Thursday, March 16, 2017

Musings: Sweet

It's so sweet to see Hawaii in the news for something other than “vacation in paradise,” “buy a piece of paradise” or “they're poisoning paradise.” Kudos to state Attorney General Doug Chin for successfully challenging Trump's latest executive order travel ban. When your intent is to discriminate, it's pretty hard to disguise it.

Here's some more good news. Kauai's bees are buzzing along just fine, thank you. Yup, even though a recent pollen study detected miniscule levels of pesticides, the island's honey bees are robust, in strapping good health.
Capturing a swarm.
In fact, “Kauai has some of the healthiest bees in the world — or at least, the country,” said Scott Enright, director of the state Department of Agriculture.

So concluded Danielle Downey, the former state apiary specialist who conducted the study in 2015. It was financed by a $12,000 Kauai County grant, which was issued after people freaked out during Bill 2491, claiming that the westside seed companies were killing and poisoning bees.

“This study showed this was not the case,” Enright told the Kauai County Council yesterday.

“During the infamous Bill 2491, many claims were made by proponents of the bill,” Councilman Ross Kagawa said. “And they had some very serious accusations that people were dying, babies were being born deformed, cancer was on the rise, and of course, that bees were dying at a rapid rate. So based on your study, are those claims true or false, regarding the bees?”

“False, Enright relied.

And yet another bogus claim bites the dust. Indeed, not one of those accusations was found to be true.

Downey took 200 samples from 23 sites, from Kekaha to Haena, and they were tested for 212 different chemistries. One sample, taken at Kekaha, detected chlorpyrifos (Lorsban) at 12.5 part per billion, which Downey declared “an insignificant number.”

“It was the only hit for an ag RUP (restricted use pesticide) in everything,” Enright said.

On the other hand, fipronil — a product used in ant, flea, roach and termite control — was found in every sample. And then there were “chemistries [fungicides] used in green houses, mostly on the North Shore, that showed up in concentrations in hives on the North Shore,” Enright added.

Uh, what have we been saying all along? “Big ag” ain't the problem, folks! It's us! It's you!

As Enright reminded us, Kauai had the highest honey production in the world during sugar's heyday.
Absolute Kauai honey.
Never one to pass an opportunity to self-promote, Carl Berg told the council about a study he did to determine whether there was any glyphosate (Roundup) in Kauai honey. It was funded by Surfrider, conducted with dubious protocol — beekeepers could send in their own honey samples, opening the possibility for contamination, as opposed to Danielle, who collected pollen herself — and he's still writing up the results, supposedly for publication in a scientific journal. We shall see... And it was a bit disengenous to claim he “collaborated with Dr. Downey,” when in fact she discouraged the honey testing.

At any rate, Berg supposedly found glyphosate in 37 percent of the samples he tested — again, in extremely small amounts, but there is no allowable pesticide level in honey. Though it's hard to imagine that any honey doesn't have at least some residue, since pesticides are found in pollen all around the world, and thus ostensibly would be found in the honey. So you might think twice about paying more for "organic" honey.

The pollen study “didn't test for glyphosate because bees don't react to it,” Enright said. “In talking about bee health, they have no reaction. I didn't know about that until I had a conversation with Danielle.”

One would expect a joyous reaction from beekeepers to the news that Kauai bees are in great shape. Except when it doesn't fit their agenda, as is the case with beekeeper and anti-GMO activist Jimmy Trujillo.

Looking grim as he addressed the Council, Trujillo said: “What can we do to protect our bees and the livelihood of our beekeepers? We are prepared to find out.”

As a beekeeper, Trujillo should know it starts with good hive hygiene. As in quit neglecting your bees. And let's not forget he was the one who transported a box with the small hive beetle from the Kauai Community College apiary to Kapahi, thus facilitating the eastside spread of that destructive pest.

But shhh. Let's just keep blaming ag, instead of taking any responsibility ourselves.

104 comments:

Anonymous said...

How can the ban be discrimination if the people from the 6 Muslim countries aren't American citizens? I don't believe that the American constitution protects Non Americans. Correct me if I'm wrong. Also the ban is only for 90 days. Everybody needs to relax. The sky is not falling.

Anonymous said...

Listening to that bombastic fool,our "Commander in Tweet" with all his fear mongering and outright lies, exaggerations and bullshit he sounds just like chicken little.

Unknown said...

The United States Constitution protects people on the basis that they are people. The Constitution does not just protect U.S. Citizens.

Anonymous said...

Not sure if it was included in the study, but my friend on the west side sent his honey to be tested and glyphosate was found in all 4 samples. He still sells it as organic but I am not sure how much was found or at what concentration. I always buy honey from off island with an organic label. Sounds like that might not even be safe. Btw, I saw plenty of bees down along the burns field fence this morning. What do I see next? A county vehicle driving along towing a huge tank labeled "herbicide". They literally soaked the red dirt with gallons of spray. My friends bees are less than a mile from there. Go figure.

Anonymous said...

You are wrong 8:27. Are you the new Trump AG for the District of Hawaii or did you simply sleep through your 5th grade civics class?

Anonymous said...

The Constitution has this beauty of clause called the establishment clause. As Trump & Co have been most vocal about their desire to specifically ban Muslims, the ban can be viewed as a de facto preference for and against a particular religious viewpoint. Doesn't take a rocket (or plant) scientist...

Anonymous said...

All this concern about refugees fleeing war but Trump welcomes oligarchs subversives and racists to the White House (or his penthouse).

Anonymous said...

I wonder how much neem oil was in the pollen.

Anonymous said...

Yeah because Hawaii locals would just love to have more immigrants or tourists. What a joke

Anonymous said...

Yeah because Hawaii already has oligarchs and racists, no joke.

Anonymous said...

http://www.alternet.org/environment/has-monsanto-orchestrated-massive-cancer-coverup-court-case-documents-point-troubling

Roundup is safe I think?

Anonymous said...

11:53 AM:
Hawaii has plenty of liberal racist...

Anonymous said...

4:00 am: Then they can get a job from Herr Trump, aka Putin's Puppet.

Anonymous said...

