Cannabidiol, or CBD, is a compound that can be extracted
from marijuana or from hemp. It doesn't get people high because it
doesn't contain THC, the psychoactive component of the cannabis plant.
Getty Images
The Food and Drug Administration is holding its first public hearing
on CBD, the cannabis extract that has quickly grown into a
billion-dollar industry. Today's hearing will help officials determine
how to regulate CBD products.
The compound can be extracted
from marijuana or from hemp. It's promoted as a way to ease anxiety and
inflammation – and it doesn't get people high because it doesn't contain
THC, the psychoactive component of the cannabis plant.
People
are using oils with cannabidiol, or CBD, to help with everything from
menstrual cramps to insomnia. While the hype around CBD has gotten ahead
of the science, there are a growing number of small studies that do point to some health benefits. But the FDA has concerns over how these products are marketed, and is seeking more data about their safety.
"Questions remain regarding the safety considerations raised by the widespread use of these products," FDA officials wrote in a Federal Register notice
about today's hearing. "These questions could impact the approaches we
consider taking in regulating the development and marketing of
products."
Good morning everyone I hope you stayed nice and dry this week with all the rain we had gotten. I also hope you did get to enjoy your Memorial Day weekend. Here are your questions.
1) Do you have anyone that is going to be graduating this year?
The United States has entered its terminal phase and most of its
citizens are as blithely unaware of this reality as they were of the
impending dissolution of the Soviet system in the late 1980’s. On the
surface each one projects its hegemony and influence far beyond their
limitations through a combination of propaganda and threats. Both
systems were thoroughly corrupted, perhaps from their inception, but
certainly and absolutely as they neared their nadir, yet both systems
affected a nonchalance that soon- very soon, every knee would bend
before their majesty and morally superior aspirations.
For the USSR it was based upon the trite concept that everyone should
share equally of the labors of others when no such possibility ever
existed during mankind’s reign over the Earth. In America it was the
equally vapid and hollow claim that all men are created equal when no
such thing had ever been so at any time, nor could it ever be possible.
To base an entire national mythos on pure sophistry is a guarantee of
failure and yet their remains an eternal optimism rooted in these
fanciful phrases that distorted and diffused before our eyes.
The elites always managed somehow, regardless of the system and its
ideals, to rise above equality and find a toehold in a neo-aristocracy,
where rather than blood-ties, loyalties were developed in the
institutions and secret societies; Ivy League universities, Intelligence
agencies, International banking cartels, Media conglomerates and
Corporate boardrooms. The differences between the Politburo under
Gorbachev and the current Congress are more noticeable in attire and
decor rather than in behavior and outcomes.
In America today here is a complete symbiosis between the organs of
information- the MSM- and the political parties and their apparatchiks,
and it is used solely for the control of the populations and the
promotion of The Narrative rather than as a means of explaining the
events of the day. Much in the same way that the Soviet Union new
organizations Pravda (Truth) and Izvestia (News) were able to control
information to such a degree that the people of the USSR joked that
“there is no truth in Pravda and no news in Izvestia”, the current state
of media in America is summed up in the equally derogatory slur. “Fake
News”.
The populations are keenly aware that they are being misled, but are
powerless - in their minds - to do anything about it. The problem of
course isn’t that the populations fail to believe the lies, but that the
elites of both systems have chosen falsehoods as their basic premise
for rule. Any system predicated upon falsehoods cannot survive the
exposure of those lies when reality comes knocking.
The cucks and cons are doubling down on their virtue-signaling and
attacking the defenders of civilization in the vain hopes that the
barbarians they have championed will barbecue them last while in the
meantime the very ground beneath their feet is beginning to crumble.
They believed, wrongly, that civilization is an abstraction. They
foolishly mistook Thomas Jefferson's meaningless, high-flying political
rhetoric for material reality and placed their faith in it. And in their
sanctimonious refusal to defend civilization, they are very nearly as
much to blame as the progressives who have been actively attempting to
tear it down.
Every society comes to an end in time. And that end usually comes as a complete surprise to most of its inhabitants. UPDATE: Oh sweet overturned statues of Thomas Jefferson...
I’m not a liberal conservative, but if we’re going to prevail it will be with David French and men like him.
Hello, my lovely kumquats! How are you? Are you enjoying the spring weather? Ugh, we get one nice day and then a week of rain or overcast skies. It's almost June and our temperatures are still in the 40's. It will be summer before spring arrives. But, nope, climate change is phony science. The Arctic melts down all the time and we always see this many tornadoes and hurricanes. Our country is ripped up, top to bottom, every year. Yeah, that's it. Such statements are common. Why don't some people want to admit that we've screwed up the climate? Are they afraid it's a lefty plot? Plot to do what? Make them honest?
