Flashermac

My ancestors spoke the British language, but that was long ago, and we haven't spoke Welsh for at least three centuries.

And now for something completely different. LIST OF TRUMP ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN THE YEARS: 2017, 2018 and 2019 COMPILED BY: @ROBBYSTARBUCK - This week Trump signed three bills for Native people. One gives compensation to the Spokane tribe for the loss of their lands in the mid-1900s, one reauthorizes funding for Native language programs and the other gives federal recognition to the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians in Montana. - This month Trump finalized the creation of Space Force as our 6th Military branch. - This month Trump signed a law to make cruelty to animals a federal felony so that animal abusers face tougher consequences. - Violent crime has fallen every year he’s been in office after rising the 2 years before he was elected. - Trump signed bill making CBD and Hemp legal Trump’s EPA gave $100 million to fix the water infrastructure problem in Flint, Michigan. - Under Trump’s leadership, in 2018 the U.S. surpassed Russia and Saudi Arabia to become the world’s largest producer of crude oil. - Trump signed a law ending the gag orders on Pharmacists that prevented them from sharing money saving information. - Trump signed the “Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act” (FOSTA), which includes the “Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act” (SESTA) which both give law enforcement and victims new tools to fight sex trafficking. - Trump signed a bill to require airports to provide spaces for breastfeeding Moms. - The 25% lowest-paid Americans enjoyed a 4.5% income boost in November 2019, that outpaces a 2.9% gain in earnings for the country's highest-paid workers. - Low-wage workers are benefiting from higher minimum wages and corporations that are increasing entry-level pay. -Trump signed the biggest wilderness protection & conservation bill in a decade and designated 375,000 acres as protected land. - Trump signed the Save our Seas Act which funds $10 million per year to clean tons of plastic & garbage from the ocean. -Trump signed an executive order this year that forces all healthcare providers to disclose the cost of their services so that Americans can comparison shop and know how much less providers charge insurance companies. When signing that bill he said no American should be blindsided by bills for medical services they never agreed to in advance Hospitals will now be required to post their standard charges for services, which include gross charges, the negotiated rates with insurers and the discounted price a hospital is willing to accept from a patient. - He signed a bill this year allowing some drug imports from Canada so that prescription prices would go down In the eight years prior to President Trump’s inauguration, prescription drug prices increased by an average of 3.6 percent per year. Fast forward to today, and prescription drug prices have seen year-over-year declines in nine of the last ten months, with a 1.1 percent drop as of the most recent month. In June 2019, the United States saw the largest single-year drop (2.0 percent year-over-year decline) in prescription drug prices since 1967. - Created a White House VA Hotline to help veterans and principally staffed it with veterans and direct family members of veterans. - VA employees are being held accountable for poor performance, with more than 4,000 VA employees removed, demoted, and suspended so far. - Issued an executive order requiring the Secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs to submit a joint plan to provide veterans access to access to mental health treatment as they transition to civilian life. - Because of a bill signed and championed by Trump, in 2020, most federal employees will see their pay increase by an average of 3.1% — the largest raise in more than 10 yearsTrump signed into a law up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave for millions of federal workers - Trump administration will provide HIV prevention drug for free to 200,000 uninsured patients per year for 11 years All time record sales during the 2019 holidays. -Trump signed an order allowing small businesses to group together when buying insurance so they can get it at a better price President. -Trump signed the Preventing Maternal Deaths Act which was written by a Republican lawmaker that provides funding for states to develop maternal mortality review committees to better understand maternal complications and identify solutions & largely focuses on reducing the higher mortality rates for Black Americans. - In 2018, President Trump signed the groundbreaking First Step Act, a criminal justice bill which enacted reforms that make our justice system fairer and help former inmates successfully return to society. - The First Step Act’s reforms addressed inequities in sentencing laws that disproportionately harmed Black Americans and reformed mandatory minimums that created unfair outcomes. - Over 90% of those benefitting from the retroactive sentencing reductions in the First Step Act are Black Americans. The First Step Act expanded judicial discretion in sentencing. - Issued an executive order requiring the Secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs to submit a joint plan to provide veterans access to access to mental health treatment as they transition to civilian life. - Because of a bill signed and championed by Trump, In 2020, most federal employees will see their pay increase by an average of 3.1% — the largest raise in more than 10 yearsTrump signed into a law up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave for millions of federal workers. -Trump administration will provide HIV prevention drug for free to 200,000 uninsured patients per year for 11 years. All time record sales during the 2019 holidays -Trump signed an order allowing small businesses to group together when buying insurance so they can get it at a better price. - President Trump signed the Preventing Maternal Deaths Act which was written by a Republican lawmaker that provides funding for states to develop maternal mortality review committees to better understand maternal complications and identify solutions & largely focuses on reducing the higher mortality rates for Black Americans. - In 2018, President Trump signed the groundbreaking First Step Act, a criminal justice bill which enacted reforms that make our justice system fairer and help former inmates successfully return to society. - The First Step Act’s reforms addressed inequities in sentencing laws that disproportionately harmed Black Americans and reformed mandatory minimums that created unfair outcomes. - Over 90% of those benefitting from the retroactive sentencing reductions in the First Step Act are Black Americans. The First Step Act expanded judicial discretion in sentencing of violent criimes. - The First Step Act provides rehabilitative programs to inmates, helping them successfully rejoin society and not return to crime. -Trump increased funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) by more than 14%. -Trump signed legislation forgiving Hurricane Katrina debt that threatened HBCUs. - Made HBCUs a priority by creating the position of executive director of the White House Initiative on HBCUs. -Trump received the Bipartisan Justice Award at an historically black college for his criminal justice reform accomplishments. [plus 8 more pages of accomplishments.] ... https://www.docdroid.net/KDaSuMo/trumpaccomplishments.pdf Will no one rid us of this monster! 😮