A lot of the people I know that identity as white just can't accept the fact that someone who's not white would despise them because of the content of their character and not their skin tone. Please don't project your racism on us. The fact that you are condescending, prejudice, cocky and entitled is why locals (and there are white locals too) don't like you. You just happen to be white and if you don't like that don't call us racist. Improve your character. This is a small island and we all have to live together.

Anonymous said...

@6:20 am

Change out "white" for "black" or "Mexican" or anything else in your comment and you would be lit up as a racist by anyone on the internet.

for example:

"You just happen to be 'black' and if you don't like that don't call us racist. Improve your character."

"You just happen to be 'Mexican' and if you don't like that don't call us racist. Improve your character."

"You just happen to be 'Filipino' and if you don't like that don't call us racist. Improve your character."

"You just happen to be 'Hawaiian' and if you don't like that don't call us racist. Improve your character."

See what I mean.




Anonymous said...

Constitution covers all people on American soil. It does not cover all people.
There is no automatic right to entry.
Shucks Roy, they took many of my relatives and stuck them in camps in the 1940s. This was NEVER deemed unconstitutional.
Get real.
The AG would be better off looking at real discrimination. You know, like how the Locals get "preferential treatment" in all Zoning, legal and police matters.
If you be one Haole and gotta illegal yoga studio, Bam, you are cited. If you are a Local with 20 bedrooms on a cesspool in Hanamaulu. You are hero.
Kauai Zoning enforcement. For the few, by the few. What Haole, what are ya gonna do?





Anonymous said...

"Around 21,220 pounds of frozen pizza was recalled by a Walmart Stores supplier in 11 states across the country over possible listeria contamination, the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and the company announced Thursday." If this was organic the chem cheerleaders would be dancing in the street.

Anonymous said...

we have 90 million Americans that are under employed or out of work. why do we need any immigration at all? the same people that bitch about needing higher wages are the same people that are pro immigrations. those two issues are counteracting. The economic laws of supply dictate that as the number of available employees increase, the rate of wages payed decreases. So, if you're for higher wages, you should be opposing adding unskilled workers to the work force, McDonald worlders in SD make $15 an hour even though the minimum wage is half that. why? the boom in tracking oil has created a labor shortage. most minimum wages in the Midwest are 10-20 an hour due to very tight labor market. Also, our cost of living is 10-24000 a year. most families have a very comfortable lifestyle, but our winters suck compared to Hawaii, and we have no surfing.


Now, Tyson meats has received huge federal tax breaks to fire Mexican workers and replace them with Muslim refuges under the Obama administration. No wonder our national debt doubled under his administration. IDK, stabilizing our job force numbers in an effort to increase wages (and tax revenues) doesn't seem like a bad solution in the short term. further, Tyson has had many deadly "accidents" caused by Somali refuges. People getting stabbed, or getting pushed into running saws. They're quickly making themselves unpopular and making Trumps immigration policy seem like a reasonable idea...

there are always two sides to every issue, but this issue has different factions hell bent on demanding polar opposite solutions. Hopefully rational minds can find a reasonable solution with some middle ground. Yet, I have my doubts.

John Kauai said...

@9:10, thanks for the Alternet article. It is kind of sad that this has to be adjudicated in the courts. There's no guarantee that at the courts will "get it right". It was't clear if this will be a jury trial, but I'm sure glad I'm not on that jury. No matter what they decide, they'll be vilified by someone.

In the mean time, I'll limit my use of glyphosate and use my own judgement about maintaining a healthy diet by not consuming processed foods while consuming copious amounts of alcohol -- in an useless effort to drown out all the voices in my head arguing uselessly about how good or bad GMO is when they should be figuring out how to come to an agreement on something -- which will probably do me in long before I get Celiac Disease from eating bread made with wheat desiccated with glyphosate before harvest.

I thank Berg for doing his honey study. I thank the County for commissioning the pollen study. I do not reject the UN study. I'm not calling for kicking big Ag off the island.

John Kauai said...

@8:57,
-- the BLS says that in February there are 7.5M unemployed, where did you get 90M? Politifact declares that number "mostly false.

-- Do you know how dumb some Americans are? The H1B visa program suffers much abuse but it also imports highly qualified people to fill jobs that would otherwise remain open because there aren't any qualified Americans to do them. Then there are the jobs Americans won't do.

-- I insist Americans need higher wages. I don't want people to have to be homeless even while they have a job.

-- I support immigration, I don't demand it, but some day I might want to move to Fiji. I'd like to be able to do.

-- The Tyson deal sucks if it is true. I cannot find anything to substantiate the claim.

-- The cause of US public debt is complicated and can hardly be attributed to just one cause. However, IMHO Bush's stupid wars and Obama's failure to extract the US from them is a major influence. IN any case, it is CONGRESS, not the President who allocates the budget and which raises the debt ceiling. Congress has been controlled by the Republicans recently. Trump's propose budget also increases the size of the debt, but that will only happen when the Republican Congress passes it. Since you are from North Dakota, blame Hoeven and Heitkamp not Obama.

-- I cannot find any articles supporting your claims of "many deadly accidents" caused by Somalis. The only story I find connecting Somalis and Tyson is one small town in Missouri that is mostly Mexican and has a very small population.

John Kauai said...

@7:58, Indeed the Japanese internment was declared constitutional! In 1944.
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/On-this-Day--The-Supreme-Court-Upholds-WWII-Internment-of-Japanese-Americans-.html

But thanks to "Labor History in 2" we know that Fred Korematsu received the Presidential Medal for Freedom in 1998.
https://laborhistoryin2.podbean.com/e/january-30-a-day-for-remembering/

Thanks for reminding us all that the hysteria Trump is creating over "Muslims" is just as racist as the Japanese Internment in WWII with just as little basis in fact!

Seems like the same kind of Hysteria that the "antis" are being accused of.

Joan Conrow said...

"Seems like the same kind of Hysteria that the "antis" are being accused of. "

Extremism looks and feels the same -- oppressive and narrow-minded -- on either side of the political spectrum.

Anonymous said...

http://www.kearneyhub.com/news/local/millan-pleads-not-guilty-in-stabbing/article_65fa96d6-9bbb-11e3-ae6c-0019bb2963f4.html

Unknown said...

