I just have one very short mini-snark today …
It is sad that we do not believe anything that we are told by our federal government. It is beyond sad, frightening in fact, during this time of crisis when we our very lives depend on having accurate information, but we know we cannot trust that information. For the past two years, when monthly employment data was released, I’ve just rolled my eyes and said, “Yeah, right”. No way we added 225,000 jobs in January, a month that typically sees a decline as companies lay off seasonal workers, winter sets in and there is less activity.
But the release of employment data for March earlier today by the Department of Labour is a slap in the face … do they really believe we are so stupid as to believe that only 701,000 jobs were lost, when 6.6 million people filed claims for unemployment in one single week ending March 28th??? I realize that the jobs lost won’t precisely match the unemployment claims, for a number of reasons, one being timing, another being that some companies like Amazon and grocery companies actually hired large numbers. But this disparity is an outright lie. I, for one, don’t like paying people to lie to me. It undermines our safety and our ability to plan accordingly.
Our friend Keith’s timing was prescient with his post today, speaking of the lies we are being told, and I urge you to wander over and check out his post.
Note to Readers:
Part XII of mine and Jeff’s project, Discord & Dissension, was initially planned for this afternoon, but due to unforeseen circumstances, must be delayed until next week. It was our initial intent to publish once a week, every Friday, but obviously when we planned this project last December, we could not have foreseen the nightmare that would usher in the year. Both Jeff and I see this as our mission, our goal for the rest of the year, to bring you the most accurate assessments of candidates and issues, to keep you informed and also to motivate and inspire our readers to make this election count. We will return next Friday with Part XII, and that is a promise. Thank you all for your patience.
All of Virginia is under a stay-at-home order from Governor Ralph Northam, lasting until June 10. But that order allows golf courses to remain open … I suppose like churches in Florida, golf courses in Virginia are considered “essential”. Funny how words can have different meanings, depending on who’s using them, isn’t it?
Let’s start on a positive note: Maxine Waters. Ms. Waters has served in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Southern California, including much of Los Angeles, since 1991. She is the most senior of the twelve black women currently serving in Congress, and she chaired the Congressional Black Caucus from 1997 to 1999. She is currently the chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee. What I most like about Ms. Waters is that she does not pull any punches … she “calls ‘em like she sees ‘em”.
A woman after my own heart! Now THAT is what I call “telling it like it is”! Every word is true, and every word deserved.
Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne runs Revival Ministries International and serves as resident pastor of Alex Jones’ Infowars, which should tell you something in itself. Browne is also the pastor at River at Tampa Bay Church in Tampa, Florida. At this time when all non-essential businesses are shuttered and schools nationwide are closed, most not expected to re-open until the beginning of next school year, most all churches have also shut down. Florida was, unconscionably, among the last states to issue a statewide “shelter-in-place” order, but Hillsborough Country, where Howard-Browne’s church is located, has had such an order for “social-distancing” guidelines since last Friday.
Did you know that the average American will have eaten over 2000 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches by the time they graduate from high school? A bit of trivia …
It should be noted that congressional democrats initially included election reforms such as vote-by-mail, same-day registration and early voting in the $2.2 trillion ‘stimulus bill’ … measures that were struck down by their republican colleagues. Now, make sure you’re sitting down when you read what Trump had to say about those stricken measures that would have ensured we could all vote in the November 3rd election …
There are checks and balances to keep what has happened in Hungary from happening in the U.S. But, many of those have been destroyed in the last three years. The Supreme Court tends to rule in favour of Trump, even when that ruling is in blatant disregard of the U.S. Constitution. The Attorney General has decreed that Trump is ‘above the law’ and can operate in whatever manner he sees fit. And the U.S. Senate basically affirmed Barr’s opinion when they refused to do their job and convict Trump of what were obvious abuses of power and obstruction of justice.
And the answer to the question why all 50 states aren’t doing their part is simple … the GOP motto is: profit over all else. Profit is more important in this nation than people, than wildlife, than the environment … in fact, today’s profit is more important than life on earth tomorrow for far too many of our so-called ‘leaders’. I could expound at some length about this concept, but for today I have a single focus: those damn plastic bags that they shove down our throats at the grocery store.
