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Tag Archives: current-events

Handled Better?


The current public feud between Apple and the FBI is something that should never have been made public. I am for openness but sometimes it is improper or incorrect. I understand Apple’s viewpoint however a sit down with the Feds out of the public eye would have been a better approach. The information that may or may not be on the IPhone is definitely worth a look. If there is information that could prevent loss of life and/ or property it should be revealed. I think if Apple were to enter the phones system and down load what could be information relating to other potential terrorist attacks or information on network associations, then that is what should be done. I believe the Government should accept that information and move on. I do not believe the method of obtaining it should be given to the Government, Now that the issue is public you have people who for their own reasons jump on the bandwagon of misinformation and misplaced anger towards the Government and Apple. The issue is National security and should be seen as such. My fear is that too many people are too angry about almost everything to think clearly about what is really happening in this country. There are no longer only 2 sides to any story but most are multisided and all sides bear a look or a listen.

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The War Potential


Several candidates for the Presidency have espoused the idea of how to handle the conflict in the Middle east and Asia with no real knowledge of what is involved. Their rhetoric and the related theories of execution are no more than circa WWII thinking when we were attacked. The difference is: 1. We were already supplying our allies in their struggle with Hitler’s armies and associated allies

2. There was no UN

3. The combatants were some of the people we now are against.

4. We have been complicit in some of the issues that exist due to  our actions on behalf of several dictators

With the above in mind we still have several runners and their followers warfare who do not have a full grasp of the realities of war. War requires millions to billions of dollars to support the personnel and material needed. With our economy  in a just out of recession stage and stagnating due to an ineffective Congress that spends more time politricking rather than legislating, the last thing we need is another military commitment in another part of the world and especially the Middle east and Asia where we have had a less than stellar result. Any future military actions on our part should only occur  if requested by the affected Nation, the UN as joint venture or if we are attacked on a scale larger than the towers. The idea of attacking because it appears to be correct isn’t correct. Our focus needs to be here and now. If we in the heat of election campaigns elect a firebrand then the past 10 to 15 years will seem like paradise. If  we allow the existing Congress to put us in an unwarranted or unneeded, war we need to unseat them as they will not improve with age. The existing Congress is so filled with obstructionists as to be mildly effective at best but can weigh in events that have not happened. Remember it is our children, fathers, brothers and sisters that will be on the front lines not the warmonger.

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State Income Tax Refund Information


As I read this statement my mind went to the actual budget situation in Illinois, this statement is in fact possibly true until the last line, which I find possibly false in part.

Refund Alert

The Illinois Department of Revenue does not anticipate releasing any Individual Income Tax refunds between January 1, 2016 and March 1, 2016.

We are working with the IRS and other states’ revenue departments to protect taxpayers. Enhanced identity theft prevention measures and security protocols will lengthen timeframes for refund issuance.

Filing your return electronically and requesting direct deposit into your checking or savings account is still the fastest way to receive your refund.

For electronic returns filed prior to March 1, 2016 – We anticipate your refund will be issued within two to three weeks from the March 1st date when we begin issuing refunds.

For electronic returns submitted error-free on or after March 1, 2016 – We anticipate your refund will be issued within two to three weeks from the date you submitted your return.

Click here for Refund Delay Frequently Asked Questions.

Note: Tax refunds are not subject to budgetary appropriation by the Illinois General Assembly and are not impacted by the current budget impasse.

The Politricks Begin


The death of Justice Scalia has left a hole in the High court and the Dupublicans have jumped all over it. Since the Congress has opted to fight everything the president has proposed and to the detriment of all of us, there is a great chance that the nomination will be stalled as long as it can be stalled. If we as voters do not raise our voices on this we will all suffer for years to come, our current Congress is as divisive as the rifts between the various religious sects in Asia. This Congress led by Senator Mitch (turtle) McConnell will move to block any nomination presented by this administration. Keep in mind that “Mitch’s” agenda is based solely on what good for Mitch  and not his constituents or the united States, this has been proven by his record during the 30 years he has been in the Congress (you must read it for yourself as there is too much to set down here). It is our duty to start the process of controlling the government with our votes and voices because we ALL MATTER!. Each of the Dupublican candidates has weighed in on this and made it part of their Shtick but have no idea for the most part what is really involved in replacing a Justice and the long range effect of placing another “Thomas” on the bench. Our opportunities to have a voice is now and has to continue every day. We as voters have to use the electronic media to let our representatives know when we are unhappy or happy but in a reasoned way , not in a knee jerk fashion. Do not be influenced by sound bites, buzzwords or school yard fights which provide no information at all.

