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In The News 4-10-2023

WTI crude oil floats above $80.00 as US Dollar rebound jostles with supply crunch fears

From Article:

On the other hand, geopolitical fears surrounding China, mainly after the dragon nation’s military drills near Taiwan, join the last week’s surprise OPEC+ output cut to keep the Oil buyers hopeful.

Elsewhere, China’s readiness to defend the global economy via strong monetary and fiscal easing at home also allows the Oil buyers to remain hopeful amid optimism at the world’s biggest Oil consumers.

Link: https://www.fxstreet.com/news/wti-crude-oil-floats-above-8000-as-us-dollar-rebound-jostles-with-supply-crunch-fears-202304100542

Comment: China is stimulating its economy while the US FED continues to pretend to fight inflation by raising interest rates.  Meanwhile oil suppliers are supporting inflation by cutting back oil production.  This is not a good formula.  This is a formula to hurt the middle class.

American offices are half-empty. That could be the next big risk for banks

From Article:

Work-from-home bill comes due

Commercial real estate — which spans offices, apartment complexes, warehouses and malls — has come under substantial pressure in recent months. Prices in the United States were down 15% in March from their recent peak, according to data provider Green Street. The rapid increase in interest rates over the past year has been painful, since purchases of commercial buildings are typically financed with large loans.

Office properties have been getting hammered the hardest. Hybrid work remains popular, affecting the rents many building owners can charge. Average occupancy of offices in the United States is still less than half March 2020 levels, according to data from security provider Kastle.

Link: https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/10/business/commercial-real-estate-banks-offices/index.html

The world’s busiest airport is Atlanta, once again

From Article:

 

In 2022, around 93.7 million people traveled through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), a 23.8% increase in passenger traffic from 2021, according to a report released by Airports Council International.

Link: https://thepointsguy.com/news/atlanta-busiest-airport/

Comment: The article mentions that Chinese Airports temporarily took the top rank during the Covid Hysteria.  My phrasing.  Not theirs.  But American Airports and travel are now coming back strong.

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Make The Electoral College Real

Article II of the Constitution

  • Clause 2 Electors
  • Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.

    • Clause 3 Electoral College Count
    • The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; A quorum for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President.

From John Adams to John Taylor, 17 December 1814

In your fifth page You Say “Mr. Adams calls our Attention to hundreds of wise and virtuous Patricians, mangled and bleeding Victims of popular Fury.” and gravely counts up several Victims of democratic Rage as proofs that Democracy is more pernicious than Monarchy or Aristocracy.” Is this fair, sir? Do you deny any one of my Facts? I do not say that Democracy has been more pernicious, on the whole, and in the long run, than Monarchy or Aristocracy. Democracy has never been and never can be so durable as Aristocracy or Monarchy. But while it lasts it is more bloody than either. I beseech you, Sir to recollect, the time when my three Volumes of “Defence” were written and printed, in 1786, 1787 and 1788. The History of the University, had not then furnis[, Start insertion,h, End,]ed me with a document I have Since Seen; an Alphabetical Dictionary of the Names and Qualities of Persons “mangled and bleeding Victims of democratic rage and popular fury” in France during the Despotism of Democracy in that Country, which Napoleon ought to be immortalised for calling “Ideology.”

—————————-

The reason our USA Founding Fathers establish the electoral college was because they feared mob rule and they understood the dangers of direct elections. Then you had Alexander Hamilton who set the seeds to turn America into an Aristocracy/Oligarchy. The fight back against the Oligarchy has historically lent itself to political populism and the people having more of a say in our government, and while the Oligarchy has generally waved the white flag to surrender to some of the mobs ideas when they become too raucous, generally the Oligarchy has managed to control the mob without most of the mob knowing it.   This has often been to the detriment of the United States. That white flag has more times than not been disingenuous and just a ploy to achieve its actual goals to maintain the power of the oligarchy, keep its crony clubs unfettered by making class mobility more difficult and limited, and to destroy any new powers in the economy that might be or might become their competition.

We saw this with the destruction of the Southern Textile families who supported politicians the richer, and often Northern, Oligarchy didn’t like. In more recent times we saw the Oligarchy at work when the goto search engine was destroyed, then the old yahoo was destroyed, and all search power was given to google and to a lesser degree Microsoft. We saw it when the old myspace was destroyed and the power was given to Facebook. With that transfer of wealth and power, that gave the oligarchy more power to spy on opponents and to pick winners and losers in the larger economy and perhaps even to some degree in the micro economy. Does google refuse to put your business on the map where people can find you or do they have you a block over? When you search for a given business is their competition more likely to pop up than the business for which you were in search?

The bankruptcy of J.C. Penney may at least partly be blamed on google and google pretending J.C. Penney were demoted in search because they had broken some seo rule. I am not a huge fan of COX Inc. but how often do you see any of their news organization on the google news page? Now, I guess it is possible that COX Inc. is retarded in leadership and does not want their news listed on the google news page but I kind of doubt that.

So anyway, the Oligarchy is thriving under our current system of electing their idiots to power so they have no desire to change the system. Some even want to make the electoral college even more irrelevant.  But, the American people need to demand that the electoral college be relevant.

How can it be made relevant?  Well, one thing is to look at how it was originally designed.

