Top Stories

How Did Trump Become President?

A pretty interesting list of why Trump won the election can be found at the CNN web site:How did Trump Win? Here are 24 theories.

Let me cover my own list below:

The Housing Crisis:

The Obama administration “did not go all out to punish those whose malfeasance and irresponsibility blew up the financial system and economy. This sense of injustice is one reason why the US has elected the wrecking crew…” Trump.  (1)

White Evangelicals:

Evangelical support fits right in with Republican values which are in part:
“But major evangelical leaders such as Franklin Graham and Jerry Falwell Jr. defend Trump and see him as an ally in the culture wars.” (2)

“White evangelicals are more than twice as likely as any other group of evangelicals to oppose government funding to combat climate change or policies to tax the wealthy.” (3)

“Fully 50 percent of white evangelicals in our survey agree that “immigrants hurt the economy”” (3)

“…white evangelicals fear losing racial status. White evangelicals’ perceptions they’re the targets of discrimination – more so than other groups …” (3)

“Never underestimate the hypocrisy of white evangelicals.” (4)

Where You Live

Looking at a map of Democratic vs Republican voters the map sort of looks like a blue book ends with a huge red center. The red Republican states are not along the east and west coast but in the center and away from large cities. (5)

Why is location apparently so significant?

One explanation is the heartland people mix way less with different ethnic populations. Heartland isolation may lead to whites in these areas feeling the immigrant populations from the coasts are encroaching into their current life style. Coastal populations have a natural influx of immigrants. Native born whites in coastal areas are typically in constant contact with individuals from other ethnic backgrounds and have become accustomed. (6)

Russia Did Swing The Election To Trump

“Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper now says the evidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin swung the election to Trump “is staggering.”” (7)

“Clint Watts, a former FBI agent, writes in his recent book, “Messing with the Enemy,” that “Russia absolutely influenced the U.S. presidential election,” especially in Michigan and Wisconsin, where Trump’s winning margin was less than 1 percent in each state.” (8)

“Without the Russian influence effort, I believe Trump would not have even been within striking distance of Clinton on Election Day.” That is the inconvenient truth the Putin Republicans won’t admit.” (8)

Impressions of the F.A.S.T #1155 Radio Vest:

First let me explain why we require two radio pockets in our radio vests.  In our city, we have Community Emergency Repose Teams, called CERT, that are expected to carry a Family Radio Service (FRS) radio.  These community volunteers are not required to have radio licenses. We just want them to give aid and assistance to their neighbors in case of an emergency.  We expect these CERT workers to begin their rescue activities at home or at work because some forms of emergencies just happen way too quickly and these CERT people should just start giving aid when and where the problems occur.  When any disaster takes place, you can pretty much expect that cell phone communications will not be effective.  The cell towers might be taken out by earthquake, fire or other factors.  If the cell phone systems are working, way too many people will suddenly try to use cell communications which overloads the systems.  We need good reliable communications between our CERT volunteers and the city administration staff at the Emergency Command Center.  We want a reliable backup to using cell phones.  FRS radios seem to be the best backup solution for CERT workers because they are cheap and easy to use.  But these radios have limited, 2 watt, power out.  This means they do not transmit very far.  Our next option is to put ham radio operators spotted about the city with their hand held ham radio and also operate a FRS radio to help the communications of the CERT people, reason for two radio pockets.  These operators are called RACES which stands for Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Emergency Service.  These operators have to take National Incident Management Systems or NIMS training and need to pass a security check.  It needs to be explained that even ham radio operators using their hand held radios do not have much range when connecting point to point.  But, ham radio clubs and counties have a LOT of hill top repeaters which can offer way better communications.  Ham radio operators can also use way more power and special antennas to extend their effective communications range.  Our city ham radio operators have had CERT training so they can act as both aid giver and communications facilitator.   This requires each ham operator to operate TWO radios, thus the need for two radio pockets.  This radio vest explained below offers the user to put a hand held microphone for each radio and clip it close to their shoulders.  In this way ham radio conversations will come to them from one side of the head and the FRS audio will come from the other side of the head which is important for the user knowing which radio traffic is which.  There are a number of features that this vest offers that are really smart.

Now let me share with you why this radio vest is rather good:

• Military grade in that the material used for the fabric is thick. The stitching looks perfect. The zipper looks to be large and rugged.  The design is impressive.

  • The two side adjustment belts on each side, for adjusting humane body types, use thick bands and nice large plastic adjustment devices. For a really small body size, this vest might be too large.

