of deficit reduction is ridiculous,” Tony Reardon, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, said in a statement. “For the fourth year in a row, President Trump’s budget proposal would starve federal agencies to the point of paralysis, pick the pockets of middle-class federal workers and their families, weaken our nation’s nonpartisan merit-based civil service, and deprive Americans of the basic services and protections that expect from their government.” The Federal Salary Council – which includes experts in labor relations and pay policy, as well as labor union representatives – found last year that federal employees earn an average 27% less than their private-sector counterparts. That analysis, however, did not take benefits into account. Here are the issues: Is Trump’s proposal likely to be the final word on federal workers’ raises? Probably not. Under legislation introduced by Democrats in both the House and Senate, federal employees would receive an average 3.5% raise in fiscal 2021. For the prior year, Trump recommended a pay freeze but eventually agreed to an average 3.1% pay increase after negotiating with Congress. That included a 2.6% across-the-board bump and a varying premium based on locality. How does Trump’s proposed 1% increase compare with private-sector raises? Hourly wage increases for private workers across the U.S. averaged 3.1% in January, according to the Labor Department. Pay gains averaged 3.1% in manufacturing, 2.9% in construction, 4.1% in retail, 3.7% in financial activities, 3.4% in leisure and hospitality and 1.5% in education and health services. What’s the main argument in support of Trump’s slight pay increase and retirement benefit changes? Chris Edwards, an economist at the libertarian Cato Institute, says a 1% raise is reasonable considering many federal workers get wage bumps as they periodically rise through 10 steps, as well as across-the-board raises. He also says the modest increase makes sense in light of the disparity in benefits between federal and private-sector workers. Edwards also back’s Trump’s proposal to curtail federal retirement benefits and require workers to contribute more toward those benefits. He notes that federal workers receive both a defined contribution plan, like a 401(k), and a defined benefit plan, such as a pension. “The administration’s proposals to trim the federal defined benefit plan are a modest step given that such plans have mainly disappeared in the private sector,” Edwards says. What do opponents of Trump’s plan say? Daniel Zhao, a senior economist at job posting site Glassdoor, notes that employers are struggling to attract workers amid historically low unemployment. “The federal government isn’t immune from today’s highly competitive labor market and must battle for the same qualified workers as their often higher-paying private sector counterparts,” Zhao says. Sudarshan Sampath, director of research at PayScale, a compensation software and data firm, says federal salaries are significantly lower than private wages for high-skilled jobs in fields such as cybersecurity and intelligence, potentially putting the country at a disadvantage. “You can’t just expect their desire to work for the country” to prompt skilled workers to accept lower pay, Sampath says. The CBO has found that from 2011 to 2015, federal workers with a high school diploma or less earned 34% more on average than similar private-sector workers. But federal workers with professional degrees or doctorates earned 24% less than comparable employees at American businesses. A cut? FYI - it's a PROPOSAL he didn't "cut" squat.......most likely there will be a negotiated agreement between Congress and the President......BTW - How many of us already know what we are guaranteed to earn next year? Also, don't fail to note that there was a 3.1% increase this year.......

The only reason I always wait until Im back in PA from NJ before hitting the gas station.

No S#!* - Thank you for setting me straight there big guy.......But THIS party is going to ELECT a NOMINEE during it's PRIMARY.......

https://www.wndu.com/content/news/Girls-sue-to-block-participation-of-transgender-athletes-567804931.html?fbclid=IwAR3aoCCMzlKALJvyfQ16jksK1jX3LxKevTKjqMwGEtT-irsECT9IIIxfvTY HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - The families of three female high school runners have a federal lawsuit seeking to block transgender athletes in Connecticut from participating in girls sports. Lawyers from the Alliance Defending Freedom argue that allowing athletes with male anatomy to compete has deprived their clients of track titles and scholarship opportunities. The lawsuit centers on two transgender sprinters who have taken 15 girls state championship titles since 2017. The Connecticut Association of Schools-Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference says its policy follows a state anti-discrimination law that says students must be treated in school by the gender with which they identify. (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) Like Mayor Bloomberg says - "drop your trousers, you go that way, you go the other way".......

We, the "intelligencia" (people who are intelligent enough to make it into this room) believe in things that make no sense to the vast bulk of people. - The Midwest isn't intelligent enough to understand trans rights......Yeah, that's gonna sell good here in the Midwest.....

It's not the cops' fault they got called out, it's the school's fault for calling them. Unfortunately the admin is concerned they may have a potential law suit if they pick and choose who they enforce this rule or not on so they take an all or nothing stance........