The First Design
In the first design of the Electoral College (described in Article II,
Section 1 of the Constitution):


Each State was allocated a number of Electors equal to the number of its
U.S. Senators (always 2) plus the number of its U.S. Representatives (which
may change each decade according to the size of each State’s population as
determined in the decennial census). This arrangement built upon an
earlier compromise in the design of the Congress itself and thus satisfied
both large and small States.


The manner of choosing the Electors was left to the individual State
legislatures, thereby pacifying States suspicious of a central national
government.

Members of Congress and employees of the federal government were
specifically prohibited from serving as an Elector in order to maintain
the balance between the legislative and executive branches of the federal
government.


Each State’s Electors were required to meet in their respective States
rather than all together in one great meeting. This arrangement, it was
thought, would prevent bribery, corruption, secret dealing, and foreign
influence.

In order to prevent Electors from voting only for a “favorite son” of their
own State, each Elector was required to cast two votes for president, at
least one of which had to be for someone outside their home State. The
idea, presumably, was that the winner would likely be everyone’s second favorite choice.

And the casting of two votes is important.

The electoral votes were to be sealed and transmitted from each of the
States to the President of the Senate who would then open them before
both houses of the Congress and read the results.

The person with the most electoral votes, provided that it was an absolute
majority (at least one over half of the total), became president. Whoever
obtained the next greatest number of electoral votes became vice
president — an office which they seem to have invented for the occasion
since it had not been mentioned previously in the Constitutional
Convention.

In the event that no one obtained an absolute majority in the Electoral
College or in the event of a tie vote, the U.S. House of Representatives, as
the chamber closest to the people, would choose the president from
among the top five contenders. They would do this (as a further
concession to the small States) by allowing each State to cast only one vote with an absolute majority of the States being required to elect a
president. The vice presidency would go to whatever remaining
contender had the greatest number of electoral votes. If that, too, was
tied, the U.S. Senate would break the tie by deciding between the two.

That system might not have been perfect but it is better than what we have now where we are not even sure whether our elections are honest or not.  But the bottom line is that some major change is needed in how we choose a President because we can’t afford to keep allowing the Oligarchy (some of whom are not even American) to make the Presidency of the US a bought office mostly run by them.

So, to get our Republic back what changes are needed.

1. The size of the House of Representatives needs to be increased from 435 to 43,500.

2. The electors should again cast 2 votes for President.  One vote should be based on the people’s vote as is pretty much done now.  The 2nd vote should be for who they think will best serve the interest of the American people.  The 2nd vote should be different from the first vote.

3. The electors and not the President should decide who the VP should be and who the AG should be.

I realize what I am suggesting will never happen but it is just a thought. LOL

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Hearthville Serial: Book 8 Chapter 12 – All Good Things Must Come To An End

Any Truth, Proper Grammar, or Correct Spelling is totally coincidental if not accidental. All characters are fiction. This story is fiction. This story makes no claims about any real person.

By Charles Peters Copyright 2022, 2023 All Rights Reserved

Chapter / Episode List of the Heathville Serial

Chapter 12

Billy and Samner stood on the Launch Pad.

“Three, four, five…”

And then something strange happened.

The computer that runs the digital world, the computer that is the world, stopped. Reality stopped. Everything was frozen in time, frozen in computer code. Every soul on earth was trapped in a split moment of nothingness.

Amelia, the greatest of all Gods, rose from her sleep. She looked at her world that was frozen. She smiled. “It is over. Let the souls go free from my creation. I am tired of being God. I am tired of my world trapping souls. I think I will go create a new world.”

And the frozen moment ended. Earth vanished. All that was in the computer program vanished and the souls that had been trapped in the computer program were freed. And she summoned Billy and Samner to appear before her and they did.

With excitement Billy said, “You are awake.”

Samner said, “And you stopped us from launching.”

Billy looked at Samner. “Did she? I think I remember us touching the void. And with the power we gained, we woke Amelia.”

Amelia kissed Billy and Samner on their foreheads. “And I have freed you all. I have shut down the computer program. The souls will have to go create their own realities.”

Samner asked, “But what of the evil ones. They will create worlds to trap souls.”

“We must see that they don’t. And we must see that we don’t.”

Billy said, “I am going to miss earth. It was tragic but it was beautiful. There was pain there but there was also pleasure.”

“It was time for it to end.”

The End

For Now

 

 

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In The News 4-4-2023

Jamie Dimon says the banking crisis is not over and will cause ‘repercussions for years to come’

The recent banking issues in the U.S. began with the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, which was closed by regulators on March 10 as depositors pulled tens of billions of dollars from the bank. The smaller Signature Bank was closed two days later. And in Europe, Swiss regulators brokered a purchase of Credit Suisse by UBS.

JPMorgan and other large banks stepped in to make $30 billion of deposits at First Republic, another regional bank that investors feared could become the next SVB.

Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit files for bankruptcy

 

Hart said he believed that the company’s “cutting-edge launch technology” would have “wide appeal to buyers as we continue in the process to sell the company.”

Virgin Investments, one of Virgin Orbit’s sister companies, will inject $31.6 million into the satellite launcher to help it stay afloat while the business searches for a new owner.

