Is Turkey a Dedicated Member of NATO?

Erdogan needs to specifically say whether Turkey will be a continuing member of NATO or if they are satisfied to shift into the Russian orbit. This is important today because the Turkish military and the US military are both in Syria and they seem to have very different interests.

To Stay or Not To Stay, That is the Question

I believe we should destroy ISIS/Daesch and then leave Syria. Vladimir Putin has said he will protect his naval repair station in Syria and will protect the Assad presidency and administration, so the United States isn't required to enforce U.N. sanctions or international law. Putin will do that (supposedly).

But, President Trump may have other ideas. They may contradiction themselves, but he has ideas. They may also conflict with those of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

For example, here is one story on Trump vs. Tillerson: Trump says US is in Syria to beat ISIS and 'go home' - Business Insider

But then, there is also this Trump view: Trump to Use AUMF to keep US Military in Syria - 2018-2

America and the world need to know what America is going to do. In the meantime, I would suggest other nations leave Syria (my view).

Real Green Energy -- Trees

The "Trump Forest" is a project to plant trees to offset President Donald Trump's pro-coal energy policy.

The rest of the article explains who, what, where, why, when, etc.

Trump Forest Project Pledges One Million Trees

Go team!

School Teachers as Bodyguards

Republican politicians have used rhetoric about the "right to life" for a long time. Yet, their inability to actually do anything is a problem. Today school teachers are expected to protect children and even give their lives to protect them. Any parents who have children in schools and any school teachers or administrators would be foolish to vote for another Republican. They would be putting their own lives and those of the children at risk.

Justice Clarence Thomas on Guns

https://thinkprogress.org/justice-thomas-pro-gun-rant-parkland-e08504e87ee3/

Justice Thomas has made a suggestion that someone who already owns a gun (or guns) should not have to wait ten days to buy another gun. He claims they have already passed the background check and are 'good to go'. I would argue that after some passage of time and with the desire to buy more guns (than one could presume a person needs for self defense), that this is precisely an important time to do another background check. Has something changed in their life? Are they more prone to suicide or some other aggressive violence?

Thankfully the other Justices haven't seen fit to take another major Second Amendment case.

Is the Trump Administration Trying to Kill Boeing and GE?

http://www.businessinsider.com/emirates-warns-us-economy-to-suffer-open-skies-ends-2018-2

If they want to review a trade treaty or some kind of trade standard in order to ruin it, that would have a big effect on the airplane manufacturers involved -- Boeing primarily. Why do that? Is it because Boeing has been manufacturing in Washington State (Seattle) and that's a 'Democratic state'? Is he playing politics with people's lives and the economy?

Let's not go 'fixing' things which aren't broken!

International Law, and a Book Recommendation

I just watched a great C-SPAN show where an author was speaking at Trinity Church in Atlanta, Georgia, USA about a new book he and a co-author have published. It's entitled The Internationalists and it's about a rather large swath of human history from about 1600 (at the beginning of the Renaissance to today) and the core issue of the book is the world order concerning "the right to war".

Here's a link to amazon.com: The Internationalists: How a Radical Plan to Outlaw War Remade the World

He said the publisher only allowed 150,000 words, so they cut it down to 150,310. His humor was subtle and yet caught the audience every time.

Perhaps the most critical moments in history relate to a changing of the 'world order' and he explains Napoleon, The Nurmberg Trials, the Vietnam War, Crimea, South Sudan, and Iraq wars. It's fascinating stuff in large part because this isn't a subject ever discussed. Yet, its crucial t how nations relate and restrain one another.

I've been thinking of an idea for a few days and this book lecture has inspired me to suggest the idea today. It is that we should prevent wars of conquest, such as Russia taking Crimea, by sanctioning Russia, but we should also offer other solutions to the problems. For example, Russia desperately needs its access of Crimea for a very important military base and the fact Ukraine became independent of the Soviet Union was almost an accident. These things happen, but how can we readjust to enable Russia what it needs while letting Ukraine keep its territory and national unity.

