Year: 2019

 This could explain why our gas prices here are so high

This could be at least part of the reason. The other is taxes on fuel here in Michigan.

Supply cuts by OPEC and partners led by Russia, plus involuntary curbs in Venezuela and Iran, have helped drive a 32 percent rally in crude prices this year, prompting pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump for the group to ease its market-supporting efforts.In a monthly report, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said Venezuela told the group that it pumped 960,000 barrels per day (bpd) in March, a drop of almost 500,000 bpd from February.The figures could add to a debate within the so-called OPEC+ group of producers on whether to maintain oil supply cuts beyond June. A Russian official indicated this week Moscow wanted to pump more, although OPEC has been saying the curbs must remain. Source: Venezuela reports collapse in oil supply, tightening global market: OPEC – Reuters

OPEC is an organization made up of oil producing Countries, some of whom are not fans of the USA. So, there’s that too.

About that New Zealand shooters manifest

If you come here looking for that manifest that I had here on this site. I have deleted it.

The reason why, is because I feel that nothing good could come from having that manifest on this site; as a matter of fact, I found myself with a temporary ban on Twitter, because I actually posted that to this blog and then announced it on Twitter.

So, I feel that it would be best that I deleted it from this site, because quite honestly I have nothing really in common with what that man believed or his motivation for doing what he did… so, it is gone.

While I think that oppression of freedom of speech or thought is antithetical to what I as a conservative minded person believes, I believe that that sort of thought and warped belief system does nothing to heal the wounds inflicted upon those in New Zealand.

That is all.

Two Serviceman killed in Afghanistan

Sad News:

Army Spc. Joseph Collette.
Sgt. 1st Class Will Lindsay, 33, of Cortez, Colorado

KABUL, Afghanistan — The Department of Defense on Saturday identified the two soldiers who died Friday in Kunduz Province, Afghanistan, as a result of wounds sustained while engaged in combat operations.The deceased Spc. Joseph P. Collette, 29, of Lancaster, Ohio, was assigned to the 242nd Ordnance Battalion, 71st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group, out of Fort Carson, Colorado. Sgt. 1st Class Will D. Lindsay, 33, of Cortez, Colorado, was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Carson, Colorado. Source: Defense Department identifies two soldiers killed in Afghanistan – U.S. – Stripes

With the defeat Al-Qaeda and ISIS, isn’t it about time that we pulled out of that region? I mean, Osama is dead, most of ISIS is gone and Al-Qaeda is all but dead. Let’s end this thing and be done with it.

Others: Townhall and Task & Purpose

Sexual Abuse in the Baptist Church

This is something I know too well about.

From the Houston Chronicle:


Thirty-five years later, Debbie Vasquez’s voice trembled as she described her trauma to a group of Southern Baptist leaders.


She was 14, she said, when she was first molested by her pastor in Sanger, a tiny prairie town an hour north of Dallas. It was the first of many assaults that Vasquez said destroyed her teenage years and, at 18, left her pregnant by the Southern Baptist pastor, a married man more than a dozen years older.


In June 2008, she paid her way to Indianapolis, where she and others asked leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention and its 47,000 churches to track sexual predators and take action against congregations that harbored or concealed abusers. Vasquez, by then in her 40s, implored them to consider prevention policies like those adopted by faiths that include the Catholic Church.

“Listen to what God has to say,” she said, according to audio of the meeting, which she recorded. “… All that evil needs is for good to do nothing. … Please help me and others that will be hurt.”

Days later, Southern Baptist leaders rejected nearly every proposed reform.

The abusers haven’t stopped. They’ve hurt hundreds more.

Read the rest

This story is a personal for me and it does hit home quite a bit. When I was 9 years old; a man, who is now deceased, attempted to molest me in a Independent Baptist Church’s School. This school has been closed for many years. But, the mental scars from this, have never left me.

The Pastor of this now defunct Baptist Church ended up resigning in disgrace over an adultery scandal. What I will say to those conservatives who will dismiss this as an attack piece of Christians, is this: This story is very true and it is one that I know too well about. The abuse, the attempt to cover it up and put blame on the victim are all too real.