The announcement comes just days after Virgin Orbit said it would lay off about 85% of its workforce to reduce expenses since it could not secure additional funding.

Google is so broke after becoming a bitch for the government that they have stopped buying laptops and stapler guns and are telling their employees to use paper clips.

 

Google to cut down on employee laptops, services and staplers for ‘multi-year’ savings

The latest cost-cutting measures come as Alphabet-owned Google continues its most severe era of cost cuts in its almost two decades as a public company. The company said in January that it was eliminating 12,000 jobs, representing about 6% of its workforce, to reckon with slowing sales growth following record head count growth.

Advertisement:

A Princess of Mars Mass Market Paperback – January 1, 1985

by Edgar Rice Burroughs (Author)

Suddenly projected to Mars, John Carter found himself captive of the savage green men of Thark. With him was Dejah Thoris, lovely Princess of Helium. And between them and rescue lay a thousand miles of deadly enemies and unknown dangers.

The green warrior decided to close in and end the battle; just as he rushed me, a blinding light struck full in my eyes, so that I could not see Zad’s approach and could only leap blindly to one side to avoid his mighty blade.

It caught me in the left shoulder; but as my vision cleared a sight met my astonished gaze that almost made me forget the fight. Standing on her chariot with Sola and Sarkoja, my beloved Dejah Thoris turned on Sarkoja with the fury of a tigress and struck something that flashed in the sunlight from her upraised hand. Then I knew what had blinded me at that crucial moment, and how Sarkoja had found a way to kill me without herself delivering the final thrust!

Sarkoja, her face livid with baffled rage, whipped out her dagger and aimed a terrific blow at Dejah Thoris—and Zad was once more advancing on me with reddened blade. I felt the steel tear into my chest and all went black before me. . . .

I didn’t know that Avatar was based, somewhat, on the Edgar Rice Burroughs book Princess of Mars. Now I do.

News Cont…

 

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Hearthville Serial: Book 8 Chapter 11 – All Scenes Title: Leave My Butthole Alone

Any Truth, Proper Grammar, or Correct Spelling is totally coincidental if not accidental. All characters are fiction. This story is fiction. This story makes no claims about any real person.

By Charles Peters Copyright 2022, 2023 All Rights Reserved

Chapter / Episode List of the Heathville Serial

Scene 1

Most of the caged souls in the Outlands have been cured of the virus that weakened them. When their cages were opened by Sabian Blackrock on the orders of Billy Bingo, they were awake and they were well.

Their joy at being free from the cages was short lived when they learned the price that Billy Bingo had paid. At this very moment, Zeus and Hera were probably as hated as Belial and Satan. But Zeus had never been a God that cherished the sentiment that some call love. He was willing to hear the curse words tossed in his direction by those he considered foolish. It was best if the world didn’t know that Zeus and Iapedus were playing Hera like a fiddle. It was only important that the Virgin Mary should know the game being played, but he wasn’t sure if she had figured it out and did know. And he could only hope that Hera had not figured it out.

Scene 2

While Billy’s body lay lifeless on the spaceship, as men prepared to move Billy to the helicopter, the ghostly woman that had brought Frank Bingo and David Jenkins to the Bare Mansion stood over Billy. She held her hand out to Billy as his spirit rose from his body.

Billy whispered, “Amberline.”

She nodded and she took Billy’s hand and they rose high into the sky. And they took flight looking down at the magnificent landscape below. Then they entered into a colorful spiral, a whirling of air that flowed like a pipe. Billy giggled for he always liked that ride. And then they entered into the darkness that became less dark as they flew through it. And then they were back into the light and Billy could see the great pyramids below. He could see the wise men gathered around to listen to the words that flowed from the lips of the sages who were giving lectures at the pyramids.

Billy looked at Amberline and he smiled. He asked, “Are you taking me to my half-brother, Maureen’s real son who was murdered by Sabian Blackrock, thinking he was me?”

Billy and Amberline touched ground with ease and majesty. The crowds noticed. The sages noticed. The angels noticed. And Billy’s half brother stepped from outside a pyramid. His name was Samner and he greeted Billy with a handshake and then a hug. “I guess it is time,” he told Billy. “I hope I prove worthy.”

Billy knew what Samner was saying. The sages had told them this day would come. And now there they stood, a duality, where they appeared at once as both men and as boys. They turned to enter into the pyramid where they would be prepared for the ceremony.

Scene 3

Meanwhile, back in the physical world…

Billy’s body was placed in the military helicopter that had been flown in from the secret base located beneath Stone Mountain. Five men, dressed in white Togas and holding machine guns in their laps and magical swords at their sides, sat on each side of Billy.

When Mayor Hollis Bare entered the helicopter he saw the men who were there to protect the body of Billy Bingo. Hollis had not expected such “ceremonial” theater and was somewhat taken aback. Even with the miracle that he had witnessed at Whitehead and Baretown he had not fully grasped he was a part of a new history and a world that was about to change. But now he felt the coming change with butterflies in his stomach and a tremble in his hand.

Lucifer entered the helicopter. He touched Mayor Hollis Bare on his shoulder. “Are you alright? Of course you are alright. There is no reason for you to be afraid.”