Let me help you out with that 90 million number "John". That number includes both "unemployed and underemployed" individuals (please read more carefully). Under Employed people are defined as: "Labor that falls under the underemployment classification includes those workers who are highly skilled but working in low paying jobs, workers who are highly skilled but working in low skill jobs and part-time workers who would prefer to be full time." So, all those union factory jobs that were outsourced to China and Mexico are included in that number. People who had their hours cut back under 40 hours so employers no longer had to buy over priced Obamacare are included in that number. Finally, the 21 million people who are actually unemployed are included in that number.

Also, discrimination against Muslims is technically religious bigotry (not racism). Yet, Muslims hold the same bigotry towards Christians, Jews, Hinduism, Buddhism, and 10,000 other religions. Recently, several Muslim workers were fired because they insisted on taking multiple prayer breaks on top of the normal breaks they were already getting. They sued in court on the grounds of religious discrimination and lost. That being said, Muslim immigrants are creating issues for employers. That kind of explains why Obama put the tax breaks in place..... I hope Trump gets rid of the tax breaks, which would give all individuals an equal opportunity in the workplace. To a certain degree, it constitutes reverse discrimination.

John Kauai said...

@11:15

I'm assuming you are the same guy @8:57. In my hometown of Owatonna MN, there are a lot of Somalis. They look nothing like Navor Millan. Then too this story you provide was from 2014 and the guy Millan killed was suppose to be a "friend". The friend's last name sounds more Mexican to me but what it sounds like means nothing.

There is a Tyson Foods Beef processing plant in Lexington, but as far as I know, no connection between Millan and Tyson.

Personally, I think the evidence that both Obama and Trump were responsible for the murder of American Citizens, who were Children, without any judicial proceeding is much, much stronger. So what was your point again? Something about Somali refugees murdering "good Americans" at Tyson factories? Somehow Trump is suppose to save us from Obama's failures by stopping Muslims from crossing the border?

Your claims remind me of the lady in Nashville a couple of nights ago who gave credit to Trump when her son's Health Insurance cost dropped from $550/month to only $90 when he lost his job.
http://deadstate.org/woman-praises-trump-for-obamacare-feature-that-dropped-her-healthcare-premium/

She has no clue that the Republican Healthcare bill is going to cause 14 Million people on Medicaid (like her son) to lose their Health Insurance and that it was the ACA (Obamacare) that is keeping her son Insured.

(From WaPo) She said “I think it was just because of the tax credit,” She has no clue what a "tax credit" is. If you don't pay income tax (which you don't if you make less than $30K), a tax credit is a worthless piece of paper. The Trump tax credits haven't been enacted yet and if they are, her son's premiums are going to rise dramatically.

I watched that Tennessee rally. Trying really, really hard to figure out what you guys see in Trump. He did not tell a single "truth". I'll grant that he's getting better at reading the teleprompter.

His promise to "cut the hell out of taxes" includes doing away with the Alternative Minimum Tax which would have saved him about $25M on his 2005 taxes (the only one we have a glimpse of) reducing his effective rate to less than 5%. Who pays 5% in income tax? Only people who have more money than god apparently.

Obamacare is not falling apart. There are indeed problems in some states, but those states are run by Republicans. And it was Republican Marco Rubio who sabotaged the ACA by introducing legislation that stopped the financing promised to the insurance companies.

He's pushing Betsie DeVos' plan to privatize schools. If you can't send your kid to a private school today, you aren't going to do it after Trump gets his way. (Remember those "Tax Credits" only really make a difference if you make a whole lot of money, more than $100K) The result is your public school will suck even more than it does now.

Trump is going to screw you so badly that you'll think it was Jimmy Carter's fault. I continually surprise myself because I keep trying to explain this. I'm going to be "just fine". I can buy that expensive insurance. I have my nice house. I need not worry about paying off my credit card bills. In fact, I'm probably one of the guys you despise.

Why the hell I care about whether or not you have a good paying job and can afford health insurance and can send your kids to a decent school and whether or not your kid gets sent to die in some stupid foreign war that is only fought so that the American Oligarchs can send yet another bill to the US Treasury for an over-priced, poorly performing weapons system built to fight the last war not the one coming, keeps me up at night.

I think it is called conscience. One of the first things the Republicans insist their members lose.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2hzpyy4X1s

Anonymous said...

No you're drawing a false analogy because your not acknowledging the context of racism in America. And failing to do so makes you dumb. Because you're white that makes you a dumb haole thus proving 620's point. See what I mean?

Unknown said...

John is beginning to understand what Trump is talking about when he screams fake news. National Reporters white washing, under reporting, or ignoring important stories.

Like the 38 year old married Muslim man that molested 6 girls at a Toronto swimming pool (on the same day). Would that have made national news if a white man had done the same thing?

The new owner of the Upland Bar has a brother that works at Tyson in Lexington. You can call the establishment and ask for his contact information. He told me they had a Muslim man stab a white guy in the Lunchroom 2 Fridays ago. Then a different Muslim "body checked" a white guy into a band saw and his thumb was cut off on that same day. He said Somalis hate the Mexicans and white people. Also, he made it sound like those kind of incidents are a daily occurrence. (He is kind of scared to work there, but the money and benefits are really good.) Their country is ruled by warlords. They resolve problems with knives and guns. In the US, we have laws and courts. Hence, Trump's agenda to "VETT" these new immigrants. Not all news is on the internet, or in a New paper. Sometimes news travels old school, by word of mouth. I've heard trucker friends of mine verify many of these claims (they haul cattle into GI and Lexington). The real story is why press is ignoring what's going on?

http://www.omaha.com/news/nebraska/in-immigrant-nebraska-town-muslims-clash-with-city-over-downtown/article_401b623b-ac5d-5efd-ac62-6c56c0d4e5fe.html

John Kauai said...

Bradley:

As I said Politifact ranks that 90 million number of non-working Americans as mostly false

"Bloggers and pundits have said that 90 million Americans either aren’t working or aren’t looking for work. That’s a real number, but it includes high schoolers, college students and retirement-age Americans, leaving perhaps 20 million a better approximation. We rate the claim Mostly False."

I'm not working, I'm retired. I'm in that 90M. I don't want a job. If I wanted one, I have no doubt I could get one. It is a number that pundits from both the left and right use when they want to exaggerate their point, precisely what @8:57 was doing.