  • The reflective material is wide and nicely placed and encased in plastic. A bit weird that the side reflective band runs just above the jacket size belts and is held in place with Velcro. There is a slight adjustment for a really huge person to widen this reflective band out some.In the image below, a pencil holds back the large reflective band found on each side of the vest which can be adjusted a tiny bit for adjustment of operators girth.

The red pointer holds up a third waist fastener on one side of the vest

 

  • 4 zippered front pockets are provided that are really large each with a zipper. Each zipper has TWO sliders so you can open and close using both or one from each side. (See example below).

Note that there are two zipper sliders, right and left.

  • There are 2 inside front pockets, (see image below) no zipper, just a flap on top but large. The top flap allows 8 inch wide material. It is 6 to 6 and 1/2 inches deep.

One of the inside pockets that is large enough to hold a city map or snacks.

• The large rear plastic pocket can be used to slide in our your own identification “EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS” is empty and ready for us to make and slide in our own label. It is 9 and 3/4 inches from side to side and a tight 4 inches tall. A Velcro tab locks the open end.

This is the large back pocket that can identify the purpose or duties of the person wearing the vest. The pocket is open on the side where you see the black Velcro tab.

• There are 2 more ID pockets in the front of the vest on each side and on the outside of the upper chest zipper pockets.

• The left side ID pocket is the size for a driver’s license (see image below).

This is thought to be a perfect place for the identification, or ID badge, of the wearer. The pocket is on the front left side of the vest. It is open at the top allowing ID papers or badges to be placed inside. The pocket is closed by Velcro at the top.

It is roughly 3 and 1/2 inches wide and 2 and 1/8 inches tall. This is the only pocket that might collect rain because it’s opening is on the top.  I imagine this being used for government or company ID card.

• The right side ID pocket, (see below) perfect to identify the person’s job or the user’s call sign if a ham radio operator and name.  It is open on the inside next to the zipper and allows a 5 and 1/4 by 2 and 1/2 inches card to be inserted.

This front right side pocket is larger than the left front pocket. It is perfect to identify the ham radio call sign and name of the person using the vest.

 

There are two eyelet D rings on either side of the vest back bottom, which I can not figure out what you would use them for.

 

The 2 radio pockets are high on the vest, one one each side. Each radio pocket is angled slightly away from the person’s head so the antenna aims a bit outward. The pockets are 6 inch deep. I put my huge Icom O2AT brick radio into the pocket and it fits, but tight (see image below).

•Now you would think that a small radio would sink deep into the 6 inch deep pocket but they provided a very clever placed fabric band just below the pocket top so a short radio with

a belt clip can be hooked into that short black loop. Each pocket has a rope starting at the top of the radio pocket with a Velcro strap at the end to lock in each radio.  If the radio operator bends over, his or her radios will not spill out.  This is especially important when on water in a boat.

• At the top of the vest, on each side, is a Velcro strap located close to the top of the humane shoulder. (see image below).

I found that I could slide my very long antenna under that strap. Then, I discovered that the Velcro strap can be lifted and an antenna can be laid down and the Velcro can be reset back in place so locking a long antenna from flapping around. The second method seems way faster.

• I have a HT microphone on a cable and it clips perfectly to the Velcro strap and the placement is perfect for hearing and talking. Now that is really functional and smart!

• Each radio pocket has a small fabric extension on the side close to the zipper for putting in a pencil or pen. I found that it is too thin for my favorite pen on one side but OK for a pencil. On the other side the opening is big enough for a large pen or pencil. I think the person who stitched up the vest made one pen holder smaller by mistake (or not).

One rather strong observation that I found, and this is my opinion, is that it seems to me that putting the radios in the pockets, placing antennas and wired microphones is way easier with the vest taken off.

Summary:

It is expensive but I am impressed with the total package. There are a few surprises that I was not expecting:

  • The fabric and finish that looks like the guards at a US Marine base, would wear this, being military tough.  In a hot climate, this may be a deficiency.  In cold climate it is a plus.
  • The radio pocket having a belt inside top for short radios was a real clever solution.
  • The radio pockets are slanted a bit away from the head and the Velcro bands both keep long antennas from hitting the head.
  • The Velcro and fabric loops at the top shoulders for microphones seems perfectly placed and a clever solution for hand held microphones to be mounted near the wearer’s ears.
  • All the identification pockets are made to be quickly replaced with new up to date information.  In this way, fewer vests need to be purchased for two or three shifts of emergency personnel switching out vests.
  • The pencil and pen holders was not expected.
  • The rear plastic D loops, I have no idea what they are for.
  • For me, this radio vest goes way beyond the basics to make using our radios way easier and performing tasks easier.  It is an asset, not a hindrance.

Note:  This web site and author receives no payment for this review.