The sad part is that there is not much that the Southern Baptist Convention can do about it. As the bylaws of the SBC are designed as such, that the SBC is merely a Missionary Organization and does not control their local Churches. It is simply a missionary support clearing house, of sorts.

My prayers are with these victims and their families. I know the pain, I have been there and it is very terrible.

Others:

Russell Moore and The American Conservative

Congressman John Dingell Jr. RIP

He was from an era, when the Democrats actually gave a damn about the working middle class in this Country,

The Detroit News writes:

Congressman John Dingell Jr.


Michigan Democrat John Dingell Jr., the longest-serving member of Congress in American history who helped write most of the nation’s major environmental and energy laws, died Thursday, his wife said. He was 92.


The Dearborn statesman was a champion of the auto industry and was credited with increasing access to health care, among other accomplishments.


He died peacefully at his home in Dearborn, surrounded by his wife, U.S. Rep. Deborah Dingell, her office said in a statement. 


“He was a lion of the United States Congress and a loving son, father, husband, grandfather, and friend,” the statement said.


“He will be remembered for his decades of public service to the people of Southeast Michigan, his razor-sharp wit and a lifetime of dedication to improving the lives of all who walk this earth.”


A year ago, John Dingell was diagnosed with prostate cancer that had metastasized and which the former congressman chose not to treat, according to his family. He also had suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized in Detroit last year.


News of his death prompted an outpouring online from lawmakers, former colleagues and others — many of whom regularly enjoyed Dingell’s tweets

.Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ordered U.S. and Michigan flags within the State Capitol Complex and on all state buildings to be lowered to half-staff Friday in Dingell’s honor.


“Today, the great state of Michigan said farewell to one of our greatest leaders,” Whitmer said.  “We are a stronger, safer, healthier nation because of Congressman Dingell’s 59 years of service, and his work will continue to improve the lives of Michiganders for generations to come.”
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, said Dingell understood the connection Michiganians have to manufacturing, agriculture, to the land and the Great Lakes.


“Congressman John Dingell — the Dean of the House and my dear friend — was not merely a witness to history. He was a maker of it,” Stabenow said.


“His original family name, translated into Polish, meant ‘blacksmith.’ Nothing could be more fitting for a man who hammered out our nation’s laws, forging a stronger union that could weather the challenges of the future. John Dingell loved Michigan.”


House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, called Dingell “a beloved pillar of the Congress and one of the greatest legislators in American history.”  


“John Dingell leaves a towering legacy of unshakable strength, boundless energy and transformative leadership,” Pelosi said. 

“Chairman Dingell was our distinguished Dean and Chairman, our legendary colleague and a beloved friend. His memory will stand as an inspiration to all who worked with him or had the pleasure of knowing him. His leadership will endure in the lives of the millions of American families he touched.”


Detroit News Publisher and Editor Jon Wolman said Dingell “was public service personified, a giant personality whose political ingenuity lasted until his final breath, or should I say his final tweet.” 

“I never knew a better legislator or a stronger voice,” added Wolman, who knew Dingell from their time together in Washington and Detroit.

I think if there were more democrats like Dingell, I’d be tempted to vote for them. Sadly, those days are gone for good. 🙁

Others:
Washington Post, Axios, BuzzFeed News, Political Wire, WTKR-TV, Michigan Advance, Mediaite, KTLA, Washington Times, KDFW, The Atlantic, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, The Week, Balloon Juice and CNN

8 Years….

I observed over on my old blog, that it had been in existence for 12 years.

I did quit blogging, for about 3 months. I came back in December of 2011.

The mind reels…. 8 years… 😯

There are people, that have been blogging for less time than me; who have good paying jobs doing it now.

Not me. 🙄

Since I originally started, which was in 2006, on a blog, that doesn’t exist anymore. Click here for a archive from the wayback machine from 2007.

So, I started in 2006…. 13 years of this….

The mind reels. 😯

Mitt Romney is absolutely correct

I never would believe that I would agree with Mitt Romney on anything. But, when Romney’s right, he is right.

