Credo

Here's a little more you apparently missed: The balloons that overflew Guam and Norfolk were thought to have radar-jamming capabilities, while the flights near Norfolk, where the US stations aircraft carriers, came around the time China was launching its own such vessel. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-06/chinese-balloons-spotted-near-military-bases-near-guam-virginia-under-trump

He shouldn't be allowed to do anything more than mop the floor. One thing is for sure, he will never get to the truth about anything. He's been a waste of skin since he was elected. He has yet to have a bill he sponsored pass. The words lazy and worthless come to mind.

Apparently, some people just can't handle the truth. And the truth is, there have been other balloons and they happened under Trump and as usual, neither he nor his inept administration knew what was going on.

I am a little over 1/2 through the book. It's a good read, for those that are interested. A lot of the salacious stuff is pretty minor and fits well into the context in which it is written. Some of it is just calling out the Media and how wrong they got things. So, far, much of the underlying theme is the paparazzi and how invasive they were. How much they lied. He sets the story straight, and his version makes a lot more sense than the tabloids. At least to this point in the book, he has been pretty kindly and understanding of his father and William. He has a few beefs with the palace not doing more to protect him at times, but he is also aware that it was sort of 'everyone for themselves' when it came to the press, and he was the one who often ended up under the bus. He admits to making a lot of mistakes. He talks a lot about the disappointment to the family that he wasn't more intellectual, smart, a better school, etc. His time in the military is particularly exciting to read. He really loved the military, he loved the action, and it seems it was some of his best times.

Turkey earthquake: Before and after images show extent of destruction https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64544998

I just got a notification the death toll has risen to 2,249.

The US Department of Defense said three other of these crafts 'briefly transited the continental United States at least three times during the prior administration.' “

I thought it seemed kind of odd that they sent a balloon but then it makes sense if they have done it before with no consequences.

I found this which gives some idea of where it has traveled: https://abcnews.go.com/US/chinese-surveillance-balloon-spotted/story?id=96883610

It was the coldest wind chill factor ever recorded in the US, including Alaska. It hit -108 F that's -77.7 C. National windchill record set in New Hampshire as cold weather begins to ease up across the Northeast The record was set at Mount Washington Friday night when it felt like minus 108° F thanks to a temperature of minus 46° F and wind gusts of 127 mph. https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/04/weather/winter-storm-northeast-new-england-saturday/index.html

It entered the US in Alaska. I haven't seen a map of the path, but with such close proximity to Russia, it's a little tricky to shoot something down that may have strayed. Russian and US airspace have little separation in parts of Alaska. I don't think we'd want any incident that involved Russian airspace. It then appears that it moved down across part of Canada and next entered the US in Montana. Biden gave the OK to shoot it down last Wednesday I believe, but it was decided to wait for it to be over open water and that would be the Atlantic, where it was shot down. Waiting was the prudent thing to do.

Once a Special Counsel is involved, things start going quiet. ...but hey, you guys will always have Hunter.

It entered the US in Alaska. I haven't seen a map of the path, but with such close proximity to Russia, it's a little tricky to shoot something down that may have strayed. Russian and US airspace have little separation in parts of Alaska. I don't think we'd want any incident that involved Russian airspace. It then appears that it moved down across part of Canada and next entered the US in Montana. Biden gave the OK to shoot it down last Wednesday I believe, but it was decided to wait for it to be over open water and that would be the Atlantic, where it was shot down.

It has seemed like the US economy is a lot like the Titanic -- it's hard to maneuver through, but so far, a decent, experienced leader has made the perilous journey a safe one so far.

It's called Climate Change.

As near as I can tell, Brexit has been a massive failure. You gained nothing and lost a lot. You got rid of the foreigners who were actually working and producing things for Britain, but you were never able to get rid of those that were entering in a less-than-legal manner. The proof is in the numbers -- you are losing economically and people are largely unhappy and insecure. What did you gain?

I've not run into many that are certifiably insane, but I have run into a lot that were absolutely hammered by the time the game is over. Unlike soccer, they are too drunk to riot!