I have looked for any reference to a tax break for employers who hired Muslims or Refugees. It turns out that the Washington Times did pick up on something that Herman Cain put on his campaign web site about how a business might save $3000 if they hired an illegal. But here's Politifact again debunking the claim.

The employers who hire illegal immigrants aren't hiring them to avoid paying fines for not following the ACA rules. If you want them to stop employing illegal immigrants then fine the employer. Something the Republicans (and some DINOs) have been blocking for years. It is a story that is very rarely covered. When it is, it is usually brought up as How some politician hires illegal immigrants.

Perhaps you are talking about something else?

Anonymous said...

There is a letter in today's Garden Island from a student who is very concerned about genetic technology bringing employed to change the characteristics of future offspring. She need not worry though because if things go wrong parents always always have the option of deleting the embryo and trying again. It's kinda linked how digital cameras give the consumer more options than analogue film. Isn't it great?

John Kauai said...

Thanks Bradley for the article @7:24. I agree that it is difficult having neighbors. Many on Kauai have clashes with neighbors who like to burn wood; or who own dogs; or who hunt pigs. There was even a recent LTE from one Kauai religious group complaining that another (Kauai) excluded them from what the first considered to be a public event, which was answered in a tone that sounds a lot to me like a white supremacist talking. Is he? I'm sure my opinion is also formed by his past letters. (Just as, I'm sure, your opinion of me takes into account posts I've made here. If you need a label for me, I think the one that works best would be "peacenik".)

The "news" that makes it to the national stage always depends on the editor. That this supposed clash between Muslims and Whites (is it just whites?) is taking place in the Mid-West is hardly national news. Where is the "national new" reporting on the gang problem in Santa Cruz? I have no reason to doubt your sincere belief in the story you related. But I don't know who the owner of the "Upland Bar" is and how do I know his brother told him the story you give us here? Surely you don't expect me to call him and have him repeat what has (IMHO) a 50/50 chance of being an outright lie? Yes, that puts us as an impasse. I try to provide links to what I consider to be "solid" stories. I appreciate it when you do the same.

I see no evidence that there are "radical islamists" infiltrating the USA. In fact a report from homeland security states that most radicals take at least 10 years inside the USA before they are lured by the FBI to commit some act of terrorism that can never happen because the FBI didn't provide "real" bombs. (If you are unaware of this, I can provide some links.)

Terrorism is hardly perpetrated solely by Muslims. Eric Rudolph and Tim McVeigh weren't Muslims. The Bundy's aren't Muslim.

It is a mistake to take the actions of a mere few and apply that to an entire population. Trump's muslim ban is just grandstanding for his white supremacist followers. You have a better chance of being struck by lightening -- twice -- than being murdered by a Muslim Terrorist.

For the Record: Rachael Maddow's serial farce on how the Russians are taking over America, is fun to watch. But it is total crap. That includes most of the accusations she places on the Trump Administration.

Anonymous said...

Yikes. It's going to be hard to take Bradley seriously in the future after this MAGA fake news tantrum.

John Kauai said...

@10:33 Let us not forget it was W who first brought up how genetic engineering would develop "chimeras" and the right-wing religious groups went bonkers over it. Same way that now the "lefties" are going bonkers over GMO.

It seems to depend on which group you are trying to "scare the hell out of".

@12:21, give Bradley a break. His point is a difficult one to make and it has many facets.

Anonymous said...

Just imagine. With properly deployed eugenics, the US might have avoided the blight of the Trump presidency with its flock of cuckoos like Bannon, Conway, Spicer and Miller roosting around the Oval Office.

Anonymous said...

At 12:21 how about some real news. I had a friends see a Somali refugee, who doesn't speak English, squat, take a shit on the floor in the woman's clothing section in Walmart, not wipe, stand up and continue shopping. Their non English speaking kids still need an education. So schools had to higher interpreters to teach their kids English. That resulted in other programs like band, sports and the shop budget had to be scaled back. State and local budgets can only handle a certain number of these refuges. Dearborn Mi has taken in over 100,000 and they don't want anymore. So, we'll just ship them all over to hawaii to help on the seed farms and help Alika weed his sunflowers. JK. I wonder how much of the mess in Dearborn swung votes towards Trump, because Hillary only promised more of the same?

To a certain degree, bringing political and economic stability to their home countries, while helping them rebuild their war torn nations is a better solution long-term. Yes, that's no easy task.

It should be noted that not all of these refuges want to remain in American. They want to get an education and return to help rebuild their country....

Anonymous said...

11:51 so there's nothing suspicious about the Russian oligarch who bailed out Trump by paying Donald double the purchase price for a Florida property in a down market?

Anonymous said...

this blog post is seven years old, but still relevant.

https://refugeeresettlementwatch.wordpress.com/2010/01/31/grand-island-ne-police-chief-it-is-chaotic-anarchy-here-among-all-the-ethnic-groups/

Anonymous said...

So Bradley Choquette is a Trumpster. Good to know. Now I can really take what you say with a heaping mound of salt. Keep your comments coming, Bradley.... What else you got to say?

John Kauai said...

@12:12 You are right. I overstated the point that should have been more narrowly focused.

There is nothing overtly illegal about Trump's business dealings. If (when?) he releases his tax forms those questions will be answered and if something illegal if found, I imagine he'll be forced to pay a fine. Lots of business is done with Russia and China by many different businessmen. While I agree that the sale and teardown of that mansion in Florida appears suspicious, there's nothing to corroborate it. Which is why on 15 April, there are going to be events across the nation demanding Trump release his Tax Returns. Will you be there?

The portion of Maddow's reporting that is "Crap" is the consistent innuendo that somehow the Russians, and only the Russians, were responsible for Clinton's loss to Trump. The "evidence" presented so far is on par with the "evidence" that Bill and Hillary murdered Vince Foster. In fact, key members of the democratic party are now admitting there is no evidence to back up those claims. (Glenn Greenwald so you can decide whether or not you care to read the article.)