In the lecture the author discusses the beginning of the League of Nations and the United Nations and how there wasn't a great replacement for the old standard world order wherein wars of aggression were acceptable, but to outlaw them without a sufficient replacement led to chaos.

Now, I'm suggesting we need more than simple sanctions against nations such as Russia, who may have serious important reasons for their unlawful behaviors. We cannot supply a blind stupid Justice. Thus, I recommend Ukraine and Russia, perhaps with others, discuss a way for Ukraine to lease Crimea (or at least some part of it) to Russia for monetary or other payments. Rather than continue the sanctions which our current US president doesn't even want to impose, we could find a way to resolve the issue to a simple contract. The UK leased Hong Kong from China for a century, surely Russia can lease Crimea from Ukraine with benefits to everyone.

Russia and China, Very Different

I came across two very different stories today. One is about Russian 'bots' which are pretending to be humans promoting ideas in discussion on Twitter. They're sowing dischord and confusion. The other is about the Chinese government re-assigning Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) troops to plant trees. They want clean air and this is good for everyone on the planet.

https://www.wired.com/story/pro-gun-russian-bots-flood-twitter-after-parkland-shooting/

http://www.atimes.com/article/china-re-assigning-60000-troops-plant-trees/

Perhaps government should consider legislation which would enable our Cyber Corps to 'kill' the Russian 'bots' before they can do more damage and then create a way to promote more tree planting here in America. We could begin by NOT turning national park lands over to mineral resource mining companies.

About the School Shooting in Florida

This is worrisome. I just read a story which says the FBI was warned about the young man who did that shooting. The thing which is worrying is that they were warned about him LAST SEPTEMBER.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/briannasacks/the-fbi-was-warned-about-a-school-shooting-threat-from?utm_term=.aeewn7MjP#.vx5Gql6Nz

Genius: An idea I have been considering is now being considered in Germany

https://www.thelocal.de/20180213/germany-considers-making-public-transport-free-to-fight-air-pollution

I love it when someone else comes to the same idea I've considered/imagined. In this case it's a natural for some cities to do as much local public transport as possible to avoid the congestion, pollution, and parking problems (of automobiles and trucks) as possible. The intention of using electric vehicles makes it even better.

A "Generous" Immigration Reform Plan

The President has said that he is being "generous" with his ideas for immigration reform. I will take him at his word and suggest to Democrats that they test that premise with amendments for the current legislation.

What should be in the amendments?

Listening to Sen. Perdue today, I heard a short list of four things which are indeed important: fix DACA, improve border security, fix 'flaws' in our current law to end 'chain migration' and to expedite the backlog of immigration cases, and fourth, the Secure and Succeed Act which shifts our immigration policy to a more skill-based approach. In general terms that isn't a bad starting place, but Democrats also have some other things in mind.

Visa Overstays

It's well-known that many people come into America legally using a visa, but they overstay and become 'illegal'. We need a better way to track and catch these people for a quick exportation. People who intentionally use and violate our mechanisms for visits should not be granted much reprieve or legal stays of action.

Better Analysis, Focused Solutions

To ensure we aren't wasting money on boondoggles and ideological posturing, we should use existing data to focus our energies on the places and means people use most to come into the country (whether legally or illegally) for the purpose of staying illegally, and then focus our attention and spending on solutions to those first. Let's not spend a dollar more on a wall or some other 'solution' if it isn't actually a big problem.

Guest-Worker Legal Status

Another important issue is the difficulties people face when they come to work and the difficulty government has of protecting people and measuring economic activities. Workers are often employed at slave wages, with no work protections, and are abused. That needs to stop. To help with this we need a guest-worker legal status for those individuals. That will help us to know who is working and that those people can have some protection of Law where they are working. They would have protections from unscrupulous employers. I suggest that they not receive the minimum wage of American workers, but to enable them to survive there should be another guest-worker minimum wage established. This will enable them to be legal for Social Security and other programs. Employers who want to publicly claim they do not hire foreign workers will then be on the record and they may be dissuaded from hiring so many foreign workers! This should also be good for the economy and for government programs that count foreigner workers and measures their affects on the economy.