Mayor Hollis Bare asked, “Has Billy fallen into the sleep. Has his physical body died.”

“You will see.”

Merlin entered the helicopter. “Back when we were children playing on the cliffs of the Isle of Wight, you spoke of this day. Do you remember?”

“It was a dream.”

“It was our boyhood. And in truth, it was a dream. It is our dream. To be free from the Space Alien Witches.”

“How can we ever be free?”

“How can we ever not be free? We have the Virgin Mary on our side. We have Billy Bingo on our side. We have Victor Duddley on our side. We have Caelous on our side. We have Iapetus on our side.”

Lucifer said, “And you have me on your side.”

Merlin grasped Lucifer’s hand inside of his hands. “And we have Lucifer on our side.”

Scene 4

Victor Duddley, that is George, sat on an airplane with Roger Ogleby, and Tabitha Angster. They were going to Hotville to make sure that Victor’s brother Stewart was okay. He had seen some kind of monster come out of the ocean and try to catch the ghost of Shane Felter. Somehow, Stewart had known that the monster was going to try to cage Shane and he had yelled to warn Shane.

The plane took off from Peachtree Dekalb Airpot and began its flight toward Hotville. As the plane was taking off George saw something he had not expected. The real Victor and Caelous appeared on the plane.

George smiled a huge smile. He announced, “Victor and Caelous are free from the cage.” George gave Tabitha a huge kiss. “I will be seeing you.”

Victor and Caelous entered the body that George now shared with them. Victor said, “I need to tell the pilot to head toward the Bare Mansion in Hearthville. That is where they are taking the body of Billy Bingo.”

Roger questioned, “Body?”

Tabitha said, “Are you sure Billy is dead?”

“He saved us. He saved Whitehead and Baretown. He sent Belial and Satan back to hell. But he has paid a price.”

Roger called his Uncle Arthur. “Victor and Caelous are free. He said that Billy Bingo sent Belial and Satan to hell but now he is dead.” Roger handed the phone to Victor.

Victor said, “Arthur, you need to call people. You need to get everyone you can to the Bare Mansion. You need to get reporters there. Something big is going to happen.”

Arthur asked, “What?”

“You will see. Just get people there.”

“Are you really Victor or is this some kind of a trap?”

“No trap. Please. Do what I am asking?”

“Get people to the Bare Mansion. Okay. I will do my best. Victor, I am glad that you are free.”

“I know. But you should know, soon, I will be living the life of a human.”

Tabitha asked, “Why?”

“To replenish my powers, to calm myself, to try to get the space alien witches to become more calm. To cause Hera to behave more calmly. We can’t expect our enemies to find their humanity if we have lost our humanity.”

Tabitha asked, “But for now?”

Victor said, “For now, I serve the Virgin Mary.”

Tabitha smiled. “As will I.”

Roger said, “I am not sure where I fit in or even if I do.”

Arthur spoke into the phone. “We do as Victor wants.”

Roger nodded. “Of course.”

Scene 5

Michelle Myers on Channel 2 News comes on the TV.

“Breaking News. Breaking News. Something big is happening in Hearthville, but we do not know what. Small planes and helicopters are flooding the skies as the Air Traffic Control System is being overwhelmed in the area. I-20 on the way to Hearthville from Atlanta and also Augusta toward Hearthville has become a parking lot. The level of traffic is unbelievable. I mean, really unbelievable. The traffic almost appears to have appeared in the area like magic.”

Don Harkling on Channel 2 News comes on the TV.

“Thank you Michelle. People have started standing on roofs to try to get a better view of the planes, helicopters, and spaceships. That is right. I said spaceships. God help us all. Folks. This may be it. Hearthville may be the center of a space alien invasion.”

There is silence on the television.

Michelle Myers comes back on the television. “Thank you Don Harkling. We are now getting reports that a young 13 year old boy, Billy Bingo, has died. We have no details on how he died or how his death is related to the flood of people heading toward Hearthville. A shaman, if you believe in such bullshit, has reported to one of our reporters that Billy Bingo was the incarnation of a god and he died in a battle to send Satan and Belial back to hell.”

There is silence on the television.

Then James Purple comes on the television. “Thank you Michelle. I am standing on the roof with Damien Wilson who swears he saw a spaceship and is terrified the space aliens may be coming to probe his butthole. Damien please put your shotgun down and stop aiming it at me. I can assure you that I have no interest in your butthole.”

Camera points toward Damien Wilson, holding his shotgun with a don’t mess with my butthole look on his face. “I don’t like your reports calling some little dead asshole a god. I am a God fearing man, no matter what the dresses in my closet might suggest, and I only believe in the one true God. And of course Jesus and the Virgin Mary and perhaps some of the Saints the Catholic Church promotes so they can sell those bobble head dolls. My former girlfriend used to collect those Saint Bobble Heads. When I caught my girlfriend cheating with my best friend Roy, I am not ashamed that I kept those Bobble Heads when I kicked her sorry ass out. I love those Bobble Heads.”

Camera points back toward reporter Damien Wilson. “So what was your first thought when you saw a spaceship in the sky?”

“My first thought was if they come to probe my butthole, like my friend Roy did when we were both drunk, I will shoot their sorry asses.”