Quote via Washington Post:


The Trump presidency made a deep descent in December. The departures of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly, the appointment of senior persons of lesser experience, the abandonment of allies who fight beside us, and the president’s thoughtless claim that America has long been a “sucker” in world affairs all defined his presidency down.


It is well known that Donald Trump was not my choice for the Republican presidential nomination. After he became the nominee, I hoped his campaign would refrain from resentment and name-calling. It did not. When he won the election, I hoped he would rise to the occasion.

His early appointments of Rex Tillerson, Jeff Sessions, Nikki Haley, Gary Cohn, H.R. McMaster, Kelly and Mattis were encouraging. But, on balance, his conduct over the past two years, particularly his actions this month, is evidence that the president has not risen to the mantle of the office.

Romney does credit, where it is due:


It is not that all of the president’s policies have been misguided. He was right to align U.S. corporate taxes with those of global competitors, to strip out excessive regulations, to crack down on China’s unfair trade practices, to reform criminal justice and to appoint conservative judges. These are policies mainstream Republicans have promoted for years. But policies and appointments are only a part of a presidency.

Romney goes on to say:


To a great degree, a presidency shapes the public character of the nation. A president should unite us and inspire us to follow “our better angels.” A president should demonstrate the essential qualities of honesty and integrity, and elevate the national discourse with comity and mutual respect. As a nation, we have been blessed with presidents who have called on the greatness of the American spirit. With the nation so divided, resentful and angry, presidential leadership in qualities of character is indispensable. And it is in this province where the incumbent’s shortfall has been most glaring.

The world is also watching. America has long been looked to for leadership. Our economic and military strength was part of that, of course, but our enduring commitment to principled conduct in foreign relations, and to the rights of all people to freedom and equal justice, was even more esteemed. Trump’s words and actions have caused dismay around the world. In a 2016 Pew Research Center poll, 84 percent of people in Germany, Britain, France, Canada and Sweden believed the American president would “do the right thing in world affairs.” One year later, that number had fallen to 16 percent.

This comes at a very unfortunate time. Several allies in Europe are experiencing political upheaval. Several former Soviet satellite states are rethinking their commitment to democracy. Some Asian nations, such as the Philippines, lean increasingly toward China, which advances to rival our economy and our military. The alternative to U.S. world leadership offered by China and Russia is autocratic, corrupt and brutal.


The world needs American leadership, and it is in America’s interest to provide it. A world led by authoritarian regimes is a world — and an America — with less prosperity, less freedom, less peace.


To reassume our leadership in world politics, we must repair failings in our politics at home. That project begins, of course, with the highest office once again acting to inspire and unite us. It includes political parties promoting policies that strengthen us rather than promote tribalism by exploiting fear and resentment. Our leaders must defend our vital institutions despite their inevitable failings: a free press, the rule of law, strong churches, and responsible corporations and unions.

We must repair our fiscal foundation, setting a course to a balanced budget. We must attract the best talent to America’s service and the best innovators to America’s economy.


America is strongest when our arms are linked with other nations. We want a unified and strong Europe, not a disintegrating union. We want stable relationships with the nations of Asia that strengthen our mutual security and prosperity.

I look forward to working on these priorities with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and other senators.


Furthermore, I will act as I would with any president, in or out of my party: I will support policies that I believe are in the best interest of the country and my state, and oppose those that are not. I do not intend to comment on every tweet or fault. But I will speak out against significant statements or actions that are divisive, racist, sexist, anti-immigrant, dishonest or destructive to democratic institutions.


I remain optimistic about our future. In an innovation age, Americans excel. More importantly, noble instincts live in the hearts of Americans. The people of this great land will eschew the politics of anger and fear if they are summoned to the responsibility by leaders in homes, in churches, in schools, in businesses, in government — who raise our sights and respect the dignity of every child of God — the ideal that is the essence of America

I have to agree here, Trump might be good at the deal making and business stuff. But, other than that. I have no use for him at all and I look forward to seeing who runs in the Republican Party in 2020.