Saturday, November 19, 2016

A little discussed fact about a favorite holiday mixer.

November 20, 2016
By Imogen Blake

Ginger beer (click here) has undergone a major rebrand in the last few years as companies target the middle classes with artisan bottles that boast traditional recipes and botanical ingredients.

But despite its sophisticated image, a shocking new study has revealed that the fiery beverage contains more sugar than any other fizzy drink - even beating Coca-Cola, Daily Mail reports.

The average glass of ginger beer contains a whopping 38.5g of sugar - the equivalent of just over eight teaspoons - according to the research by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) Open.
A glass of Coke, on the other hand, contains 35g - that's about seven teaspoons.
But ginger beer's cousin, ginger ale, was found to be the fizzy drink with the lowest amount of sugar on average....

Protect the entitlements now!

How many Americans knew there was an slight lifting of "The Cap?"

....The federal government (click here) has increased the Social Security cap significantly for 2017. The amount of workers’ earnings that is subject to Social Security taxes is capped each year (called maximum taxable earnings). In 2016, the maximum earnings subject to Social Security taxes was $118,500. In 2017, the cap will increase to $127,200, an increase of $8,700 or 7%. If your income exceeds that cap, you don’t pay Social Security tax on what you earn beyond the limit. The Social Security tax rate will remain unchanged at 6.2%....

...Increasing the Social Security cap helps, but it does not solve the impending Social Security shortfall. The tax cap would actually have to be eliminated entirely to close a significant percentage of the Social Security gap, according to calculations by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a think tank that publicizes Social Security and other federal budget issues....

The entitlements need to be protected and "The Cap" must be eliminated entirely. Raising the minimum wage also increases the monies flowing into the Social Security Trust Funds.

Social Security Benefits are decided upon an American's income. If the minimum wage continues to be far lower than it should, the working poor will continue their impoverishment, but, they are also looking at a retirement whereby they receive no relief from work or aging. The current generations not earning a good pay check are not going to do well in their senior years either.

Donald Trump demanding an apology from the cast of "Hamilton" is oppression of the First Amendment.

The Arts and Trump (click here) How ironic Donald Trump began his oppressive threats at "Hamilton" of all places. Amazing.

...As the play ended, (click here) the actor who played Aaron Burr, Brandon Victor Dixon, acknowledged that Mr. Pence was in the audience, thanked him for attending and added,

“We hope you will hear us out.”

“We, sir — we — are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights,” he said. “We truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf all of us.”...



Brandon Victor Dixon in July. At the end of the show on Friday, he told Mr. Pence, “We truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf all of us.”

Mr. Pence could not handle eye contact with someone who was expressing their First Amendment Right to the free and open dialogue of descent. He left the auditorium either out of shame or insecurity or fear of providing a political oppotunity of the people.

We all have been through this before and it will be terrible. From every aspect of the Trump presidency it will be terrible for many, many people. 

There are many cities in the USA that have tourist economies. If the arts are attacked there will be economies that will suffer and the overall GDP will be effected. The Arts are important and stand in their strength under the First Amendment of Freedom of expression. 

Enough.

Donald Trump is forgetting his roots in New York City and delivering oppression to the USA. If Americans descent they are reprimanded and in that reprimand is a threat to funding. 

Donald Trump will not play dictator in chief. He is not the boss, he is the president and he answers to US!

New York is not the only city in the USA that thrives on freedom of expression.

Donald Trump has a job to do, either he does it or not. He has already accumulated ethics issues with his settlement of Trump University.



Senator Sessions will be the next Attorney General. What needs to be understood is his loyality to his predecessors in that office.

Revenge is a common experience in the Republican Party, not necessarily in fighting, but, everytime some kind of nomination has to move through the US Senate there are always past defeats of the past mentioned. Robert Bork will live forever as the most avenged judicial candidate in history. That is part of their political strategy. Fear. Revenge as a political priority is to instill fear and over ride any legitimate objection to their power. There are plenty of people who have suffered because free speech was viewed as a weapon and not a right by Republicans. 

What needs to happen during the US Senate nomination process, this time, is to have US Senator Sessions accept and be loyal to the work of previous Attorney Generals.

November 18, 2016
By Mary Troyon and Brian Lyman

...But the road to Senate confirmation (click here) will be rough based on the reaction from Democrats and a whole host of civil rights organizations who fear Sessions’ views on immigration, civil rights and criminal justice – many of them dating back to his time before he was in the Senate – will move the Justice Department in a sharply conservative direction after eight years of President Obama.

Among the harshest critiques was from Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., who called Sessions “anti-immigrant and anti-civil rights.’’

“If you have nostalgia for the days when blacks kept quiet, gays were in the closet, immigrants were invisible and women stayed in the kitchen, Sen. Jefferson Beauregard Sessions is your man,’’ Gutierrez said in a statement.

The most important reviews of Sessions’ record, however, will come from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who will decide whether to recommend him to the full Senate for confirmation. Senators traditionally show great deference to their colleagues when they are elevated to positions in the executive branch. And there were no signs Friday that any Senate Republican, even those who opposed Trump, had reservations about the appointment.

Sessions’ Democratic colleagues were signaling that his path to the Justice Department will not go unchallenged.

“Sen. Sessions has served on the Senate Judiciary Committee for many years so he’s well aware of the thorough vetting he’s about to receive,’’ said California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the Judiciary’s ranking Democrat. “And while many of us have worked with Sen. Sessions closely and know him to be a staunch advocate for his beliefs, the process will remain the same: a fair and complete review of the nominee.’’

The confirmation hearings, which could start even before Trump is sworn in Jan. 20, are expected to relive a series of events more than three decades ago in Alabama that had a profound impact on his career....                

I think the dismissal of Chris Christy from a Trump administration tells the tale. Donald Trump is not in control of his transition.

Chris Christy, regardless of how one might see the Bridgegate scandal, was at Doanld Trump's side during his election. Chris Christy as the leader of the Republican Governors' Associaion was very connected to move Donald Trump's success in states across the country.

Then, comes the transition and vindictiveness and nepotism takes over. I think there is a great deal to worry about when false loyalities rules the day. The reason for Chris Christy's alliance was dismissed was not about Bridgegate. It was because revenge was more important than effective government.

November 15, 2016
By Jennifer Jacobs


Power struggles inside Donald Trump’s transition team (click here) are hobbling efforts to form a new government -- including what some say is an effort by the president-elect’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to clear out the ranks of loyalists to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
The turmoil burst to the surface Tuesday with the abrupt departure of former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, who had been tapped by Christie to lead national security planning for the transition. Two people close to the transition, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters, described Rogers’ departure as a firing, a move that came about because of friction between Christie and Kushner, husband of Ivanka Trump and one of the most influential voices in the campaign.
As U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, Christie in 2004 prosecuted Kushner’s father (click here), Charles, for tax evasion, witness tampering and illegal campaign contributions. A plea agreement led to a two-year prison sentence. Kushner is believed to have been one of the leading voices who kept Christie off Trump’s presidential ticket.
Kushner didn’t respond to requests for comment. Some transition aide....