I think the Russian story is cover so that the rift between the corporatist Democrats (whom some have referred to as Republican "Infiltrators) won't have to deal with the "Real Democrats". Obama pushed NATO to the borders of Russia and Clinton was instrumental in the overthrow of the Ukraine prime minister. It does appear that America's oligarchs want war with Russia. Tillerson is certainly doing his best in Korea to exacerbate tensions there. Hey, we're all entitled to our own conspiracy theory. :-)

"The principal problem for Democrats is that so many media figures and online charlatans are personally benefiting from feeding the base increasingly unhinged, fact-free conspiracies — just as right-wing media polemicists did after both Bill Clinton and Obama were elected — that there are now millions of partisan soldiers absolutely convinced of a Trump/Russia conspiracy for which, at least as of now, there is no evidence. "

Anonymous said...

Yeah all the pro GMO folks come out now with their "real news" based on the same kind of BS anecdotes that the antis spout when it comes to pesticides. Two sides of the same coin. We should just put the nutty pro GMO folks and the nutty antis in a room and let them sort it out.

Bradley, do you want me to spout off on all the crap that white folks do that's not reported in the news? The problem is what is "news" to you is informed by your own political biases, as it is on all sides. What clowns you all are.

Anonymous said...

The Russians are laundering money through Trump's real estate businesses. Putin awarded Tillerson some kind of civilian medal for being a good friend to Russia. Doubt he'd push for war with Putin.

Anonymous said...

Basically the county wants to give $7 per hour raises for their unqualified county welfare recipients. That what amounts to over 10K raises for our excellent world class public servants. Now how many of you get $7 and hour raises from you normal pay each year? People are lucky to get 25 cent raises annually and the county of Kauai is giving these do nothings insane amount of raises. What kind drugs they smoking must be good.

Anonymous said...

Trump was my last pick in the primary, but he is still 10x better than Hillary IMO... History will tell the true tale 10 years from now because "proof is in the performance.". 90% of the farmers and business owners I know agree with that point as well.

Tucker Carlson made the point that Trump is like turning off the pavement and driving on a grave road. In contrast, Hillary was the equivalent of staying on the pavement. In rural areas, 90% of accidents happen on gravel roads. People get too close to the soft shoulder and it starts pulling them into the ditch. The driver usually over corrects and rolls in the opposite ditch. The fear is Trump is going to over correct, and wreck on the wrong side of the road. If he wrecks,or not, either way it's going to be a bumpier road than staying on the pavement. Yet, that's not a bad thing since most business people feared Hillary's paved road was a dead end to nowhere.The more Trump stirs the pot, the more fans he gains. I have friends who are diehard Hillary fans that are impressed by the man's performance. most notably, he's keeping his campaign promises. How many other politicians can you say that about them? He also decreased the national debt by .1% his first month in office too. You can't say that about Hillary, or Obama. Like him, or hate him, it's his show to run for 3 years and 10 more months.

Unknown said...

How about the fact that Trump killed water of the US. That's a win for farmers.

Who killed off the fishing Monument expansion too?

Hillary sold off 20% of the nation's Uranium reserve for a huge "donation" (i.e. bribe) to the "Clinton Foundation". Let's back up 30 years to the 1990's where the Clinton's made $100,000 in one day trading cattle futures.

Trump made his millions prior to politics. Real estate values in Miami are soaring and Trump capitalized. That's what good business people do. That's what this country needs to climb out of pit of national debt made by Obama. If you haven't noticed, US Treasury bonds slipped from Triple A rating for the first time in history under Obama. The Clinton's made their million's in politics. "The only politicians that get rich are crooks." I think Will Rogers said that. In the integrity department, Trump wins hands down. Hence the Hillary for jail t-shirts.

The "basket of Deplorables" was her 49% moment. She never recovered and it became a rallying cry for Bernie Sanders and Trump supporters. Bernie had a much better chance of beating Trump. However, the Democratic party's Super Delegates rigged the election for the worst Presidential candidate, that ran the worst campaign, in modern history.

Anonymous said...

5:40 AM

I just heard Tin foil is on sale at Walmart.

You should hurry...

Anonymous said...

Please keep it coming, Bradley!!! Say some more.... It helps to put your other opinions in perspective. Fill in the blank: Trump is so awesome because______________________

John Kauai said...

@6:17 what promises did he keep?

If trump eased the National Debt, why is there such pressure to again raise the debt before the Treasury has to use extraordinary measures.

Bradley: "killed water of US"?

Snopes says the the Uranium Deal is false .
The Washington Post identifies the Author of the original report as being a Brietbart editor. the article goes on to provide what appears to be a pretty good defense of Clinton's non-role in what might be characterized as "just business".

I have severe doubts about anything that originates at BriteBart.

Now, Trump is involved in several deals with Russia right now. Leaving the emoluments clause aside (a pretty big aside), a similar case about Trump can be made even though he is doing "just Business".

Trump just received several trademarks in China. Is that OK with you?

John Kauai said...

Concerning my 8:54 post of yesterday, this link did not show up. It is the Greenwald story about key Democratic principles don't think the trump/Russia connection is going to be made:

https://theintercept.com/2017/03/16/key-democratic-officials-now-warning-base-not-to-expect-evidence-of-trumprussia-collusion/

I don't know why sometimes the anchors work and sometimes they don't.

There are going to be a lot of stories about the House committee investigating Trump right now on NPR. They're interviewing Comey and Rogers. After listening to it for the last 90 minutes, it is hard to imagine why Congress is wasting so much time other than to tell "America" that "The Russians are coming, The Russians are coming." A goal I think that supports the position of both the Republicans and Democrats.

Concerning Trump's business in Russia (like Clintons), Wilber Ross was confirmed as Sec of Commerce (Schatz voted for him). He is an owner of a bank in Cypress that has been accused of laundering Russian money. Is this "just business"?

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/27/commerce-nominee-wilbur-ross-bank-of-cyprus-putin

Anonymous said...

Purge the county of Kauai Duterte style. The overbloated budget is filled with fat pay raises for incompetence.

Anonymous said...

Congress is wasting time investigating the connection between Russia and the Trump campaign? Are you serious or are you a troll?

John Kauai said...

@10:08, Did you listen to the 3+ hours of the Comey/Rogers investigation this morning? Exactly what came out of that puppet show that was worthwhile, that couldn't have been release in 15 minutes? The Republicans are concentrating on whistle blowers and putting people in jail. The Democrats are concentrating on all the coincidences of Trump Transition Team members meeting with Russians. Comey and Rogers favorite quote, "I'm not commenting on that".