The Journal Times reports that the city of Racine's population is dwindling. No surprise there. I'm just shocked that so many people choose to stay. I'm sure that jobs and families play a part, but for those who are unattached, why don't they take off. It must be that RUSD education that keeps them here. No worry about a brain drain: we don't have brains.
Foxcon keeps taking back little bits of its promises each day. Whatever develops on the site, it's not going to be what was originally announced. Before Foxcon is through, they'll have us pay them to not manufacture in Mount Pleasant. What a disaster! The millions and millions of dollars that Mount Pleasant has borrowed to meet Foxcon's needs may well never be paid back. Then watch your property taxes jump.
It's funny how the businesses moving into downtown Racine are always broadcast over the area but the businesses that are leaving downtown are rarely mentioned. So many of these businesses fail that it's impossible to keep count. People have lost their retirement savings or even their life savings. Downtown Racine Corp. is always talking about the "positives" of downtown that a prospective tenant might think there is more foot traffic than there actually is. I keep thinking of the story of Taos Chili that opened up on 6th St. and Wisconsin Ave. The man had to do so much work to the infrastructure of his business. Dewey;s down the street was granted exemptions from many of the ordinances that suffocated Taos Chili. The owner even said he had lost all of his savings. The business lasted around 6 months. I guess it's good to have some connections to City Hall. With the right people on your side, you can get a variance for almost anything.
Hey, have we come up with any new ideas for Monument Square? It's such a mess that we have to redo it. Ha-ha-ha!
Señor Zanza's sister, Señorita Zena, has left. What a pleasant person. She can stay with us anytime. She's more well-mannered than Señor Zanza, and cleaner, too. Let's hope she doesn't change.
I love you all and thank you for reading my blog today. We writers need readers and vice versa. Let's all express our love for each other.
Have a great week. Try not to let the weather get you down. It has to stop raining long enough for us to plant our plants outdoors. Of course, the first ones have already drowned. Let's keep the second generation covered and protected. _________________________ Please donate: paypal.me/jgmazelisIf you don't like PayPal, send me a note at madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com and I'll send you my street address so you can send a check or money order. Thank you.
I’m Art Kumbalek and man oh manischewitz what a world,
ain’a? Hey, how ’bout an update on the Art Kumbalek Spring Fund Drive?
Okey-doke, can do.
So, a big thanks to reader J.E. from out of the great state of
Maryland (where the Black-eyed Susan remains the state flower, even
during these #MeToo times, yikes!) for the buck two-eighty and the
medicinal solvent of which I have followed the doctor’s orders—“two
ounces over ice repeatedly as needed.” However Dr. J, I still feel like
I’m running a couple, three quarts low. Any additional donation in this
regard would be greatly appreciated, I kid you not.
And to my dear reader Ingrid/Mae, hope you are well, wherever you be.
Anyways, I got to say, again, that now we’re post-Memorial Day, we
got the goddamn summer season smacking us square in the face. All that
racket. All that festive ethnic hoopla. And all the knuckleheads
complaining about the mosquitos and the goddamn persistent yellow-jacket
bee stingers. Seems like I say this every year, and cripes, maybe I do,
what the fock. But, onward into charted territory we go.
Listen: Any knobshine bitching on mosquitos is obviously some
knobshine who’s spending time outdoors. What the hell’s the matter with
you? You want to duck the mosquitos? Park your whining butt indoors just
like any right-thinking guy does each and every season of the year.
Case closed. You got a problem with outdoor bugs, don’t come crying to
me. I told you what to do.
And while we’re on the subject, do we really need the infinitudinal
number of focking species of bugs we seem to have on god’s green Earth
every time you turn around? For christ sakes, according to my research
we got upwards 500 billion types of insect species on and in our
world—all created for the purpose of nothing other than to bug the hell
out of you and me, or at least give us a good case of the
heebie-jeebies, ain’a?
These goddamn insects go parading around all the time so high and
mighty, and yet even though they know that one eventual day they will
inherit the Earth and be the big cheese-olas ’cause Al Qaeda finally got
hold of some kind of big-time nervy biological germ/gas/spray that
wipes out everything on two legs, beard or no beard—oops!—these insects
are still supremely motivated to bug us all the time because the average
sapien Homo gets dealt an average lifespan of 65-70 years if everything
breaks right, while the average focking bug gets cut like a day and a
focking half. And they are pissed but good about the disparity. Don’t
ask me how they know but they do, I kid you not.
Well, fock ’em. If I were in charge of things, I’d make it that only
two kinds of bugs were necessary on this planet: Squished, and more
squished.