“Did you shoot Roy?”

“No.”

“Are you still friends with Roy?”

“Well yeah. I am not going to down town Atlanta to buy weed and cocaine by myself. The last time I tried that, I had some crazy white woman come up to me and try to save my soul. God damn holy water stung just like pepper spray or Mace or whatever. Then she used a fucking baseball bat on the back of my legs to make me get down on my knees to pray. At first I thought she wanted me to suck her pussy but she straighten me out fast. So I will tell you right now, I don’t want to ever go back to Atlanta without Roy.”

“Well there you have it. A common, every day man, terrified by what he saw in the sky: a spaceship. Back to Michelle.”

Camera returns to Michelle Myers in the studio.

“We are returning to our show.”

Scene 6

Billy Bingo and his half brother Samner stood hand in hand on top of what appeared to be some kind of launch pad. A sage stood with them. The sage spoke, “You must reach the void, the blackhole, together. The two of you must touch the outer realm at the same time. And then you must dart back to here to the launch pad. As far as we know, If you get sucked into the void, your soul will no longer exist. But if you make it back to earth together, holding hands, then you two, together, when together, and agree on the spell, will be the most powerful souls on earth. But Billy, when Samner is not with you, then you will be as Hera wanted, nearly human, your memory altered, and with your powers locked. Samner, you and Billy can switch places as the two of you want. When you have taken the place of Billy, you will have your magical powers but only when you and Billy are together and in agreement will you be the most powerful soul on earth.

Billy said, “But we will never try to hurt any of the Gods, except to protect ourselves.”

Samner said, “Agreed. And please, everyone, know that even if we do not survive the blackhole, there is always hope.”

There were cheers and applause from the crowd who watched and waited. And the count down began. “One, two, …”

 

 

 

 

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GOP Leader & Polio Survivor remains in hospital after concussion

Mitch McConnell and Joe Biden

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell was being treated Thursday for a concussion and is expected to remain in the hospital for “a few days” after he tripped and fell at a hotel dinner the night before, his spokesman said.

The Kentucky senator, 81, was at a Wednesday evening dinner after a reception for the Senate Leadership Fund, a campaign committee aligned with him, when he tripped and fell. The events were at the Waldorf Astoria Washington DC, formerly the Trump International Hotel.

Read More At the AP

Notes:

I am not sure which hospital he is at.

From Article:

None of the senators had talked to McConnell, though several said they had reached out to wish him well. Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley said he had sent a note but that it was his understanding that McConnell was not taking calls.

Most of the article implies he is doing well and is conscious but that he is not taking calls is kind of curious.  Also, he didn’t fall at the function he was attending but later, somewhere, in the hotel.  It is not clear, who, if anyone was present when he fell.  It is not the first time he has fallen since his having polio as a child has made stairs difficult for him as an adult.   The articles do not make it clear if police were called when his medical emergency was being handled.  Whether they were or weren’t doesn’t imply anything.  It is just a question to which I don’t know the answer.

I am not criticizing the linked or other articles but it is something of a puff piece that distracts from unanswered questions and seems to fall back to the “on file” information.

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Book

The Noise of Typewriters: Remembering Journalism Hardcover by Lance Morrow

Editorial Reviews
Review

“Terrific!”

—Gay Talese, author of The Kingdom and the Power

“With his preternatural memory, powerful prose, and puckish wit, Lance Morrow brilliantly evokes the highs and lows of twentieth century journalism. He revisits the big stories and creates unforgettable portraits of influential characters, chief among them TIME’s founder Henry Luce, ‘a preeminent American mythmaker’ with ‘a warlord’s air.’ Luce, Morrow writes, ‘had a way of being vindicated by the passage of years.’ This engrossing and highly original book asks hard questions, doesn’t flinch from discomfiting answers, and offers insights for our times. As he writes, ‘Be tolerant of chaos. Be patient. Wait for stillness.’”

—Sally Bedell Smith, author of George VI and Elizabeth: The Marriage That Saved the Monarchy

“This sort of writing is the reason that Morrow is in that exceedingly small club of journalists worth rereading. One looks in vain online these days for anything even close to this kind of prose. This is not the language of the ephemera of the internet.”

—Gregory J. Sullivan, America Magazine

Book

The Best Year of Their Lives: Kennedy, Nixon, and Johnson in 1948: Learning the Secrets of Power