Vendor Information:

F.A.S.T. First Aid & Survival Technologies Limited
 This vest is made to order in Canada. Pricing is in Canadian dollars.  There is an exchange rate difference.

Address:  8850 River Rd, Delta, BC V4G 1B5, Canada

Phone: +1 604-940-3222;  1-888-710-3278.

Product Catalog: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0222/9558/files/FAST_ProductCatalogue2017.pdf

Note that these products can take two or more months to receive.

Posted:  September 13, 2018.

Read the Mueller indictment against 12 Russian spies for DNC hack. (29 Pages)

It is recommended that you read the Mueller indictment against 12 Russian spies for DNC hack.  Follow the link below to view and thus read the document:

https://www.justice.gov/file/1080281/download

This document is considered a primary historical source which, for most of us, is rather unusual.  Typically, we read other peoples views and reports about the primary source material.  Now you get to read a primary source!

The “Supreme” Court Allegedly Violated The US Declaration of Independence.

Supreme Court upholds President Trump’s travel ban against majority-Muslim countries

There are a number of apparent errors in this decision. These errors will be listed:

#1 The first problem with this decision is that the Supreme Court decision dips into the political weeds and violates a way more overriding value. The important value I am referring to is the Declaration of Independence where it is stated that “… all men are created equal …”. This should also mean that there should be no violation of that belief across borders. All men and women are everywhere are equal unless you have a darn good reason to suspect or can prove an individual is a threat. Let’s use that premise, that all men are equal, as a starting assumption unless it can be proven an individual is out of the norm. Not a country or religion but each single individual should be evaluated as to whether they may be a threat or not. My point is that it is a mistake to include everyone in a foreign country from being stopped from entering our country.

#2 The “Supreme” Court seems to have turned away from what the term “countries” entails.
Some countries do foster terrorism. Here is Wikipedia’s list for the United States:

  • Iran (Muslim)
  • North Korea
  • Sudan (Muslim)
  • Syria (Muslim)

Trump’s Travel ban list of countries goes beyond the Wikipedia list because some countries allegedly fail to comply with requests for data on potential travelers:

  • Iran (Muslim) Six Iranians have been convicted of attempting or executing terrorist acts.
  • Libya (Muslim) No record of a terrorist attack in the US.
  • Somalia (Muslim) A Somali refugee injured people in an attack at Ohio State.
  • Syria (Muslim) No record of a terrorist attack in the US.
  • Yemen (Muslim) One Yemeni has been convicted of attempting or executing a terrorist attack on US soil.
  • Chad (Muslim) No record of a terrorist attack in the US.
  • North Korea No record of a terrorist attack in the US.
  • Venezuela No record of a terrorist attack in the US.

What is most suspicious is there are some countries that should be considered to be on the list if we are going to lump everyone in country as being a bad actor:

  • Iraq (Muslim) Two Iraqis have been convicted of attempting or executing terrorist acts.
  • Sudan (Muslim) Six Sudanese have been convicted of attempting or executing terrorist acts.
  • Saudi Arabia (Muslim) Fifteen of the 19 attackers of the 9/11 attack in the USA were citizens of Saudi Arabia.
  • United Arab Emirates (Muslim) Two 9/11 attackers came from the United Arab Emirates.
  • Egypt (Muslim) One person who participated in the 9/11 attack came from Egypt.
  • Lebanon (Muslim) One person came from Lebanon participated in the 9/11 attacks.

It would appear that countries who’s citizen or citizens who have actually attacked or plan to attack the United States is not a criteria. It appears that being a Muslim country qualifies for being banned. Also, select countries who may have paid their way into political favor with American politicians, such as Saudi Arabia, is not on the list.

#3 The “Supreme” Court appears to be allowing, if not promoting, the slide to an authoritarian form of government. It is well documented that past dictatorships has grown rather slowly, inching toward more social and political control. The United States has been thought of having a rather good check and balance system. President Donald Trump has moved rapidly toward attacking, with some success, some of our checks on him being a dictator. The “Supreme” Court has not stopped this with this decision. In fact, this decision of the court fits 4 characteristics out of 14 for a fascist administration (From a study by Dr. Lawrence Britt who has examined the fascist regimes):

  • Powerful and Continuing Nationalism.
  • Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights.
  • Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause.
  • Obsession with Crime and Punishment.