These focking insects and what have you don’t know when they got it
good. Jeez louise, if you were a bug criminal and got sentenced to do
hard time, what would that come to? About 22 focking hours I figure. And
you could get through bug high school in about two and a half hours
(still more time than a lot of sapien students put in, granted); so big
focking deal.
I wish these bugs could find some time to learn to do something
constructive during their puny lifespan period instead of just bug us
all the time. But until those bugs get some sense into whatever they got
for heads; I say we squash ’em, and squash ’em good.
Yeah yeah, it would be a hoot to come back in a couple, three million
years or so when the bugs are the top dogs, ain’a? I wonder if they’ll
still be eating each other, or if evolution will have provided them a
more reasonable if not relaxed disposition. I’ll bet a buck two-eighty
their museums would be mighty interesting. Instead of dinosaurs, they’ll
have a life-size Mom, Pop, Buddy, Sis and Grandma, burning the bird on a
grill at the backyard picnic. The insects will clatter into the flashy
exhibit room and there’ll be these snazzy illusional lighting effects
that cram the span of the picnic into about three minutes. Sure,
there’ll be sound effects: music from a crappy classic-rock radio
station; Grandma wondering where the fock she left her teeth; Pop
yelling at Buddy to go get a focking job; and Sis on her phone figuring
out what to wear at the funeral after she kills herself ’cause her
family sucks.
You bet it’ll be a popular display at the bug museum, but I’m betting
the petrified pile of dog shit will always be numero uno with the
winged and many-legged crowd, ’cause I’m Art Kumbalek and I told you so.
The LA Times reports that a knife wielding man attacked a group of schoolchildren, then killed himself. Knife-wielding man attacks schoolgirls in Japan, killing 2 We better enact knife control now before we become another Japan. People who wish to purchase knives should be subject to a background check. Also, there should be a "cooling off" period between the purchase of knives and the receiving of them. Finally, the government should be empowered to seize knives without notice.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer was cut off at the BottleRock Napa Valley festival on Saturday night for violating the outdoor event’s 10 p.m. curfew.
But that didn’t stop 73-year-old Young and his accompanying band, Promise of the Real, from finishing their final song, “Rockin’ in the Free World.”
As video from the event shows, they continued to play through their stage amps ― and the crowd helped make up for the lack of volume by singing along.
Someone can be seen running out onto the stage around the 7:45-mark in the clip, possibly to warn Young of what was about to happen. About 20 seconds later, the main audio was cut:
The
Huntington Canyon coal-fired power plant in Utah. The White House,
already pursuing major rollbacks of greenhouse-gas emission
restrictions, is amplifying its attack on fundamental climate-science
conclusions.CreditCreditBrandon Thibodeaux for The New York Times
WASHINGTON — President Trump has rolled back environmental regulations, pulled the United States out of the Paris climate accord,
brushed aside dire predictions about the effects of climate change, and
turned the term “global warming” into a punch line rather than a
prognosis.
Now, after two years spent
unraveling the policies of his predecessors, Mr. Trump and his
political appointees are launching a new assault.
In
the next few months, the White House will complete the rollback of the
most significant federal effort to curb greenhouse-gas emissions,
initiated during the Obama administration. It will expand its efforts to
impose Mr. Trump’s hard-line views on other nations, building on his
retreat from the Paris accord and his recent refusal to sign a communiqué to protect the rapidly melting Arctic region unless it was stripped of any references to climate change.
And,
in what could be Mr. Trump’s most consequential action yet, his
administration will seek to undermine the very science on which climate
change policy rests.
MADISON — Elected to represent the
48th Assembly District, state Rep. Melissa Sargent, D-Madison, has been
“legislating through listening” to her 60,000 constituents since 2012.
The stories and concerns she heard from voters in her district have
launched Sargent on an unexpected journey, sending her on a mission that
she never anticipated when she first ran for office.
Sargent,
who says she has never used marijuana, has concluded that prohibition
of the drug is ruining the lives of a large number of Wisconsin
residents.
Sargent recalled
talking to a mother whose child — a recent high school graduate ready
for college — was pulled over for failing to use a turn signal and cited
for marijuana possession. Sargent does not know what happened to the
student, but she said such a ticket can lead to “egregious”
consequences, including lost scholarships and housing.
At
an April press conference, Sargent introduced Sarah Fabry, a registered
nurse who used cannabis and later cannabidiol (CBD) to treat her
Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel condition. Fabry said she took
care of patients desperate to get cannabis for loved ones with agonizing
end-stage cancer pain. She believes legalization would ease a lot of
suffering.
Fabry said her view
of marijuana users has radically changed, from “the stereotypical
pothead” to “your grandma, your spouse, your child, yourself.”