There is no doubt that electronics are exacerbating the problem, but before that it was television. It's all a part of living in a digital age. There are precious limited places available for children to get exercise. It's simply not safe for kids to get on their bike and ride around exploring the neighborhood. There aren't places for those impromptu basketball/football game that happened some years back.

The US health care is excellent, but it is not easy to access, even with insurance. The insurance company decides what doctor you can see and if he refers you to a specialist, they have to approve. The upshot is that many people just forego preventative or early treatment. Preventative care is really far down the list. Michelle Obama put a lot of effort in to seeing that students were provided with healthy choices. They were also able to start school with a simple, but nutritious breakfast -- a large sort of parfait with a small container of healthy cereal that could be mixed with yoghurt. It was an uphill battle since under Trump the guidelines on sugar, sodium and other items were dropped and schools were allowed to work with big industry to provide things like French Fries, pizza and a multitude of sugary items. Schools also allowed soda dispensers in schools so students could have things like Coke etc. Many years ago, we had the school lunch program. Each meal included a small amount of meat, one or two vegetables, maybe mashed potatoes and gravy. The meals were designed by the Home Economics teacher to be balanced. There was also a small desert. Oh, and we always had milk -- a big dispenser with all the milk you could drink. On Friday, we had fish (in deference to the Catholics). We went through a serving line, and we could refuse anything we didn't want, BUT if you took it, the cafeteria monitor was responsible to see you ate it. When you brought your tray up, it was empty, or you sat down and finished your meal. Wasting food was not on the menu. Every once in a while we'd get a 'fun' meal -- something like macaroni and cheese or hot dogs, but that was a treat. In my class, out of over 40 students, we had exactly one who was 'fat' and he was nowhere near obese. As a matter of fact, I don't recall any other kids in the entire high school who were fat. I remember the coach trying to 'bulk up' the football players.

Teachers do not even rate in the statistics as a major abuser of children. Does it happen, of course it happens. You might want to review the post I made earlier on the statistics. If you want to see high rates of sexual abuse look first to the family and close associates to the family, then look at religious groups next, including priests, after that look at situations involving camps and other environments where youth are sequestered with adults. One thing is absolutely certain, there is no relationship between banning books or courses in schools with abuse by teachers. As a matter of fact, the better informed children are about predation, the less likely they are to become a victim.

And one might think that the 3 medical people who arrived might have wanted to help the guy out instead of standing around not rendering aid.

Wow! That's a good analysis of the two games. At the end of the day, it's a matter of what you enjoy and what entertains you. I find American football a little too complicated and a little too slow for my watching enjoyment. I like more motion and action. I am not a big fan of sports, but I can watch soccer, hockey and basketball.

People who like watching American Football!

Oh, boy. I always find it interesting when right-wingers take such an interest in the environment while ignoring the vast amounts of destruction and pollution caused by the oil and gas industry. Then there are the large coal-fired generating plants in the Western US that operate on strip mines, that effectively destroy vast swaths of fertile land, erode the fertility, pollute waters or drain underground water reserves; scar or alter the landscape; damage roads, homes, and other structures; and destroy wildlife. And all that doesn't even begin to address the air pollution, acid rain from the sulfur. But yes, let's stop solar and other forms of green energy because they cause so much pollution? Really? That's your argument?

I think it's nonsensical to try to argue one group was there 'first'. The two groups, Jews and Palestinians, are so closely linked genetically it would seem that trying to determine ownership based on who was there first is farcical. In a study of Israeli Jews from four different groups (Ashkenazi Jews, Kurdish Jews, North African Sephardi Jews, and Iraqi Jews) and Palestinian Muslim Arabs, more than 70% of the Jewish men and 82% of the Arab men whose DNA was studied had inherited their Y chromosomes from the same paternal ancestors, who lived in the region within the last few thousand years. "Our recent study of high-resolution microsatellite haplotypes demonstrated that a substantial portion of Y chromosomes of Jews (70%) and of Palestinian Muslim Arabs (82%) belonged to the same chromosome pool." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_studies_on_Jews#cite_note-pmid11153918-37 Also here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s004390000426