“Supreme” Court Acts To Suppress Unions

The “Supreme” Court ruling that public unions can not require workers to pay union dues seems to be following the fascist play book. If we look at the fourteen point definition for determine what fascism is, we see that the “Supreme” Court, once again, has worked toward this end:

  1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism.
  2. Disdain for the importance of human rights.
  3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause.
  4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism.
  5. Rampant sexism.
  6. A controlled mass media.
  7. Obsession with national security.
  8. Religion and ruling elite tied together.
  9. Power of corporations protected.
  10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated. (The organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government).
  11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts.
  12. Obsession with crime and punishment.
  13. Rampant cronyism and corruption.
  14. Fraudulent elections.

(The above list is from  Laurence W. Britt).

The “Supreme” Court has taken point number 10, in the list above,
and helped to suppress and eliminate labor unions with their most recent
ruling.

US Alleged Separation of Children From Parents

It appears that there was not a complete effort to have a record, electronic or paper to track “illegal alien” child with parent that were separated as they entered the United States.  The first alleged immoral act was to separate children from parents.  The second alleged immoral act was to not have any way to reunite each child with parent.   The third alleged factor is the profound incompetence of federal agencies, managers and front line personnel to be professional.     They did not seem to value the individual whether adult or child.  I detect a demeaning attitude toward those people who try to enter this country, which I personally find unacceptable.  Following is what I expect to be the proper actions:

I expect that every person who becomes the charge of the Border Patrol or ICE or police must document each person that is taken into custody and written on paper or in a computer the name, sex, height, weight, hair color. In addition, finger print of each adult if that adult agrees and palm print of any child where finger prints can not be achieved. A photo of parent with child might help.  Every parent with a child shall have a written record or computer system link so the separate database for each parent and child would have a definite way of showing the family association. It would be smart that any serial number for a parent have the same number followed by a dash and numbers increasing by 1 for each child associated with a parent.

If it is found that the Border Patrol, ICE and Police agencies, departments and individuals have failed to properly know the exact location of every person in their control and can properly link children to parents then those agencies, departments and individuals should case to exist by termination of employment and have no further federal employment.

If it is found that any significant number of children can not be properly reunited with their parents then I demand the firing of all federal agency heads that have control over this matter and no future federal employment for this/these person(s) in the future.

If it is found that any number of children can not be properly reunited with their parents when processed by the Border Patrol then I demand the firing of all Border Patrol management at every level where the individual participated in any way with the separation of children from their parents.

If it is found that any number of children can not be properly reunited with their parents when processed by the ICE then I demand the firing of all Department of Homeland Security and ICE management at every level where the individual participated in any way with the separation of children from their parents.

I would place in the personal record of every Border Patrol, ICE, and police officer who can not prove that he or she attempted in a meaningful way to track every child and parent that they were involved in separating families, a statement of participating in the reckless endangerment toward child or children. Such record recommends that no professional advancement take place in their federal employment career for the rest of their employment.

Wikipedia:

Research shows that illegal immigrants increase the size of the U.S. economy, contribute to economic growth, enhance the welfare of natives, contribute more in tax revenue than they collect, reduce American firms’ incentives to offshore jobs and import foreign-produced goods, and benefit consumers by reducing the prices of goods and services.  Economists estimate that legalization of the illegal immigrant population would increase the immigrants’ earnings and consumption considerably, and increase U.S. gross domestic product.

 

Destruction of Democracy In The USA

There are a number of factors that have grown over time to erode the United States as being a democracy. This problem stems from the rich and powerful always finding ways and means to gain advantage for themselves at your expense. This has led to the destruction of Democracy in the USA. Let me list some top methods being used:

Money Buys Politicians

Keep this in mind, as a bench mark or ruler, for your decisions in deciding how successful our government is now. The US constitution was drawn up as a reaction to the tyranny of British rule, and especially the tyranny of the single monarch. Implied from this is the US should fight against authoritarian rule. The US “Supreme” Court in a series of decisions has overturned the original intent of the Constitution. It has “conferred on wealthy people the right to give vast sums of money. This ability of the rich to use their wealth to gain power over our political process and institutions is a new path toward tyranny. The Republican Party is supporting this effort to destroy our democracy.

The “Supreme” Court has germinated a new form of tyranny. The following “Supreme” Court judges are responsible for the nation being taken over by the plutocracy class:

  • John Grover Roberts Jr
  • Antonin Gregory Scalia, (died 2016)
  • Anthony McLeod Kennedy
  • Samuel Alito Alito

Note: All of the above judges were appointed by a Republican president.

  • Neil M. Gorsuch was appointed by a Republican president and confirmed by a flawed Republican Congress that failed to follow past appointment rules.

Recommended Solutions:

  • Promote, by every means, that the above “Supreme” Court justices be asked to resign, to step down, because they have made decisions that undermine our democracy.
  • Oppose all future “Supreme” Court appointments dictated by the Republican Party.
  • Campaign to remove or overturn all “Supreme” Court decisions where money is allowed to influence elections.
  • Not allow any money to be paid to politicians or government employees, beyond their salaries.
  • All government employees and elected officials can not work for any business related to government issues and oversight legislation for any business or organization after they retire from government service for five years.