Previously, Democrats Sen. Jon Erpenbach of West Point and Rep. Chris Taylor of Madison have introduced bills to legalize medical marijuana,
but those measures did not pass. Taylor aide Chet Agni said a new
medical marijuana bill is being drafted — and this time around, it has
bipartisan support.
“I was on a
pretty lonely ship about five years ago when I put this bill out,”
Sargent recalled. “There were people quite frankly in the Capitol
building that didn’t want to talk to me. They thought that I was I
really out of touch.”
MLK was a mouthpiece for 'peace'. Decide for yourself if that is a
good thing. But that's why he was iconned and protected.
War vs Peace
(absolute monarchy, militarism, nationalism, traditionalism, etc. ...
VS ... constitutional monarchies/governments, World Order (anti
nation-state), opened economies (mixed), international arbitration,
interfaithism, universalism/brotherhood and nearly everything else you
see around you today)
Since Napoleonic Wars (despite all the setbacks like American Civil
War) elite Anglo-American "peace" agenda (in action, ideals obviously
go back further) was sold to Christian nations then increasingly sold
worldwide. See those Peace Societies bloom! (wasn't peasants behind
them) That's why nothing much MLK said in his Nobel lecture would
concern old family liberal protestants who set off the 'ordered world
of peace' agenda.
It's no secret most Republicans and Democrats both support world
peace/liberal international order. Two sides of same peace coin. MLK
was an obedient field negro in service to Anglo-American led Empire of
'Peace'. Anglo guys speaking imperial words of peace to brown peoples
of world doesn't work as well (kind of like how having sincere,
*unwilling-to-deceive* Christians in likes of media doesn't help in
creating the "international mind" required for World Order. Thanks
Hofjuden.). MLK was a good boy, telling poorer brown nations they
needed West to come in and educate them, mold them, generally selling
universal fellowship, world unity.
War vs Peace
http://voxday.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-end-of-martin-luther-king-day.html#comment-form
North
Korea on Monday called US National Security Adviser John Bolton a "war
monger" and "defective human product" after he claimed that Pyongyang's
recent short-range missile tests were a violation of UN Security Council
resolutions, according to CBS News, citing an unnamed North Korean foreign ministry spokesman.
The comments come amid President Trump's visit with Japanese Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe, during which the North Korean nuclear discussions
are likely to be high on the agenda.
North Korea tested short-range ballistic missiles on May 4 and 9,
ending a pause in launches that began in late 2017. The tests have been
seen as a way for North Korea to pressure Washington to soften its
stance on easing sanctions against it without actually causing
negotiations to collapse. -CBS News
On Saturday, Bolton told reporters in Tokyo that he had "no
doubt" that North Korea's launches violated UN resolutions, which
justifies keeping sanctions in place. According to Reuters, Japan shares Bolton's view on the matter. North Korea's Central New Agency, the North Korean
Spokesman, said that the North was rightfully exercising its rights of
self-defense by conducting the launches. "Demanding us to ban all
launches using ballistic technology regardless of range is same with
asking us to relinquish our rights for self-defense," said a spokesman,
who added that Bolton is an "ignorant" hard-liner who has
consistently pushed provocative policies against North Korea - including
pre-emptive strikes and regime change.
The spokesman also said Bolton's "hammer act" was responsible for the collapse of a major nuclear deal between the countries reached in 1994,
when the North agreed to halt its nuclear program in exchange for U.S.
fuel aid. The deal broke down in 2002 after U.S. intelligence agencies
said North Korea was continuing its pursuit of bombs with a secret
uranium enrichment program.
"Bolton should not be called a security adviser who works to
secure security, but an adviser for security destruction who destroys
peace and security," the spokesman said. "It's not that strange that crooked
sound will always come out the mouth of a man who is structurally
flawed, and it's best that this defective human product goes away as
soon as possible." -CBS News
Famed for having six wives, Henry VIII's love life is today the subject
of much scholarship and speculation. But what do we know about the
king's extra-marital liaisons – the mistresses who shared his bed? Here,
Amy Licence investigates
Residents of the majority-white southeast corner of Baton Rouge want to
make their own city, complete with its own schools, breaking away from
the majority-black parts of town.
The fight began
with little subtlety. White, wealthy parents in the southeastern corner
of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, an area known as St. George,
wanted their own school district. They argued that the schools in East
Baton Rouge were routinely named as among the lowest performing in the
state, and were unlikely to improve any time soon. So, in 2012, some of
those parents went to the state legislature with a proposal: Create what
would be called the Southeast Community School District.
The
legislature shot it down. The parents needed a two-thirds majority for
the creation of a school district, and they couldn’t marshal the votes. A
similar push in 2013 was rebuffed as well.