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Still Crazy


The controversy over Hillary Clinton’s private email servers is still lingering in spite of recent revelations about Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice also had private Email servers yet the RNC has pushed the Clinton issue with great vigor. The FBI is investigating the issue about Hillary Clinton’s emails seemingly at the behest of the Dupublican establishment. If there were issues about email servers in previous administrations then surely Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice’s emails bear examining too. Political tricks is not the way to fix an internal problem. The way to fix it is to acknowledge it then do what a business would do and fix it. Of course we know politics is a dirty business and many time the stink of it cannot be removed by washing.

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Rauner Runaround?


Governor Rauner has allowed the budget impasse to continue to the detriment of the State schools, employees and everyone else. There is enough blame to go around so what now? His address of a few days ago did not address any solutions but there were a couple of initiatives to consolidate some State agencies, updating the cyber systems but nothing on the budget.  Mr. Rauner is a financially savvy guy but running a State like a business is not the same as just running a State or a business. The upgrades he wants to put in place are needed but a State minded leader (politician or Statesman) is needed to run a State. When a leader (President, Governor, etc.) gains an office, the normal process is to meet with the legislature and try to get a sense of who the players are and how one can work with them. This has nothing to do with political parties as the people are first and should be considered first. We have not had that and the end result so far is more debt and more pain. Snatch the Band-Aid off and get on with it! Make a budget and get the state moving again. Nothing is perfect in any plan but if you do nothing , you gain nothing.

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Can’t Title This One


With the Caucuses in Iowa over, attention turns to New Hampshire for the next major phase of the Presidential charge. The front-runners have made some progress and feel that they are unbeatable and that is the message they (the still runners) want to convey. Looking at the facts that still exist, these aspirants are still the same people who previously made misstatements, errors in judgment and other issues experienced by us all. Remembering that no matter what these folks are human beings and no better than the least of us. The difference in them and the rest of us is that they are in public eye. With all of that being said I will point out the latest dropout on the Republican side. Rand Paul is a Libertarian conservative  but looking at what a Libertarian really  is eludes most of us. The party definition briefly is:  “The Libertarian Party (LP) is a libertarian political party in the United States that promotes civil liberties, free markets, non-interventionism, and laissez-faire.” This definition taken at its face value does not take in the nuances of the party any more than the definition the Major political parties ascribe to them selves. What America is can be almost indescribable as  multifaceted and nuanced in nature as the countries that produced our ancestors. This is why a definition of any political party is so hard. The basic premise of anyone of them while appealing is not the true meaning. That meaning changes with each candidate and never ever reflects the whole of the party or its followers. I have taken the position of being independent with leanings in Libertarian, Green, Republican (not Dupublican) and Democrat (not Scamocrats). This open-mindedness has allowed me to I believe realistically look at the established parties (minor and major) and their assorted subsets and know that belonging to any one of them is a problem. I have had to read industriously about each one and then decide who as a representative of their party will hopefully do the best job and with luck be their own person if elected. I know this is a lot of work but would you not exert the same due diligence in buying a car or a house. Our political races are not much more than “dog and pony shows” and a fleeting distraction and we deserve better yet we will never receive better until we demand it by voting with our brain instead of our heart. There are no perfect solutions except in movies and this cinema we call life is real.

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American Police Learn New Tactics


There is a video on Sky News showing a group of American police chiefs how the English handle suspect armed or not without killing them.

How To Avoid Gun Use

American police chiefs have been to Scotland to learn new techniques in how to avoid shooting violent suspects.

As numerous fatal police confrontations cause public anger across the US, officers are rethinking when, and how, they use force.

The results are part of a hard-hitting documentary to be shown on Sky Atlantic and Sky News. Last year, police in the US shot and killed around 1,000 civilians, many of them unarmed.

Former hostage negotiator with the Boston police department Chuck Wexler brought the team across the Atlantic in an attempt to cut the use of fatal force.

As the two sets of police officers met, Mr Wexler described how if confronted by a suspect holding a rock an American officer would pull out his gun.

“You’re going to kill someone for throwing a rock. That’s what you’re gonna do,” said Mr. Wexler.

“How would society over here think about you shooting someone with a rock? They would not accept it.”

The senior American officers, from forces such as the NYPD and LAPD, watched demonstrations at Police Scotland training centres.

Sky News cameras joined them as they went out on patrol in Glasgow, and watched as unarmed police dealt with a variety of potentially violent situations.

The four-day visit showed how Scottish police step back from confrontation, using shields and vehicles for protection.

They also saw examples of how in Scotland officers use language and negotiation in a different way to their American colleagues.

Scots police train how to tackle a violent offender Sergeant Jim Young trains hundreds of Scottish police recruits every year.

“The American style of policing, it’s very authoritative,” he said.

“There’s a difference of going in, straight up at this level, whereby you’re ordering people, you’re shouting at them. You can’t go anywhere after that.