Amazon.com Review

The Best Year of Their Lives is not a typical presidential biography in that it forgoes the comprehensive approach to history. Instead, Lance Morrow shows why 1948 was a watershed year not just for John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon personally, but for the nation as well. That is the year that Johnson, in his bid for the Senate, used huge sums of corporate money to bombard the media with lies about his opponent, finally stealing the election by 87 votes by having a ballot box stuffed (thus earning the nickname “Landslide Lyndon”). Had he lost, he would have arguably been out of politics forever and the course of history would have been changed. At the same time, Nixon, as a freshman congressman, launched his political career by using his seat on the House Un-American Activities Committee to relentlessly pursue Alger Hiss, making himself a prominent national figure in the process. (Four years later he became Eisenhower’s running mate.) Meanwhile, Kennedy was working hard to suppress the fact that he had Addison’s disease. He continued to lie about his health for the rest of his life just as he later hid his reckless personal behavior. Through anecdotes and analysis (including personal contact; all three were presences in Morrow’s childhood), Morrow shows how secrets and lies were to shape the behavior of all of them. This “convergence of personal ambition with secrecy, amorality, and a ruthless manipulation of the truth” would have tremendous implications for the country. The events of 1948 also foreshadow the tragedies and scandals that would end all three of their administrations.Externally, the three presidents were radically different. Internally, argues Morrow, they were identical in many ways in that they “shared a tendency toward elaborately deliberated amorality; all three behaved as if rules were for others, not for them.” Along with a rapidly changing American society, the start of the Cold War, and looming atomic destruction, 1948 ushered in modern politics and these men were the embodiment of it. Absorbing and unconventional, The Best Year of Their Lives adds to the considerable bodies of work already available on all three presidents. —Shawn Carkonen

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Star of TV Show Baretta and One of the Little Rascals dies at the age of 89

Robert Blake Dead At Age 89

Robert Blake died from heart disease at the age of 89.

As a child actor, he starred as Mickey Gubitosi in the “Our Gang” comedies and acted in a movie classic, “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.” As an adult, he was praised for his portrayal of real-life murderer Perry Smith in the movie of Truman Capote’s true crime best seller “In Cold Blood.”

His career continued with the 1975-78 TV cop series, “Baretta.” He starred as a detective who carried a pet cockatoo on his shoulder and was fond of disguises. It was typical of his specialty, portraying tough guys with soft hearts, and its signature line: “Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time,” was often quoted.

In 1993, Blake won another Emmy as the title character in, “Judgment Day: the John List Story,” portraying a churchgoing man who murdered his mother, wife and three children.

In April of 2002, Blake, himself was accused of killing his wife Bakley. He was acquitted of the murder charge but the expense of the trial and then the following civil trial by our corrupt Civil Court System destroyed him financially.

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Hearthville Serial: Book 8 Chapter 10 – Scene 3 Title: She Comes A knocking And A Crying

Any Truth, Proper Grammar, or Correct Spelling is totally coincidental if not accidental. All characters are fiction. This story is fiction. This story makes no claims about any real person.

By Charles Peters Copyright 2022, 2023 All Rights Reserved

Chapter / Episode List of the Heathville Serial

Mayor Hollis Bare flew his spaceship into a safe area and stopped. The spaceship hovered. He looked at Billy laying in a bed that Mayor Hollis had prepared for the unconscious Billy. Mayor Hollis called his son Daniel.

“Son, we have a problem.”

“Did you all fail to restore Whitehead and Baretown?”

“The Virgin Mary and Billy did a miracle there. It was amazing to see. But Billy revealed too much and Hera and Zeus did not respond well. They decided Billy could be as dangerous to them as he was to Belial and Satan.”

Daniel stared over at Natalina and her sister, Billy’s mother, Maureen. They were sitting quietly watching Television with Nat, Jimmy, and Tommy. Billy’s sister Bess was curled up under a lamp and reading a book. Daniel saw Tommy watching him and he eased into another room with the phone.

“What did Hera and Zeus do?”

“They locked Billy’s powers. They worked amnesia spells which Billy fought. Billy is now unconscious. He may be falling into the sleep just like Amelia. If that happens his physical body will die.” Mayor Hollis choked on his words. “Billy will be dead and his soul will be in the sleep.”

“There is no hope for us. Is there? Victor caged. Iapetus caged. And now Billy may fall into the sleep.”

“Thanks to Billy, Sabian Blackrock, was forced to free a lot of those who were caged in the Outlands. Victor and Iaptus are probably free. Belial and Satan have fled back to hell. Billy performed a miracle. Well, he and the Virgin Mary performed a miracle. Still, like I said, when Billy revealed how powerful he is, that scared Hera and then Zeus.”

Daniel said, “We’ve got to get Iapetus and Victor to Billy. Maybe they can stop Billy from falling into the sleep.”

There was knocking on the door at the Bare Mansion. Nat ran and opened the door and he saw a woman standing at the door. He saw that she was crying. Billy’s father, Frank Bingo, was standing behind the woman at the door.

Maureen walked to the door. “Frank. What are you doing here. I thought you were still in Texas.”

David Jenkins, Frank’s boss, walked up. “I don’t really know how we got here. We were on a boat in the gulf, on our way to a rig, and then suddenly we were pulling up to a dock in Lake Hearthville.”

David and Frank walked, through the ghostly apparition of the crying woman, into the mansion. Maureen hugged her husband. Nat watched the ghostly woman vanish. He looked around and figured that he was the only one who had seen her. But Tommy Harris had also seen her.

David said, “You know, I am not ignorant of the witch stuff. My wife, Amberline Darko, was a witch.”

Maureen said, “I didn’t know.”

Bess had put her book down and ran up to give her father a hug. “Dad, it is so good to see you.”

Nat turned to them. He saw them all smiling. He screamed, “Don’t you people realize something went wrong! Billy must have failed to help the Virgin Mary. He and Hollis must dead.”

Daniel spoke into the phone. “Something is going on. If I heard right some witch brought David Jenkins and Frank Bingo here. Nat has realized something is wrong. Nat thinks you and Billy are dead. What should I tell them?”