The organizers were
discouraged, but undeterred. They needed a new strategy—and they didn’t
have to look far. In 2005, a nearby community, Central, was unable to
gather support for a school district from the legislature, so it
incorporated as a new city. That helped it gain legislative approval to
create its own school district, Central Community Schools, which opened
its doors in 2007. The St. George supporters launched a petition drive
and, in August 2013, registered a new website: StGeorgeLouisiana.com. They would try to create their own city.
A
pattern has emerged over the past two decades: White, wealthy
communities have been separating from their city’s school districts to
form their own. According to a recent report from EdBuild,
a nonprofit focused on public-school funding, 73 communities have split
to form their own school districts since 2000, and the rate of places
doing so has rapidly accelerated in the past two years. St. George, which activists seek to incorporate as a city, is a textbook example.
A Minnesota contractor has won a job to build a water main to serve
Foxconn Technology Group’s factory in Mount Pleasant, beating out two
other firms with a bid that nonetheless came in nearly $2 million higher
than officials had expected.
Rockville, Minnesota-based S.J. Louis Construction won a contract to
install a transmission water main for the Racine Water and Wastewater
Utility as part of the agency’s broader effort to improve its
infrastructure to support Foxconn’s flatscreen-manufacturing plant,
which is expected to draw millions of gallons of water off Lake Michigan
a day.
S.J. Louis’ $14.2 million bid beat out Pewaukee-based Globe
Contractors’ $14.3 million offer and a $14.9 million bid from Menomonee
Falls-based Super Excavators. The Racine Water and Wastewater Utility
estimated that the job would cost $12.8 million. Bids closed on April
24.
The Racine Wastewater utility has bid out a flurry of jobs in recent
months as part of a $120 million plan to overhaul the county’s water and
sewer system. Water-utility projects are starting near the factory and
working eastward in keeping with a construction schedule set by the
Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
RACINE COUNTY — These local parades and programs are scheduled to be held in observance of Memorial Day:
Saturday
Sturtevant Memorial Day Parade:
The parade starts at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 26, at Schulte Elementary
School, 8515 Westminster Drive, Sturtevant, and proceeds north on 86th
Street, west on Buckingham Drive, west on Broadway Drive, north on 97th
Street, east on Hulda Drive and north on 95th Street. Ceremony follows
at South Park, 95th Street and Hulda Drive.
Sunday
Southern Wisconsin Veterans Cemetery Memorial Day Program, 11 a.m., at the cemetery, 21731 Spring St., Dover.
Monday
Memorial Day Parade:
Organized by the Racine Area Veterans Council, the Racine Memorial Day
Parade steps off promptly at 10 a.m. Monday, May 27, at West Boulevard
and Washington Avenue, Racine, and will end with a memorial ceremony at
Graceland Cemetery’s Veterans Memorial, shortly after 11 a.m.
Veterans Memorial Day Parade:
Parade starts at 9 a.m. Monday, May 27, at Kane and Edward streets and
proceeds through Downtown Burlington. Ends at Echo Park for the
Veteran’s ceremonial tribute at approximately 10 a.m.
Founded in 1997, Jefferson’s is the brainchild of Trey Zoeller and his father Chet, a famed bourbon historian. They were continuing a family tradition that goes back to Trey’s 8th generation grandmother who was arrested in 1799 for the “production and sales of spirituous liquors.” To personify the brand, they chose Thomas Jefferson—known for his curiosity and experimental spirit. This is a mindset to which Trey has dedicated himself, pushing the boundaries of the definition of bourbon. Upholding tradition, yet always discovering new possibilities.
CASHMERE, Wash. (WTVO) -- Trouble snowballed for a man who
accidentally shot himself in the testicles and was then found to be
hiding marijuana in his buttocks, according to police.
The Wenatchee World News reports
that 27-year-old Cameron Jeffrey Wilson was carrying a gun in his front
pocket on April 5 when it accidentally went off, piercing his testicles
and embedding itself in his inner thigh.
When doctors at the hospital tried to operate, a balloon filled with marijuana fell out of his anus.
Police arrived to search Wilson's car and found a bag of meth, according to the report.
Wilson,
a convicted felon, was then transported to the Chelan County Jail where
he was strip-searched -- and another balloon of marijuana fell out of
his anus.
Wilson was charged with being a felon in possession of a
firearm and unlawful possession of meth and possession of a controlled
substance in a correctional facility.
He pleaded not guilty on all charges and awaits his next court date on June 18.
The New York City Department of Education has instructed its
teachers that “objectivity” and “individuals” are “white supremacist”
concepts.
According to a report from the New York Times,
Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza gave a presentation about “white
supremacy” culture. In the lesson, Carranza claims that concepts like
“perfectionism,” “paternalism,” and “objectivity” are part of “white
supremacy culture.”