Mekhong explained ...

I'm not sure if many Thais understand Christmas even today.

Here ya go, Cav. Merry Christmas!

That rap song must have been written by a defense lawyer. Stalin had an enlightening saying: "It doesn't matter who votes. What matters is who counts the votes." So how much of all politics is really just sound and fury to keep the proletariat happy?

Ya know, nude models usually pose nude. So that disqualifies her from ever doing anything else?

Is Pelosi your Queen? Gavin Newsom’s keeping it all in the family Gavin Newsom will be the first Democrat in more than a century to succeed another Democrat as governor and the succession also marks a big generational transition in California politics. The long-dominant geriatric quartet from the San Francisco Bay Area – Gov. Jerry Brown, Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi – has been slowly ceding power to younger political strivers. Moreover, Newsom is succeeding someone who could be considered his quasi-uncle, since his inauguration continues the decades-long saga of four San Francisco families intertwined by blood, by marriage, by money, by culture and, of course, by politics – the Browns, the Newsoms, the Pelosis and the Gettys. The connections date back at least 80 years, to when Jerry Brown’s father, Pat Brown, ran for San Francisco district attorney, losing in 1939 but winning in 1943, with the help of his close friend and Gavin Newsom’s grandfather, businessman William Newsom. ... https://calmatters.org/commentary/gavin-newsoms-keeping-it-all-in-the-family/'