“But if you start down low you can adjust your communications to suit.”

In the US there are an estimated 300 million firearms in circulation.

The documentary shows the American police officers, while accepting both countries are very different, learning lessons in how to approach volatile situations.

Many American forces adopt what is informally known as the “21-foot rule”.

Police officers keep that distance from someone with a sharp weapon, but will shoot if the suspect closes that gap.

Some see the controversial tactic as a ‘licence to kill’.

Scots firearms officers have shot civilians only twice in the last decade.

The last officer to be killed on duty through criminal violence in Scotland was in a stabbing in 1994.

“It’s about time that we step up and this is our chance,” said Mr. Wexler.

“It’s a crisis but it’s also our chance to do the right thing.”

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Dupublicans murdering Their Own?


Just a little laugh- The Dupublican pundits ( Rush, Ann & Charles) have pounded Governor Nikki Haley for her reasonable rebuttal to the State of the Union address, just shows how irrational the Dupublicans and their backers are and have no good plans for us all. Stay independent. My political leanings: I have no particular attachment to the Scamocrats or Dupublicans as they both have failings that have and can hurt us.  The party’s themselves have great aspirations but their members do not. If they (the party’s) had our best interests in mind then why gave we not made more progress at home in Race relations, earning parity and true cohesiveness as a nation?  In writing I look to point out what I see with as much information and introspection as I can . The real power here is with the voters but to vote correctly requires carefully listening and reading as the media just shows a portion of the real story while the truth lies elsewhere.  We  view the debates as a  way to make decisions  and in  my  opinion  these debates are no more than schoolyard fights televised for entertainment. The pundits who so readily weigh in on all things political are out to sell themselves and their publications while often obscuring the truth with their blankets of innuendo and half truths. A recent conversation with one of the Koch brothers points out that he is not a big fan of either party but he is a Conservative and leans towards the Dupublican agenda  (the overall party line). That being said some mad lib pundits do no service to the Dupublican party or anyone else for that matter.

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Ignorance Loses


Now that the Federal court in Texas has cleared Planned Parenthood of any wrongdoing in the “selling” of fetal tissue and indicted the “secret videographers”, the clamor has not dies down (see Blue line at the end of this post). It appears that modern politics has fallen to the depths of “yellow” journalism and outright lies. Do you suppose people in Texas will change their minds about Planned Parenthood and the valuable work they do? Probably not. The astounding thing about people is, once a seed of information  (or misinformation) is planted in the fertile soils of their bias, it is really hard to alter the thought output. As a thought, is wrong to think that people can ( or should) accept  an issue that or service that has value in spite of their personal beliefs?

 

Planned Parenthood cleared by Texas jury over videos, activists indicted

By Jon Herskovitz

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – A Texas grand jury has indicted two anti-abortion activists in a case involving covert videos on fetal tissue procurement talks with Planned Parenthood and found there was no wrongdoing on the part of the health group, a district attorney said on Monday.

The grand jury decision was a result of a probe launched last year under Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, who accused Planned Parenthood of the “gruesome harvesting of baby body parts.” No evidence was provided by Texas to back the claim.

The videos released last summer led Texas and several other Republican-controlled states to try to halt funding for local Planned Parenthood operations.

“After a lengthy and thorough investigation by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, the Texas Rangers, and the Houston Police Department, a Harris County grand jury took no action Monday against Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast,” the Harris County District Attorney’s office said in a statement.

Planned Parenthood has denied the accusation and called the probe politically motivated.

David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt have been indicted by the grand jury for tampering with a governmental record, said prosecutors for the county in which Houston is located.

The two were involved in covert videos last year in which a discussion was held with a Planned Parenthood official on the procurement of fetal tissue.

Daleiden, founder of the Center for Medical Progress that released the videos, was also charged with violating a prohibition on the purchase and sale of human organs, a misdemeanor, the Harris County District Attorney said.

The videos purported to show Planned Parenthood officials trying to negotiate prices for aborted fetal tissue. Under federal law, donated human fetal tissue may be used for research, but profiting from its sale is prohibited.

Shortly after the release, Texas, the most populous Republican-controlled U.S. state, said it would launch a probe of Planned Parenthood.

“These people broke the law to spread malicious lies about Planned Parenthood in order to advance their extreme anti-abortion political agenda,” said Eric Ferrero, vice president of Communications for Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

“As the dust settles and the truth comes out, it’s become totally clear that the only people who engaged in wrongdoing are the criminals behind this fraud, and we’re glad they’re being held accountable,” he said.

The Texas governor said: “Nothing about today’s announcement in Harris County impacts the state’s ongoing investigation.”

In October, Texas raided several Planned Parenthood facilities in the state.

(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Matthew Lewis, Bernard Orr

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