Surprisingly, documents from Carranza’s presentation do little to tie
these concepts to “white supremacy.” A graphic from Carranza’s lesson
explains why “objectivity” is a negative concept. “This can lead to the
belief that there is an ultimate truth and that alternative viewpoints
or emotions are bad, it’s even inherent in the ‘belief that there is
such a thing as being objective,'” the graphic reads.
A separate section of the graphic explains why Carranza lumps
“individuality” into with “white supremacy culture.” “This idea is found
among people who have ‘little experience of comfort working as part of a
team.’ It can lead to isolation, and emphasize competition over
cooperation,” the graphic reads.
As many of you know this month is the bird migration so I do not see Drew to much. Plus I have to drive him to different places he would like me to take him. I have seen a lot of birds on our patio like Humming Birds, House Sparrows, Cardinals, Catbirds Grackles Starlings and Gold Finches they come to the feeders. I am going to be sharing some pictures with everyone as much as I can keep up with.
This is a Green Heron at Myers Park Racine Wi on 5/3/2019.
This is a Coopers Hawk at the Lighthouse in Wind Point Wi 5/5/2019
This is a Baltimore Oriole at Colonial Park in Racine Wi 5/7/2019
This is a Orchid Oriole at Grant Park in South Milwaukee Wi 5/11/2019
This is a Red Headed Woodpecker at Grant Park in South Milwaukee Wi 5/11/2019
This is a Red Breasted Grosbeak at Grant Park in South Milwaukee Wi 5/11/2019
This is just the start of some of Drew's pictures he has taken so far this year and there is a lot more to come. I hope that everyone enjoys the pictures.
Hello, kiddos! How are you? Isn't this lovely weather? Cold and rain. What is it, November? At least we've had a couple of nice weekends. Where the hell is spring? Please, Mother Nature, come to your senses and straighten out the weather. I'm tired of dressing for winter in the spring. And I miss the sun sorely. Please let that shine a lot. Please.
Big news: Señor Zanza introduced me to his sister Señorita Zena. I about dropped my turban. Suddenly, one day, there's a young woman at the door and its her. She's traveling the country and stopped to say hi to her brother. I had no idea that he had any siblings. He keeps so much to himself. Anyway, the three of us had some tea and a nice chat. Señorita Zena. just graduated from college and is going to see the country before settling down. He major in school was Business Administration. 4.0 gpa. She won't have trouble finding work. She just has to make sure that she isn't exploited.
Señorita Zena.is staying with us for a few days. She's a pleasant person and I appreciate the company. Like her brother, though, she's pretty tight lipped about her past. Did these people just beam down from a UFO?
I read the article in the Journal Times where all the bicyclists were bitching and moaning about the state of our bike pathways. Once, when driving on Lake Avenue, I was confronted with six kids on bicycles headed straight for me. They were going the wrong direction, riding six abreast. I just hit my brakes and waited. They drove past me, but not without some kicks to the car. What did I do to them? What's wrong with people these days? Everyone is pissed off.
I have some advice for Trump regarding the Iran situation: nuke them. Just turn the country into molten glass. Why do we let countries that are smaller than some of our states threaten and cajole us? They're warning us about the results of war? My God, squash the bug. That might make a few other countries take notice. Maybe some of them will then shut up about us while taking our foreign aid. If anybody doesn't like it, cut off their aid. Why are we supporting the countries that terrorize us? End the madness. Push the button.
As I read the news in the Journal Times, I get more and more depressed. Fights, drugs, hit and runs, burglaries, robberies, child abuse and more are in every issue. Makes me think of moving, but you can't escape the garbage. People today are proud of their stupidity. The light turned green the other day and I pulled out into traffic. Some idiot making an illegal U-turn started screaming and swearing at me for getting in his way. He followed me for awhile, screaming all the time. I put the dreaded Zoltar Curse on him and he shut up quick.
The newspaper keeps talking about Foxcon and all the great things that are coming. Yet, we've seen nothing of them. So far it's just been talk. I know that Mr. Mayor Cory Lawn Gnome gets excited by the talk. He keeps telling us, "Just wait." Wait till hell freezes over? All of this bounty has fallen into his lap. Instead of acting grateful, he acts as if it's all his doing. Mayor Butterball is for the rich, as almost all politicians. There's no profit in being for the poor.
That's it my friends. As always, I'm thrilled and honored to write a blog for you all. I love you all and God bless you all.
Pray to the sun god, Sol, for some relief. We should be running around in shorts, not toting our winter coats. C'mon sky, crack open that gray and let the sunshine in. People are sick of this, including me. _________________________ Please donate: paypal.me/jgmazelisIf you don't like PayPal, send me a note at madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com and I'll send you my street address so you can send a check or money order. Thank you.