One-third of Thai depositors have a deposit balance below 500 baht, while the combined deposits of the largest 10% of depositors account for 93% of commercial banks' total deposits, says the Bank of Thailand's think tank. This means a high concentration of deposits and low savings for many Thais, according to the Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research (Pier). Savings accounts are ubiquitous in the country, as half of the Thai population have deposit accounts at commercial banks, but 50% of them have a balance below 3,124 baht and one-third have a balance below 500 baht. Some 0.2% have deposits of more than 10 million, said Atchana Lamsam, head of networking and communications for Pier. The findings come from a statistical analysis of information from the Deposit Protection Agency (DPA) as of June 2017. There were 37.9 million depositors who parked money in 80.2 million commercial bank deposit accounts, totalling 12 trillion baht, or 72% of the country's total deposits. The top 10% of depositors had their money concentrated in big cities, including Bangkok and vicinity, Chon Buri, Chiang Mai, Nakhon Ratchasima and Songkhla, she said. According to a breakdown by sex, females had more deposit accounts than males, and their deposit amounts were double that of the opposite sex. This indicates that women have better financial discipline or management skills, and they play an important role in managing household money, Ms Atchana said. The study found 88% of depositors put money in savings accounts, which yield lower returns than fixed deposit accounts. Depositors preferred depositing money at large commercial banks. Moreover, half of depositors had only one account. Savings accounts were the most popular among people from all walks of life, with 93.3% of depositors' portfolio being allocated there, while 6.3% were in fixed deposits. The study also found that fixed deposit accounts were popular among retirees. Those living in Greater Bangkok had the highest number of deposit accounts, while those in the South had the least, Ms Atchana said. Those residing in the Northeast had the lowest amount of deposits in accounts. She said one finding from the study is Thais' savings behaviour is worrisome, given the high concentration in deposits among the wealthy and low savings and deposit amounts in accounts that offer low returns. A policy to encourage savings should focus on awareness and understanding of the importance of savings, not just promoting access to deposit services, Ms Atchana said. https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/1820999/bot-thai-deposits-woefully-meagre#cxrecs_s

Less than half of all Americans want Trump ousted post-impeachment: Reuters/Ipsos poll NEW YORK (Reuters) - Less than half of all Americans say President Donald Trump should be removed from office following his impeachment by the U.S. House of Representatives, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Thursday, presenting a challenge for Democrats who will seek his ouster in a U.S. Senate trial. . ... https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-impeachment-poll-exclusive/exclusive-less-than-half-of-all-americans-want-trump-ousted-post-impeachment-reuters-ipsos-poll-idUSKBN1YN2LH Reuters should just shut to f***k up!

51% Agree Impeachment Is ‘Abuse of Power’ By Democrats The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 51% of Likely U.S. Voters agree with Trump’s statement in a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives before the vote: “This impeachment represents an unprecedented and unconstitutional abuse of power by Democrat lawmakers unequaled in nearly two-and-a-half centuries of American legislative history.” Similarly, 48% agree with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi when she said, “Our democracy is what is at stake. … The president has engaged in abuse of power, undermining our national security and jeopardizing the integrity of our elections.” But nearly as many (46%) disagree with Pelosi, compared to the 40% who disagree with Trump’s statement. https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/december_2019/51_agree_impeachment_is_abuse_of_power_by_democrats But who gives a damn what the people think. Do they think politicians really care about them except on election days?

Nope. It seems a prez is not impeached until the articles of impeachment have been delivered to the Senate. Nancy is dicking around and hasn't done that yet. Therefore, he has not yet been impeached!