Paying for It

Lastly, I'd like to mention the cost of this legislation. We haven't heard discussion of that as much as what should be in the legislation. I would suggest that we debate the relative importance of the immigration "problem" and our national defense spending. If immigration is a problem of great national importance, because of the criminal activities related to it (drug transportation, etc.) then our spending priority compares to and should be paid for from the same pile of dollars. Put Homeland Security and the DoD spending together and ask which is more important, another ship, another aircraft, another airbase the American people don't want or more of the "War on Drugs" spending by the DEA or greater border becurity and Immigration-related things. I suggest the spending for this Immigration reform should come from existing piles of money and it should NOT be another additional burden on the American taxpayer. We know Republicans won't tax the richest 1% to pay for it and we know from recent elections and protest movements that people can't pay more taxes and we know we shouldn't borrow more, so it should come from other sources.

Let's see how generous the president is when Democrats suggest other reforms we've been wanting for decades.

Republican (Russian?) "Negotiation" Techniques

It's amusing to hear Republicans talk about the President's 'generosity' and that "now is the time to negotiate" on bi-partisan Immigration reforms.

When Pres. Obama was in the White House they weren't interested in passing any bills for him to sign. They weren't interested in passing anything he COULD sign. They weren't interested in recognizing that it was LONG PAST "time to negotiate". They weren't interested in any bi-partisan legislation passing the House.

No.

They waited and waited and waited until they had complete control of government, Trump signed the end of DACA (which wasn't necessary), and even now they say the bill must be one Pres. Trump (an obvious racist) is willing to sign AND they won't bring up a bill for a vote in the House of Representatives unless the majority of the Republicans will support it -- ensuring it has to be radical to get TEA party votes. This is pretty much the equivalent of Gerrymandering the Legislative process. it's also known as putting a thumb on the scales before weighing something.

It's cheating.

That said, Democrats want to save DACA immigrants and make some kind of progress on immigration reform. That's a tight spot to be in, especially when you consider that Pres. Trump is lousy at negotiating. He thinks that what he wants is the end. He's dictatorial in nature. It's no wonder he and Vladimir Putin are so similar. In fact, one could say Trump's legislative style is right out of the Russian play-book.

"Here's what I want and if you don't give me this, you get nothing, or worse."

Can't wait to see how he sets up infrastructure legislation.

Thank God he's not involved in negotiations between North and South Korea. He would surely ruin it.

Putin Speaks for Trump and America, No Really

Apparently Donald Trump has authorized Vladimir Putin to speak for us in Middle East discussions, or at least with PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas.


Putin Says Trump Authorized Him to Give Message to PLO


Trump: Mideast Peace Is Hard


The implications of this are big and not good. We have a State Department specifically to convey the president's or our government's views and specific statements to the world. There is a reason we use Americans who have pledged to uphold our Constitution for this job.

To let a foreigner, of any nation, speak for us is insane. Donald Trump should immediately be censured by Congress and warned to never do this again or face impeachment and removal. This is unforgivable. Putin does not speak for me. He is not American and has no interest in our success. No American elected him!

The Olympics: Uniting the World

This time the Olympic spirit may have a hand in uniting North and South Korea in discussions about "unification and prosperity". I don't know what kind of "unification" would be acceptable to China or the world community, but talk talk is better than war war. Let's hope they find a mutually-beneficial path forward.