A mail carrier for the United States Postal Service
makes deliveries at a Florida apartment complex in June 2018. The USPS
has partnered with TuSimple to launch a multi-state driverless
semi-truck test program on Tuesday. It doesn't involve home deliveries.
Brynn Anderson/AP
The U.S. Postal Service is experimenting with self-driving trucks to move mail across state lines.
The USPS has partnered with San Diego-based TuSimple on a two-week pilot program, focusing solely on a 1,000-mile route between Dallas and Phoenix.
TuSimple's
Chief Product Officer Chuck Price told NPR the test runs, which began
on Tuesday, will help the Postal Service "become future-ready." The aim
of the program, according to the Postal Service, is "to accommodate a
diverse mail mix, enhance safety, improve service, reduce emissions, and
produce operational savings."
It will involve five round
trips, traveling major interstates that cross Arizona, New Mexico and
Texas. Each truck will have a "safety engineer" and driver on board for
the duration of the pilot to monitor vehicle performance and to ensure
public safety.
I’m Art Kumbalek and man oh manischewitz what a world, ain’a? So listen,
it’s that time of year again that finds me pounding the pavement trying
to get one of these commencement speaker gigs, what the fock.
But first, I got to send a big ol’ Badger shout-out over to the gang
at Madtown’s Crystal Corner Bar (thanks for reading) “charm school” on
Williamson Street there for a focking thoughtful donation (five Nixon$,
no Jackson$, it’s complicated) to the Art Kumbalek Spring Fund Drive
(good works guaranteed, or at least a couple, three good cocktails for
the namesake).
Makes me think I would’ve been a good choice for UW-Madison’s
graduation gasbag, seeing as how I had some academic experience there
way-back-when tear/pepper gas in the air was a familiar springtime
sort-of fragrance. God bless America—forget about it, not for me, not
then. And now I’m thinking “what’s old is going to be new again,” good
lord, what the fock.
But UW never got back to me about the gig, go figure. But I’m still
on my annual search for anybody who’s got a bunch of graduates who need
speaking to—be they of College, High, Tech, Trade, or Matchbook School;
Middle School; Academy Charter Institute of Some Learning for Young
People; Grade School; Prison Substance-Abuse Good-Neighbor Sanity
Program for Early Release; Pre-School; Nursery School; Daycare Center
Who Employs a Bus Driver Who Can Conduct a Head-Count—I’m your talking
head. You pony up 50 bucks with a case of ice-cold bottled beer, and
I’ll be there. And even if you already got a mouthpiece for your
ceremonial shindig, perhaps you could send 50 bucks my way anyways as a
gratuity for my generous offer to you, I kid you not.
So, what would I say to your students about to fly your scholastic coop?
Well sir, I always enjoy to kick-off my speechifying remarks with a humorous anecdote, maybe something that goes like this: Little Jimmy was on his way to visit his grandmother. Seated next
to him on the plane was an adult stranger who turned to little Jimmy
and said, “Let's talk. I’ve heard that flights pass by more quickly if
you strike up a conversation with your fellow passenger.” And little
Jimmy, who had just opened a book in the series of “A Series of
Unfortunate Events,” closed it slowly and said to the stranger, “What
would you like to talk about?” “How about nuclear power?” the stranger said. And little Jimmy
said, “OK, that could be an interesting topic. But let me ask you a
question first: A horse, a cow and a deer all eat grass. The same stuff,
yet a deer excretes little pellets, while a cow turns out a flat patty
and a horse produces clumps of dried grass. Why do you suppose that is?” “How about that,” the stranger said, “I have no idea.” “Well, then,” little Jimmy said, “how is it that you feel qualified to discuss nuclear power when you don't know shit?” Ba-ding! And then I might say: In my effort to whip something
together for you’s to listen to today, I reflected upon what I wished
someone had said to me when I was your age. And what I wished is that
someone would had told me that a long lost, distant relative had croaked
and left me a hundred million bucks, that’s what. Sadly, I never got
that message and I’ll bet a buck two-eighty that none of you ever did
either, ’cause otherwise why would you be sitting here today listening
to me? If you had a hundred-million bucks, hey, screw school, ain’a? Then, I might refer back to the Little Jimmy story and say:
Sure, you might be walking out of here with some kind of diploma but you
don’t know shit, and if you’re smart you’ll want to remind yourself of
that each and every day. The smartest thing one of the smartest guys I
ever read about said more than 2,000 years ago, “I know nothing except
the fact of my ignorance.” And that’s really all you need to know. Yes,
you may learn a lot outside these institutional walls but as long as you
know that you don’t know shit, you ought to pass on through the big,
wide, world with honors just fine. And if I haven’t yet been removed from the stage by campus security, I might conclude with this, as always:
Finally, I ought to tell you that as you disembark out of this
institution of some kind of learning so as to embark upon
who-in-the-hell-ever-really-does-know, I’ve always found it wise to
regard what we call “life” as one big butt-kicking banquet; and although
unfortunately the only thing served at this banquet is crap casserole, I
do believe that one can learn to develop a taste for it. Bon appétit
and bon voyage ’cause I’m Art Kumbalek and I told you so.