California has interesting priorities. The average teacher's pay is $80,000 a year, but look how much you can make being a pooper scooper! San Francisco has a 'Poop Patrol' to deal with its feces problem, and workers make more than $184,000 a year in salary and benefits As members of the city's "Poop Patrol," workers are entitled to $71,760 a year, plus an additional $112,918 in benefits, such as healthcare and retirement savings, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. In August, the city announced that five staffers from the San Francisco Department of Public Works would soon roam the Tenderloin neighborhood — where nearly half of the city's homeless population is — in search of waste. The staffers will begin their efforts each afternoon equipped with a steam cleaner for sanitizing the streets. The full budget for the initiative, $830,977, signifies a concerted effort to address the city's mounting feces problem, which has resulted in more than 14,500 calls to 311, the city's non-emergency-services line, since the beginning of the year, the Chronicle previously reported. The issue isn't just a matter of dog owners failing to pick up after their pets. As San Francisco faces a shortage of affordable housing, it has struggled to accommodate its more than 7,400 homeless residents. Though the city's overall homeless population is declining, the share of chronically homeless people in San Francisco is still exceedingly high compared with most other cities. This pattern is starkly contrasted with the city's excess wealth: On average, a San Francisco resident earns about $96,677 a year, nearly double the median household income in the US. The city's feces problem is a visible reminder of the gap between its rich and poor. Since taking office in June, Mayor London Breed, who campaigned on street-cleanup efforts, has signaled her concern by walking through the city unannounced in search of waste. In July, she told NBC Bay Area she was encountering more feces on the city streets than ever before. While the Tenderloin remains the epicenter of the city's homelessness crisis, many residents outside the city center have begun to complain about excess feces in their neighborhoods due to the increased displacement of homeless populations. As part of its cleanup mission, the city has channeled additional funds into its existing programs. The new budget allots more than $1 million for updates to Pit Stop, a program offering mobile toilets and dog-waste stations in various neighborhoods, including five additional toilets and expanded hours of operation at five locations, the Chronicle reported. Now, only 12 of the city's 22 units are open daily, closing at 8 p.m. at the latest. That leaves a considerable amount of time during which those toilets are unavailable to homeless people. To complement Pit Stop, San Francisco has set aside nearly $3 million for a "hot spots" crew in charge of cleaning the areas near homeless encampments, according to the Chronicle. But the city has struggled to stay ahead of the situation, with several areas being compared to the world's poorest slums. While the high salaries of sanitation workers may incentivize further cleanup, the city will ultimately have to contend with its affordability crisis if it hopes to eliminate the problem. That would mean addressing restrictive zoning laws that make it both difficult and expensive to add affordable developments, as well as grappling with the steady influx of tech workers, who have concentrated in downtown areas partly because of the city's limited public transportation. Though Breed has promised to clean the streets within three months of taking office, the real challenge will take many years to address. https://www.businessinsider.com/san-francisco-poop-patrol-employees-make-184000-a-year-2018-8 California, leading the way into the future!

A serious look at the US today ... Trump impeachment and a US state divided Two things are taken very seriously in New Hampshire's Mount Washington Valley - politics and snow. There was palpable excitement when several inches of the white stuff fell on Impeachment Day. But the vote itself garnered little more than a collective shrug of weariness and resignation. Local radio stations gave equal weight to coverage of the proceedings and reports on which ski trails were operating. "The partisans are very partisan and have already decided one way or the other and those in the middle are still undecided and probably a little disinterested," says Mark Guerringue, publisher of the Conway Daily Sun. "What seems striking about this compared to the Clinton impeachment is that nobody can agree on the facts." Like the rest of America, New Hampshire is divided. Donald Trump won his first primary victory here in 2016 and lost to Hillary Clinton by less than half a percentage point. His reelection campaign believes he can win next year. Support for the president is strong among Republicans while Democrats are celebrating Wednesday's vote to impeach him. But New Hampshire also has a strong independent streak - the state motto "live free or die" is proudly displayed on license plates. How impeachment will influence the state's unaffiliated voters - if at all - will be the real test in the coming months. ... https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50831648

From a retired Marine Corps buddy. But what do Marines know anout anything anyway? "The Democrats were calling for Trumps Impeachment, prior to his taking office... Trump asked Ukraine to investigate Burisma, prior to Biden announcing his run for POTUS. Plus Burisma was being investigated during Obama's Administration for corruption... Firing an Ambassador requires NO justification, they are appointed by the POTUS and serve @ his pleasure... Executive Privilege - The SCOUS has ruled that executive privilege and congressional oversight each are a consequence of the doctrine of the separation of powers. Derived from common law, that provides immunity from subpoena to executive branch officials in the conduct of their governmental duties... Charges dismissed."

Maybe it starting to spread from Hong Kong! Chinese students defiant as university charter cuts 'freedom of thought' SHANGHAI: A top Chinese university has removed references to "freedom of thought" from its charter, triggering a rare act of student defiance, while two other institutions added language stressing fealty to President Xi Jinping and the Communist Party. A video circulating this week showed students at Shanghai's Fudan University singing the school song — which extols "academic independence and freedom of thought" — in an apparent protest. Fudan's charter change was announced by the Ministry of Education on its website late Tuesday and criticism quickly trended on social media before China's ever-vigilant online censors acted to delete posts and block discussion. Besides removing "freedom of thought", it adds "arming the minds of teachers and students with Xi Jinping's new era of socialist ideology with Chinese characteristics". It also obliges faculty and students to adhere to "core socialist values" and build a "harmonious" campus environment — a code phrase for the elimination of anti-government sentiment. ... https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/1819769/chinese-students-defiant-as-university-charter-cuts-freedom-of-thought#cxrecs_s

He absolutely hated Bill Clinton.