Obama pushed strong jail sentences for whistle blowers. Will you feel safer with Assange and Snowden in jail? What would have happened to Mark Felt under the Obama administration? So, both parties want to stop leaks. I want more leaks. The idea that any of these leaks actually threaten the security of the United States is only true -IFF- you define the United States as the elites who control both parties and who control the US economy. For you and me, who cares, other than to reveal how those "elites" are screwing us.

The Democrats are trying to build a case for impeachment of Trump (which the Republicans did against Obama), but it is silly to follow this narrow "The Russians did it" meme. There is way so much other stuff that Trump could be accused of.

And the claim that the Russians were responsible for Clinton's loss is also stupid. Were the Russians also responsible in 2000 and 2004 when there were huge discrepancies in voting counts. Maybe so? Does this mean the FBI and the CIA and the NSA and the rest of the surveillance state are incompetent? Or does it mean that those agencies are not necessarily working in "our" (your's and mine) best interests?

Let us also remember the US efforts in Ukraine to undermine Russian influence. IMHO, tit for tat. Hillary was very much involved in the problems showing up in Ukraine. Now, to be sure, I'm not offering this link as anything conclusive. One can also find YouTubes that place the blame on Trump.

Like the GMO issue, I'm not taking "sides". Both issues are way more complicated than presented. (This is not a 'shot' at Joan, I appreciate that she generally makes her points well.) I'm just saying that I don't believe any of these "sides" really care about whether or not the food I eat is healthy or whether or not Democracy really works in America.

I am saying that we need to consider that neither "side" has our best interests in mind. I just want to live a life where "We are all in this together", where I don't have to be confronted with society's failure to take care of the homeless or failure to prosecute the banksters. So many issues where we are divided by such minor differences that are magnified by our "leaders" to turn us against one another.


These are the links I embedded above, just in case they don't show up:
href="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/01/obama-imprisoned-whistleblowers-times-longer-presidents-combined.html"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6N3K5VFcUs

John Kauai said...

For Bradley, here is an example of a story from "the other side" that might otherwise be published in Breitbart.

It says: "Trump is broke", "The Russians Own Trump", "The Germans are going to expose Trump".
https://www.palmerreport.com/opinion/money-laundering-russia-donald-trump/1329/

I'm sure there is "some" truth in the story, but it surely isn't the whole truth. Read it solely to be entertained, not to gain any facts.

Anonymous said...

Trump sold his Florida property to the Russian oligarch in 2008 for double what Trump paid in 2004. Remember 2008, when the economy and real estate prices had bottomed out? Trump was laundering money for the Russians. Good business? If you don't mind blood money.

Anonymous said...

11:16 you're basing your conclusion that it's a waste of time based upon the first public hearing into the matter? Comey said that the investigation is complex and will take time. Congress and the FBI have a duty to thoroughly investigate the Russians and their connection to Trump's businesses and campaign.

Unknown said...

... because of real spending cuts in a budget

— A $10.9 billion cut to the State Department, which includes those major foreign-aid programs, a 28.7% cut in the discretionary budget.

— A $9.2 billion cut to the Department of Education, a 13.5% cut.

— A $12.6 billion cut to the Department of Health and Human Services.

— A $2.6 billion cut to the Environmental Protection Agency.

— A $1.5 billion cut to the Department of Interior.

— A $4.4 billion increase to the Department of Veteran Affairs

- $4.7 billion cut to USDA (mostly grants, research, foreign aid, and food stamps).
... because a five year lobbyist ban.

Real regulation relief for farmers and business. This country needs more ditch diggers, bridge builders and less paper pushers.


Anonymous said...

This country needs more ditch diggers, bridge builders and less paper pushers.

At least we agree on this.

Anonymous said...

Here's what needs to be investigated:

http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/589e484e6e09a81c008b6931-1201/bi-graphicstrumps%20connections%20to%20russia%20v02.png

Anonymous said...

Why Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State?

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/20/world/europe/russia-rex-tillerson-donald-trump-secretary-of-state.html?_r=0

Lift them sanctions, baby, Vlad and Rex gotta drill, drill, drill.

John Kauai said...

@1:37, there's a Pink Floyd song with the refrain: "We have all been here before..."
There is the Republican version of what happened and the Democratic version of what happened. Both appear to be trying to blame the Russians. I really have a difficult time thinking that the Russians have such a strong influence on what happens in America. I think we're being conned.

Bradley,@4:06 those spending cuts aren't real, at least not yet. I am assuming they are in Trump's proposed budget (they do sound familiar). You overlook the increase in DoD spending. I guess if our diplomacy is suppose to be based on the fact that we spend more on "Defense" than then next 27 nations combined (that number seems to vary depending on the source) so that it boils down to: "If you don't do it our way, we're going to kick you in the teeth", then I suppose a decrease in State Department Spending is a good thing. Of course, that has been America's foreign policy since at least 2001 and sadly I don't see the rest of the world kissing America's ass. I do see that DoD is going to buy over 2000 F-35 fighters. I haven't a clue who they plan to use them against. My F-4 carried lots of bombs. The F-16 ran circles around it. But who are we going to war against?

Cuts to the DoEd I can probably support as long as they stop pushing Bush's "No Child Left Behind".

HHS, whatever. Trump has put a "know-nothing" in charge so it is a good thing to cut his budget so he can't screw things up any more than they are.

EPA cuts, now I am concerned. Just exactly what did the EPA ever do to you? I know there are a lot of hunters concerned about the fact that there are no pheasants. Has something to do with the way farmers plant all the way to the edge of the fields now, leaving no room for a pheasant habitat. What about my 2nd amendment rights? Nothing to kill why do I need a gun? /s

DoI cuts? sure let us mine the Grand Canyon for Uranium. We must need more Uranium since Hillary has sold it all to the Russians. /s Of course, the fact that San Onofre has been shut down and now will need to have a place to store its radioactive waste for the next 250,000 years kind of puts a hole in that argument. If that doesn't bother you, let me ask if you still eat Tuna? I don't since Fukushima.

Oh, wait, perhaps you are a Bundy supporter? I'm just guessing here. Some so-called "rancher" is suppose to be able to let his cows destroy thousands of acres so he can sell pink slime to McDonalds? (Boy, does it get complicated now. it is obvious that there are too many people in the world but I'm guessing Brad you don't support Planned Parenthood?)