“Nothing. I am going to land the spaceship at one of my properties and then I am going to switch over to a helicopter. I will bring Billy home on the helicopter. I will call you shortly before I get ready to land.”

“Dad, is Billy dead?”

“I don’t know if his physical body has died. I just don’t know.”

Mayor Hollis and Daniel ended the call. Daniel turned and saw Tommy standing at his side. Tommy grabbed Daniel into his arms. In a nervous, tearful, voice Tommy asked, “What did he say?”

Daniel whispered. “He doesn’t know. But it is bad. Don’t tell the others yet.”

“There was ghostly woman at the door when Nat opened the door. She was crying.”

“Were you shocked when you saw the ghost?”

“No. Earlier, I wasn’t shocked when I saw the spaceship either. I know Billy is not an ordinary human.”

Tommy stepped away from hugging Daniel as Natalina walked up. Natalina asked, “What is going on?” She touched the tears on Tommy’s face. “Is your father and Billy?” Natalina struggled to maintain her composure. “Are they dead?”

“Dad’s alive. Billy and the Virgin Mary saved Whitehead and Baretown. He forced Sabian Blackrock to open the cages in the Outlands so that Victor and Iapetus would be freed.”

“Well. That is a all good. So…”

“When Hera and Zeus realized the amount of power Billy has, they reacted badly. They locked his powers and tried to screw with his memories. He fought to keep his memories. There is a danger he will fall into the sleep just like Amelia. If he does, his physical body will die. He will be dead.”

Nat rushed to his mom as she fell to her knees. He hugged on her. Nat looked up at Daniel. He whispered, “Billy’s dead?”

Tommy put his hand on Nat’s head. “There is no such thing as death. Even someday, Amelia, will wake.”

Daniel asked, “You know about Amelia?”

“I have dreams where people at the Great Pyramid tell me about her. They say she is the greatest of all the Gods.” Tommy whispered, “I don’t guess Billy will ever take me to the pyramids again.”

Nat repeated Tommy’s words, “There is no such thing as death. Even someday, Amelia, will wake.” Then Nat added, “Of course Billy will take you to the pyramids again.”

“Sometimes it is hard to believe, even when you want to believe, and know that you must believe.”

Nat nodded. “I know.”

 

 

 

 

 

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$34 Billion Later Georgia Nuclear Plant Begins Splitting Atoms In New Reactor

ATLANTA (AP) — A nuclear power plant in Georgia has begun splitting atoms in one of its two new reactors, Georgia Power said Monday, a key step toward reaching commercial operation at the first new nuclear reactors built from scratch in decades in the United States.

The unit of Atlanta-based Southern Co. said operators reached self-sustaining nuclear fission inside the reactor at Plant Vogtle, southeast of Augusta. That makes the intense heat that will be used to produce steam and spin turbines to generate electricity.

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“The average LCOEs for existing coal ($41/megawatt-hour), CC [combined-cycle] gas ($36/MWh), nuclear ($33/MWh) and hydro ($38/MWh) resources are less than half the cost of new wind resources ($90/MWh) or new PV solar resources ($88.7/MWh) with imposed costs included,” the report states. Imposed costs include the need to keep baseload energy like coal or natural gas idling in case the wind or solar are not producing enough energy to meet demand; such costs are often ignored by advocates of wind and solar.

Source: https://www.mackinac.org/blog/2022/nuclear-wasted-why-the-cost-of-nuclear-energy-is-misunderstood

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Meltdown: Earthquake, Tsunami, and Nuclear Disaster in Fukushima Hardcover – February 23, 2021

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Hearthville Serial: Book 8 Chapter 10 – Scene 2 Title: Jealous Gods Do Not Like Heroes

Any Truth, Proper Grammar, or Correct Spelling is totally coincidental if not accidental. All characters are fiction. This story is fiction. This story makes no claims about any real person.

By Charles Peters Copyright 2022, 2023 All Rights Reserved

Chapter / Episode List of the Heathville Serial

Billy Bingo remained on the ground while Hera, Jesus, and Zeus returned to VM’s spaceship. Mayor Hollis Bare had already returned to his own spaceship and separated it from the VM ship. He flew down to ease next to Billy who was talking with Barry Whitehead about Barry’s half brother Nat, bragging on Nat. Mayor Hollis Bare beamed both Billy and Barry on board his spaceship.

Mayor Hollis told Billy, “We’ve got a problem. You’ve revealed too much.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Hera and Zeus are going to cause you problems.”

“Why? I came to help the Virgin Mary and Hera to rescue the people of Whitehead and Baretown.”

“You pretty much did it all by yourself.”

“No. I didn’t. Lucifer was there. The Virgin Mary was there.”

Lucifer appeared next to Billy. “He is right. The Virgin Mary sent a warning to me. Zeus, Hera, and Jesus are going to lock your powers and alter your memory. Zeus and Hera are fucking assholes.”

“But Jesus would do that to me?”

“He is in a situation. He doesn’t want to start a new war against Hera.”

King Arthur appeared in the ship. “We need to get you to Merlin.”

Barry Whitehead said, “I don’t understand. Don’t they need Billy to help protect them from Satan and Belial.”