"We definitely have the characteristics of a narco-state," confides Jan Struijs, chairman of the biggest Dutch police union. "Sure we're not Mexico. We don't have 14,400 murders. But if you look at the infrastructure, the big money earned by organised crime, the parallel economy. Yes, we have a narco-state." His words echo in a society that has been convulsed by a murder that went far beyond the bubble of the criminal underworld. The deadly shooting of Derk Wiersum destroyed a common misconception here: that drug cartels only kill their own. A 44-year-old father of two, he was shot dead in front of his wife outside their home in Amsterdam in September. Wiersum was the lawyer for a crown prosecution witness, Nabil B, who had turned supergrass in a case against two of the Netherlands' most wanted suspects. The shooting in broad daylight in quiet suburbia was seen as an attack on civil society, democracy and the rule of law. "This is meant to frighten us," warned public prosecutor Fred Westerbeke. "We must continue to use key witnesses otherwise we will get no further." Suddenly, the fears of a drug users' paradise turning into a haven for drug crime and an economy undermined by it had burst into the open. Shock at murder of Dutch lawyer in gangster case "A few incidents over the last few years were like a sign on the wall," explains Wouter Loumans whose bestseller, Mocro Mafia, is a story charting the rise of a new generation of criminals in Amsterdam. "The signs were there that it could flow over from the underworld to the upper world, and now that has happened." Loumans lists a series of incidents as evidence of the escalating brutality: Two young boys killed in Kalashnikov shootout with bullets ricocheting off walls A mother murdered in front of her children A severed head outside a coffee shop The murder of a crown witness's brother, Reduan B The murder of lawyer Derk Wiersum [More] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50821542 I'd never heard a word about this before! 😮

Tulsi Gabbard Was The Only Member Of Congress To Vote "Present" For Donald Trump's Impeachment Rep. Tulsi Gabbard voted "present" on the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, one of the sharpest splits she has made with the Democratic Party while seeking its presidential nomination. "After doing my due diligence in reviewing the 658-page impeachment report, I came to the conclusion that I could not in good conscience vote either yes or no," Gabbard said in a statement from her presidential campaign after the vote. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also appeared surprised when she read someone voted "present" as she gaveled out the vote on the first article. ... Gabbard said she is "standing in the center" with her present votes. "I could not in good conscience vote against impeachment because I believe President Trump is guilty of wrongdoing," she said. "I also could not in good conscience vote for impeachment because removal of a sitting President must not be the culmination of a partisan process, fueled by tribal animosities that have so gravely divided our country." Gabbard, who is not running for reelection in Congress, has been all over the map on impeachment since the process began. In October, she appeared on Sean Hannity's Fox News show to criticize the lack of transparency of Democrats' impeachment process. “I don't know what's going on in those closed doors,” she said. This week, she introduced a resolution that would censure Trump, rather than impeach him. In her statement Wednesday night, she said the resolution would "send a strong message to this president and future presidents that their abuses of power will not go unchecked, while leaving the question of removing Trump from office to the voters to decide." ... https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/mattberman/tulsi-gabbard-impeach-trump-present?bfsource=relatedmanual

Getting into the Christmas spirit ...

Here you go: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=vietnam gas masks Just a while ago I heard a horrendous racket outside. I looked and saw Somchai walking down the street spraying DDT or some other no doubt banned pesticide into all the bushes and under the cars. One man came running out of his house, which had just been douched with the crap. He stood there glaring at the sprayer but said nothing. I hope this doesn't eliminate all of the wildlife, though it's no doubt aimed at the aedes mosquitoes. Like as not, it will kill everything except them, besides not doing the humans any good either.