Thanks for reminding me that I need to apply for my Veterans Benefits. I'm sure they'll take good care of me. Just like they're doing for my brother who has decided to pay for his hip replacement himself rather than go through the VA.

Yeah, I understand that the cuts to the USDA are actually going to cut things like food-stamps. Cool. And your proposal is... what? Was Alan Grayson right when he stood on the floor of congress and said that the Republican Plan was, "Die Quickly?" I'll be one of the first to stand up and proclaim that there are people who are incapable of performing event the most simple job. They don't deserve $15/hour. But then I have to ask, "What do you do with them?" Oh yeah, Grayson has the answer, "Die Quickly".

[Nuts, have to divide this into 2 parts. I talk too much]

John Kauai said...


The five year lobbyist ban is such a joke I haven't the time to laugh at it, let alone try to explain to you why.

I surely support farmers like you. I have a good friend who is running over 3000 acres. The work involved is incredible. The smarts required astronomical. I don't have an answer.

The one thing I'm sure of, you are advocating for the people who are going to screw you. That you are still there is a testimony to your strength, smarts, will-power. I just don't see how you cannot see that the pied piper is leading you to oblivion.

The future looks pretty grim.

Joan Conrow said...

That's a Crosby, Stills & Nash song. Pink Floyd was "Wish you were here."

John Kauai said...

Joan @ 6:54, You are right. (as usual, but not always)

CSN done by Pink Floyd seems to work. :-)

Anonymous said...

John Kauai get help you are having irrelevant conversations with yourself, God bless you!

Anonymous said...

seeing how strained ties to Russia have became under Secretary Clinton, having someone (Rex) they trust seems like a logical choice. He has ties to China and italy too. He's well known and respected around the world. That being said, he's not going to let the US be a doormat for the rest of the world. And yes, the world uses oil. TMSIDK WE haven't figured out how to run cars and tractors on fairy dust, so petroleum and coal power the world in the short-term....

The times is well known for their bias against GMOs and trump. I'd take anything they say with a grain of salt. Even Joe Sarbobrough, who has friends that write there, has criticized their "journalism"

Anonymous said...

@11:31 you and the national press failed to mention that Trump bought the propery in bankruptcy court for a song and fixed it up prior to flipping it for a profit.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article135187364.html

Anonymous said...

Trump fixed it up so much that he was able to sell it for more than double what he paid in a below rock bottom market? Nothing suspicious there, but look at those bad journalists publishing all that fake news.

Unknown said...

@12:09 ...and millionaires and Billionaires aren't exactly known for being affected by a housing market downturn. That's more of a middle class problem. It's not like they can make more beach front property? Plus, the fertilizer Barron needed to part with some cash before the soon to be ex-wife took it in the divorce.

This is as bad as Rachel Maddows story about the fertilizer baron following Trump around on the campaign trail... The pictures of their planes at the airport didn't even appear like they were at the same airport. Though, she claims the flight records prove they flew to the same airport. The same applies for the following:

http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/03/18/rachel-maddows-ratings-fall-after-donald-trump-tax-return-reveal-msnbc

The alt-left is so hungry to believe anything that will bring Trump down that they've lost some critical thinking and fact checking skills. It's nice to see the general public starting to tire from their antics. Hopefully the conversation can change towards fixing our nations problems (instead of creating imaginary ones).

Anonymous said...

@5:20 yeah those millionaires and billionaires don't mind paying 60 million more then the value of property. That's how they got rich in the first place.

Republicans put party over country. They would rather support a potentially treasonous president than get to the truth. Did you watch Trey Gowdy's performance during yesterday's hearing? How shameful.

John Kauai said...

Bradley@12:09 You do understand that few you are trying to persuade to "my side" that Fox News is anything other than propaganda, right?

I recognize that makes it really hard for us to agree on almost anything since (I'm guessing) you think the same things about my sources. I don't have any solutions about how to fix that. If you want to propose "rules" for the debate, I'm listening.

Maddow still has a top 10 show . I was, like nearly everyone, hugely disappointed with Maddow's claim she had Trump's tax return. But the truth is she had a huge bump that night so, of course, it drops off the next night. The follow up stories such as David Cay Johnston on Democracy Now explain the nuance of those two pages. Especially important is Johnston's theory that Trump himself may have "leaked" those 2 pages.

In any case, I plan on being at the Airport with the rest of Kauai Indivisible on 15 April demanding Trump release all of his tax returns. I anticipate he won't, and since he won't, I am at liberty of assuming that he is a crook.

Maddow is "fun to watch" but hardly "news". (I think John Oliver on HBO is much better @ news, and he's funny.)

The "Russia Connection" is not going to work for the Democrats. The USA has been doing the same thing to other countries since "forever".

However, Trump has pissed off the "deep state" since Comey and Rogers both said Trump's wire tap claims are bogus and Comey is investigating the Russian connection. He received permission to reveal this investigation from the Attorney General -- Jeff Sessions. I imagine Trump is disappointed with that choice.

When one talks about "the Russian Connection" it needs to be clear that this means at least two (or more) different things. The first is the Russian "influence" on the General Election (gee, America, if you don't want them screwing with your election, maybe you should stop screwing with theirs) -- which I believe was hardly determinative in that the Democrats dug their own loss; and, second, Trump's connection to Russian Organized Crime (Russian Fascism -- the same thing the Republicans [and several Democrats] want for America). Comey has a lot of time left in his term, well past Trump's term. While I have little faith in Comey, he may view Trump as a threat to his group of Corporatists. Loyalties change.

The only thing for sure: "The little guy is going to get screwed". Perhaps you can tell us why "Meals on Wheels" should be cut out of Trump's budget?

My anchors were suppose to be for the following links:
http://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/after-big-tuesday-rachel-maddow-takes-ratings-hit-wednesday/324105
http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/22090-neocons-and-the-ukraine-coup
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/39920-comey-hearing-confirms-counter-intel-investigation-into-trump-campaign-no-evidence-of-trump-s-wiretap-claim
https://www.democracynow.org/2017/3/15/david_cay_johnston_speaks_out_about

Anonymous said...