Reference:
US is no longer a full democracy, EIU warns (https://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/25/us-is-no-longer-a-full-democracy-eiu-warns.html)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_the_United_States and scroll down to this topic: Concerns about oligarchy and a diminishing democracy

The Supreme Court’s McCutcheon et al. v. FEC and Citizens United v. FEC decisions, “has this court conferred on wealthy people the right to give vast sums of money to politicians while undercutting the rights of millions of citizens to cast a ballot.”

Justice Stevens opposed Citizens United v. FEC. “A democracy cannot function effectively when its constituent members believe laws are being bought and sold.”[37] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v._FEC)

Charter Spectrum Review

Charter Spectrum has our cable TV service for our city. I have no issues with any of the people who came to our house to troubleshoot issues. I do despise this utility for their corporate business plan for the following reasons:

  • They refuse to finish fiber optic cables to the homes. They do have fiber optics runs within a quarter of a mile. To finish fiber optic runs to the homes would cost them a lot of money.
  • Their TV packages are way too expensive. You are forced to pay for channels never used.
  • They move their channels out of the channel range that most modern TV sets can automatically find. In this way, the utility can charge a rental on their tuners. The few TV channels that a television set can pick up are quite awful.  One might expect that all the local TV channels should be picked up without a cable box so that low income people could better afford the service.
  • I find their Internet speeds to fluctuate during the day. When the schools are out and the children get home it seems that our Internet speeds drop. I watch television on my laptop using Spectrum TV application which is pretty wonderful when it works. Problem is that the visual and audio stops for significant periods of time.
  • From time to time, this utility has major service interruptions. I expect this. What is not normal is to loose computer servers so you can not log into their Internet TV service. This happened during the World Cup Soccer game June 26, 2018.  I am a blogger and spend a lot of time watching news on my laptop using Spectrum TV web site which is quite good.  Problem for me is the frequent “Buffering” incidents when the visual and audio stop for long periods of time.
  • When the company was Time Warner and I went to their local branch offices to talk over an issue, I frequently came away with a special deal or package that I did not know about. The people in the office seemed to have the attitude of wanting to help. When they changed to Spectrum, the store location changed and the whole operation became cold and impersonal.
  • I occasionally like to view news and sports away from my home. My cell phone provider is T-Mobile. I pay for unlimited data. The Comcast Spectrum cell phone application is near perfect in how it functions but, in my opinion, flawed for it’s offerings and this is my complaint. I expect that I should be provided important channels away from my home but NO. Let me show the deficiencies:

News category
Weather Channel (I am ok with that)
Fox “News” (Right wing propaganda, I despise Fox)
CSPAN (OK but boring)
Fox “News” (Administration propaganda)
Fox Business (Why all these FOX channels?)
BBC (I am ok with that)
Weather Channel
CSPAN. (Why two CSPAN channels?)

Sports category during the FIFA World Cup utterly failed to offer coverage in English.

Broadcasters category offered no stations at all. Our local channel that offered FIFA World Cup, was a Fox station, which if turned on, would be perfect for viewing.

 

If a local important news event or disaster takes place, I should be able to view all local broadcaster stations to get more information. So why not?

The cell phone message that shows at the bottom of my screen is “Connect to In-home WiFi for More” which is a rather lame attempt to explain why so many important channels can not be viewed away from WiFi. But, why the alleged flawed and awful channels that are offered?

It seems that Comcast favors right wing US politics with only Fox “news” channels.

It seems that Comcast has no clue that they might have a responsibility to serve their customers more completely and for this failed business model and apparent lack of ethics, I despise them for their long list of alleged deficiencies.

I strongly recommend that our city try to get rid of Spectrum, if they can, and provide TV and Internet service as a city utility.

Save the United States.  Buy American products.

Reviews

 

The owner of this blog copyrights all content. 2018.

2 Responses to Top Stories

  1. China Pages on Wikipedia says:
    August 12, 2014 at 10:29 am

    If some one desires expert view about blogging afterward
    i advise him/her to visit this blog, Keep up the good job.

    Reply
  2. Telefonkatalogen.biz says:
    August 12, 2014 at 6:50 pm

    Thanks for the marvelous posting! I truly enjoyed reading it,
    you can be a great author.I will ensure that I bookmark your blog and will eventually come back in the foreseeable future.
    I want to encourage you to ultimately continue your great writing, have a nice
    morning!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.