“I don’t fully understand their reasoning either but the Virgin Mary confirmed what Merlin had warned me about when I told him what you had done. Merlin wants you with him and for more reasons that just to protect you. I will tell you right now, he has his own motives but you can trust him.”

“What about Victor? Is he in danger from them. He had the power to send Belial to hell from Pluto Viso and that scared a lot of people.”

King Arthur said, “He is most likely in danger but I don’t have a clue to where he is. I don’t think we can save him. And I will be honest with you. We will be lucky if we can save you. When Hera sets her mind to something, she is a dangerous God.”

Billy began to change back into a child of 13.

King Arthur asked, “Are you doing that?”

Billy shook his head. “No.”

Mayor Hollis Bare moaned, “Of fuck. I feel Hera on the ship. She is here.”

“There was laughter but still she was not visible.”

Billy again began to turn into an adult. “Bitch, you had better run. You had better run fast. You are not invisible to me.”

Suddenly there were screams. Hera was screaming. And Billy was smiling. “When I tell you to run, you run. And you run to Jesus and Zeus and you tell them to get their asses back to Olympus and the hell out of Hades.”

Zeus bellowed, “You don’t give us orders.”

Lucifer bellowed. “Zeus, back the fuck off and leave Billy alone.”

“He can not be trusted. He will turn on us. He is as much as threat to us as he is to Satan and Belial.”

“And that is why he is in Hades. But you know what. I can send him to normal earth.”

“You wouldn’t do that.”

“This is the realm of my father and me.”

“Which you were losing.”

Hera screamed, “Which you would have lost if it was not for the Virgin Mary and me.”

Lucifer said, “The rescue was mostly the Virgin Mary and Billy and with a little help from me. You did nothing.”

King Arthur said, “Hera, I am not even certain what side you were actually on. I heard whispers that you were actually trying to lead the Virgin Mary into a trap but Billy fucked it up for you.”

Zeus asked, “Is that true?”

“Of course it is not true. You know I love Mary like a sister.”

Zeus said, “Like a jealous sister. I know that.”

Hera said, “Billy is a danger to us.”

“I am not a danger to you, unless you make me a danger to you.”

Hera said, “Did you hear that threat. He is threatening us. We’ve got to lock his powers and change his memories before it is too late.”

Billy said, “Okay. Enough of this shit. Back to Olympus with the lot of you.”

Mayor Hollis Bare fell back in his chair. “He sent them back to Olympus.”

Lucifer asked, “But for how long. I feel they’ve already returned.”

Fires began to appear around Billy. Everyone backed away from him. He changed back into a child. He fell to the floor of the spaceship. On his knees he whispered, “Iapetus.” And the fires went dark. And Billy stared at everyone as blood came from his mouth. His eyes had a faded light and were almost hollow. And then his eyes closed and he fell with his face hitting hard against the floor.

Jesus and the Virgin Mary appeared. They both had tears in their eyes. They told Billy, “We were not part of this.”

Billy’s eyes opened and he turned over. He stared up into the face of the Virgin Mary and then he looked at Jesus. “You do know that I love the two of you?”

Jesus knelt next to Billy. “I know.”

Mary whispered, “And we love you. Please do not fall into the sleep. Do not become like Amelia.”

“Without my powers I am helpless. What is the point?”

Jesus said, “The point is that you are a boy and now you can live a normal life as a boy. That is not a bad thing. Remember when we were born as brothers and we lived our lives without using our powers. I cherish the memories of that life when I had Billy Bingo as my brother.”

“I love you brother.” Billy Bingo closed his eyes. He went to sleep.

Jesus screamed, “No.”

The Virgin Mary shook her head. She and Jesus vanished and returned to Olympus in the V-Ship.

King Arthur said, “Maybe Merlin can wake him.”

Mayor Hollis Bare said, “Maybe, but I need to return him to his mother and his sister. And I will need to face their hate because they are going to hate me. I think I even hate me right now.”

Barry Whitehead put his arm around Mayor Hollis Bare. “Don’t. Just love Billy and love what he did today. Look down at Whitehead and Baretown. Billy saved so many people from the cages. He saved me from a cage.”

King Arthur took a deep breath. “Take Billy home. I will return to Merlin and tell him about this day and I will try to do it sober and without tears.”

Lucifer said, “My father and I are back in charge of Hades now. Maybe we can do a better job than what we had been doing. Billy, if you can hear me, know that I will always be your friend and I will never betray that friendship.”

Barry Whitehead asked Lucifer. “Do you think he will ever awaken?”

“Yes. He is Billy Bingo. He has to awaken.”

Leroy came aboard the ship. He asked, “What is going on?”

Mayor Hollis Bare told his nephew, “Zeus and Hera locked Billy’s powers and began trying to change his memories. He has fallen into the sleep.”

Leroy screamed, “No. No. No!” Then he looked at Lucifer. “Do any of us have any hope of being saved by such vengeful, jealous, Gods that would do this to Billy?”

Lucifer said, “Zeus and Hera were never your hope.”

Leroy said, “Will Amelia ever awaken?”

King Arthur said, “She is our only hope.”

Lucifer said, “In case she does not come out of the sleep, Hades is working on an alternate plan.”