North Korea South Korea talks meeting invitation

Ms. Sobchak Goes to America

In an article posted to Quartz.com:
https://qz.com/1202861/behind-ksenia-sobchaks-battle-with-putin-to-be-president-of-russia/

The main candidate for the presidency in Russia, other than Vladimir Putin, is Ksenia Sobchak. She is an interesting figure with a high-profile television career, but also with a very strong political background. The article is quite good. It describes her trip yesterday to New York City to throw light on the campaign and to show that not all Russian politicians are like Putin. I don't know if she is a stooge for Putin, but her credentials make her a viable candidate either way.

I haven't read her book of 123 policies, but one which I dislike (and it may surprise other Americans) is that she says Russia should get out of Crimea. Yes, I know there are sanctions against Putin for taking Crimea, but as I see world politics, that was a required step for him to maintain naval access to the Mediterranean. Any leader worth his salt would have done (or at least considered) the same. Ms. Sobchak should soften her stand on that one issue and keep all her other ideas of Liberalization.

My believe that the current world order can in short-order become much better, also leads me to believe that when America leaves Syria and if it mostly stays out of Pakistan and Afghanistan, that Russia might see fit to leave the Donbass region of Ukraine. A couple of positive steps such as these can make relations much better. Similarly, if North Korea and South Korea can create a path to progress for the North to become much more advanced and yet to restrain their interest in nuclear bombs, then there will be a new market in North-East Asia for many nations (Russians, Chinese, South Koreans, Japanese, (at some time) Americans, et al). It would require a lot of work and cooperation for North Korea to be advanced into the 21st century and that means commerce could flourish. How long it might take is anyone's guess. If Ms. Sobchak were to carry that message of economic opportunity in her campaign, it might help her.

Russia has a problem in its politics. Mr. Putin doesn't seem to like competitors. Perhaps it isn't him who kills them off, but he certainly jails them. Recently Alexander Navalny suffered that same fate. Some believe that since Ms. Sobchak and Mr. Putin have a long-time connection via her father, that she may survive better. I don't know if that's possible, but it would certainly be more interesting to Americans to see her receiving a unified 'protest of Putin' vote. I don't know if the people of Russia would want her brand of Liberalization, but as a protest candidacy she could certainly give voice to Putin's opponents. This is especially significant with Mr. Navalny out of the picture.

Green Energy Off the Grid

I just watched a video embedded in an article about a GOP (Republican) member of Congress who is also an MIT-educated engineer. He has a home which is off-grid (not connected to the electric company power grid) and he has been using lead-based batteries (similar to car batteries except much larger) with solar panels for electricity. Well, after five years of driving a battery-powered Tesla automobile and seeing his home batteries failing, he decided he might like to use Tesla batteries for his home.

GOP congressman powers his off-grid solar home with a Tesla battery – ThinkProgress

He says however, that Tesla batteries DO NOT WORK OFF-GRID. That's not true.

Sure, Tesla makes batteries which work with the grid, but they also have batteries for off-grid use.

Here are some Youtube.com links to videos about various off-grid home battery systems:

HUMLESS | Off Grid Battery System For Home And Cabin - YouTube

EasyGrid - The Complete Off Grid Power Solution - YouTube 

Living Power - Off Grid 10 kWh per day - Marulan NSW - YouTube

About Tesla's Off-Grid PowerWall Battery System

This is a short list I found after looking for only 10 minutes or so. I'm certain there are others and if you look for websites you could probably find a dozen more.

So, while the Congressman's video is entertaining and a hoot for someone with the skill and interest in a Do It Yourself (DIY) project, it isn't the complete truth. There is a GREEN world out there, ready for ordinary people to buy into.
 

Trump has Cornyn in a box

i've watched Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) give speeches in recent days and it seems pretty clear that immigration reform is a big problem for him. Pres. Trump doesn't want to let more brown-skinned people in the country and has refused numerous bi-partisan legislative attempts with a stern "nyet". My guess is he won't allow ANY reform and that he intends to deport everyone he can. This is the problem for Sen. Cornyn. In his state they accept and even recognize the importance of immigrants. So, he's in a box. He wants something critical to his reelection and the president won't let him have it. He complains bitterly that the Democrats won't bend down and kiss the feet of Pres. Trump. Democrats have wanted to get this done since we had Pres. Obama in office, but Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) (then in the minority) always said "Nyet!"