Racine County Circuit Court Judge Michael Piontek is shown during a sentencing in 2015. GREGORY SHAVER, Journal Times file photo
MADISON — A Racine County judge will be suspended for five days without
pay, after the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that he his behavior was
"concerning" and "obviously unethical" in regards to two 2014 court
cases.
The unanimous court, in an unsigned
order Tuesday, said that Racine County Circuit Court Judge Michael
Piontek's judicial misconduct in two cases from 2014 warranted the
suspension.
The
ruling comes after a panel of three Wisconsin court of appeals judges
in January recommended Piontek be suspended for between five and 15 days
without pay. Piontek had urged the panel to recommend “a public
reprimand only,” the ruling document states.
For the last several years, we reported an increase of suicides by taxi drivers in New York City was the result of insurmountable debts and financial stress of medallion owners.
During the halving of medallion prices in the last four years, industry
leaders and officials conveniently blamed ride-hailing companies such
as Uber and Lyft.
But a New York Times report revealed much of financial stress could be linked to industry leaders who artificially drove up prices, creating a huge bubble that would eventually implode.
In the last 12 years, thousands of foreigners poured their life
savings into scammy loans and had hundreds of millions of dollars
extracted from them by financial institutions.
Bankers, brokers, lawyers, investors, fleet owners, and debt collectors generated huge profits from these business practices. These people became multimillionaires, Wall Street cheered, and medallion brokers bought yachts and waterfront properties.
These predatory practices robbed immigrant families of all their
monies, overwhelmed drivers with large debt loads, and collapsed an
industry that has been so iconic to New York for more than five decades.
The Times said 950 medallion owners have filed for bankruptcy and thousands more are on the verge of financial ruin.
The Times noted that lending practices were as fraudulent as the
subprime mortgage industry pre-summer 2007, that eventually led to the
2008 global economic meltdown.
"The whole thing was like a Ponzi scheme because it totally depended on the value going up," said Haywood Miller, a debt specialist who has consulted for both borrowers and lenders.
"The part that wasn't fair was the guy who's buying is an immigrant, maybe someone who couldn't speak English. They were conned."
The combination of the Federal Reserve's easy money and enthusiastic
borrowers helped prices soar from 2002 to 2014. The money was so good
that major financial institutions wanted in on the taxi industry after
2008.
The Times even said industry leaders were artificially bidding up
medallions to keep the scheme from imploding, moving prices from
$200,000 per medallion, to more than $1,000,000 in 2014. During this
period of rapid price inflation, driver incomes hardly changed, while
Wall Street speculated with thousands of people's lives.
Almost 4,000 drivers bought medallions in those 12 years. These
people, mostly foreigners, were excited to achieve the American dream,
but the debt-fuelled Ponzi scheme of Wall Street, for the most part,
left them all holding the bag.
"Much of the devastation can be traced to a handful of powerful
industry leaders who steadily and artificially drove up the price of
taxi medallions, creating a bubble that eventually burst. Over more than
a decade, they channeled thousands of drivers into reckless loans and
extracted hundreds of millions of dollars before the market collapsed."
"The practices were strikingly similar to those behind the housing
market crash that led to the 2008 global economic meltdown: Banks and
loosely regulated private lenders wrote risky loans and encouraged
frequent refinancing; drivers took on debt they could not afford, under
terms they often did not understand…Some industry leaders fed the frenzy
by purposefully overpaying for medallions in order to inflate prices,
The Times discovered.
"As in the housing crash, government officials ignored warning signs
and exempted lenders from regulations. The city Taxi and Limousine
Commission went the furthest of all, turning into a cheerleader for
medallion sales. It was tasked with regulating the industry, but as
prices skyrocketed, it sold new medallions and began declaring they were
"better than the stock market." …At the market's height, medallion
buyers were typically earning about $5,000 a month and paying about
$4,500 to their loans," according to the report.
The implosion of the taxi medallion bubble was nothing more than a
Ponzi scheme that enabled Wall Street bankers to extract hundreds of
millions of dollars from low-income foreigners. The story about Uber and
Lyft was just a cover for what really happened.