Who is going to run for the senate in Texas for Democrats? It seems to me this is a moment where the Trump Effect has some Republicans stuck. There are probably others in border states where the voters want DACA Dreamers saved, but their senator can do nothing to help them because Pres. Trump is a racist. He's the leader of the Republican Party and that's the way it is.

Interesting Effect of Changes in U.S. Businesses

U.S. startups are shunning IPOs and that's bad news for someone

The changing economy, from manufacturing plants to IP law and highly-educated workers, has changed other things. Read the article and be enlightened.

Trump and the Desire to Spend on Defense and Infrastructure

Trump, like Putin and many other leaders, knows how to prey on people's greed, fear and other needs in order to get what they want. When he pushed for tax reform with a huge increase in the debt (unless the growth rate increases a good bit) he was giving the business community and some greedy politicians what they wanted.

What was lost in that is that, like a multi-part business organization, the government does many things and must allocate resources carefully. When earlier administrations pushed the debt very high with war or tax cuts or recessions, it left a requirement for our current government/administration to tighten the belt, perhaps raise taxes, limit military excursions, and the like. Well, with greater debt than we have had since World War II (as a percentage of our annual GDP) it is important to not satisfy every interest group's interests at the cost of the national need to stay solvent or of other pressing interests the government funds.

During the 2016 campaign it was obvious we going to have to spend on the military after years of activity. After decades of little spending on infrastructure it was obvious this too needed attention. What does the tax reform with gigantic giveaways to businesses do to those necessities? It puts a giant question mark after the question "can we afford them". Can we afford to spend $1 Trillion on Infrastructure and Defense? How much does that push up the 'interest on the debt' part of our budgeting? When will that debt ever be repaid? It's easy to write a check and let someone else pay it back. What isn't so easy is explaining we don't have a national defense in time of crisis because you wrote the check to your political and business friends.

With N. Korea acting bad and Trump arguing to rescind the treaty with Iran it isn't clear we won't have to fight another war before long. Does he care if we have to borrow a lot of money to pay for that? No, he does not. It doesn't come out of his pocket. His history with money is to borrow to the hilt and then to refuse to pay it back. He has a long recorded history of refusing to pay his bills. But, he's happy to give YOUR money to a corporation, especially if the corporation gives money to his political campaign or those of other Republican candidates. This is an untenable situation and it endangers the nation, both militarily and financially.

Sometimes past is indeed prologue.

How Our Brains Learn, Especially Languages

http://neurosciencenews.com/language-brain-circuits-8398/

This article discusses declarative and procedural learning methods which are used in learning, and how they are used in learning language in particular. It also shows the cells involved are ancient and are also used in animals for various things. I think this may help us with methods of teaching which can be more effective. I especially liked that it says (essentially) that we use procedural learning to get words and rules, but procedural learning to utilize all that to make words turn into sentences and ideas and communication or to use declarative learning for the names of objects and people, but procedural learning for how to tie your shoes or to ride a bike or play a musical instrument.

Perhaps most hopeful is the possibility of using this to improve learning for people with autism, aphasia, or other disorders.

Cancer News and Twitter "Deaths"

Recently I've seen two amazing articles dealing with CANCER and what may cause colon cancer and what may help cure any cancers.

First, colon cancer causes:  https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/01/health/colon-cancer-bacteria.html

Second, a possible cancer vaccine:  Cancer 'vaccine' eliminates tumors in mice | News Center | Stanford Medicine

Then I read about the recent "deaths" of many Twitter accounts.

Twitter Followers Vanish Amid Inquiries Into Fake Accounts - The New York Times

It appears there has been a lot of lying going on, even before Donald Trump became president.