3-20 @ 11:56 you don't see the conflict of interest in having an Exxon executive be appointed as Secretary of State when Exxon's ventures in Russia have been halted by the sanctions against Russia? "What's good for Exxon and Putin is good for America."

Anonymous said...

JK says: However, Trump has pissed off the "deep state" since Comey and Rogers both said Trump's wire tap claims are bogus and Comey is investigating the Russian connection. He received permission to reveal this investigation from the Attorney General -- Jeff Sessions. I imagine Trump is disappointed with that choice.

For all the reading jk seems to do, he somehow missed that Sessions was forced to declare a conflict of interest in this case because he was caught lying about meeting with the Russian ambassador. If Sessions wasn't busted, he'd be calling the shots and he'd try to bury this thing.

But it's too obvious. Trump and his cronies were in biz with the Russians long before he started his campaign for president, and doing business in Russia means doing business with Putin. Hmmm, former head of the KGB and an American megalomaniac with a built in media presence and networks giving him free air time during the campaign. Putin must be amused at how easily he could manipulate the election.

Unknown said...

@ 5:07 the Miami Herald article says the house cost around $100 million just to build. Add in the value of the beach front property, and it's estimated worth is around 125 million. SO, in some ways the fertilizer baron got a deal for a newly renovated house at $100 million...

That aside, the democrats are well known for milking the system too. Obama never had a job outside of politics, but some how became a multi-millionaire on a Senator and presidential salary. Same applies to Nancy Pelosi.

Anonymous said...

The market value of the property at the time of the sale was well south of $100 million. And we know how Obama made his money. When will we see Trump's tax returns?

Anonymous said...

Brad, your Miami Herald article says the fertilizer baron dozed the house, split the acreage into three parcels and has already sold one for 34 million. 34 times 3 is 104 million for just the ground. Your 25 million number is four times too low. Just the value of the ground alone is worth the 95 million he paid for the property. Trump was smart to hold firm on his asking price. The article also says that a realtor sold the house and Trump never met the baron prior to the sale. Also, it says he Trump sold he house in 2008.

How do these lefties come to believe that this is a political donation by the Russians when this happened 7 years before Trump even entered the race in 2015 and he never met this person prior to this business transaction? The left is really grasping at straws and making illogical conclusions when you consider the actual facts.


I bet the same result will come from the broader Russian election intrusion investigation. It's a broad fishing expedition in slim hopes of a finding just a little nibble. The end result will be the Democrats looking desperate to save face, while falling flat on their faces. Look for more seats to be lost. by the Democrats in 2018 and 2020

Anonymous said...

7:54 you're not considering the market at the time of Trump's sale. Yes, real estate prices are much higher now than in 2008, and the Russian was able to hold on to the property until the market improved. And it was money laundering, not a political donation back then.

John Kauai said...

@7:54, Maddow is just as bad as Fox New, making stuff up out of almost nothing. But people want to believe it, just like those on the right want to believe that Clinton murdered Vince Foster.

In both cases, Trump and Clinton, there is more than enough real "shenanigans" to explore their character. It is almost as if the networks are making this stuff up to distract us from what is really going on.

re Pelosi, she's rich because her husband is a "bankster". It also doesn't hurt to have a lot of Apple stock. It was easy to get rich during the tech bubble. Looks like we're having another one right now. I'd rather see her as House Majority Leader than Ryan though since then there would be a chance for Single-Payer. The USA could save something like $600B/year by cutting out the insurance companies which, like pay-day lenders, are just leaches on America.

HR 676 Expanded & Improved Medicare For All Act is in Congress again this year.

http://www.singlepayeraction.org/2013/08/06/single-payer-saves-billions/


https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/676?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22hr676%22%5D%7D&r=1

John Kauai said...

@7:54, Maddow is just as bad as Fox New, making stuff up out of almost nothing. But people want to believe it, just like those on the right want to believe that Clinton murdered Vince Foster.

In both cases, Trump and Clinton, there is more than enough real "shenanigans" to explore their character. It is almost as if the networks are making this stuff up to distract us from what is really going on.

re Pelosi, she's rich because her husband is a "bankster". It also doesn't hurt to have a lot of Apple stock. It was easy to get rich during the tech bubble. Looks like we're having another one right now. I'd rather see her as House Majority Leader than Ryan though since then there would be a chance for Single-Payer. The USA could save something like $600B/year by cutting out the insurance companies which, like pay-day lenders, are just leaches on America.

HR 676 Expanded & Improved Medicare For All Act is in Congress again this year.

http://www.singlepayeraction.org/2013/08/06/single-payer-saves-billions/


https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/676?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22hr676%22%5D%7D&r=1

Anonymous said...

Obama made his money from his best-selling books. You guys should be on the Congressional committees investigating Trump. You could do just as good a job as those hypocritical Republicans of misdirection.

Unknown said...

Let me help you out 9:30

mon·ey laun·der·ing



noun

noun: money laundering; noun: money laundering




the concealment of the origins of illegally obtained money, typically by means of transfers involving foreign banks or legitimate businesses.


How did Trump illegally obtain the money he used to purchase this property.

Hang on to my beer and watch this shit show.....

Anonymous said...

Trump's​ money wasn't being laundered. He was laundering it for the Russians. Hence, the overpayment for the property​.

Anonymous said...

@ 9:30. why didn't Trump launder this money through his hotels and casinos? your tell me he showed up to Miami bankruptcy court and paid for a house with 41 million dollars IN FUCKING CASH? Provide evidence for that claim...... What illegal cash business does Trump have to generate that kind of cash?

John Kauai said...

@12:02, I read one of Obama's books. It was given to me by a hotel concierge in Fiji. Cost me nothing. Smells a lot like those books that the right is always claiming to be "#1 on the NYT book list!". Some "dark money" organization buys a ton of those books and gives them away. One could make it stick that this is "money laundering". I mean, who really reads all those stupid political books?

Bradley@2:19, you should stop defending Trump. He's a crook and everyone knows it. (or should) He certainly is a misogynist, how else do you explain how he feels he can grab any pussy he wants? I'm pretty sure that I'd go to jail if I tried that in Nebraska. (Is that OK with you?) And how can a "great businessman" go bankrupt six (6) times? Is he a "great businessman" because he knows how to screw others before he gets screwed?

IMHO the Maddow stories about the money laundering are just false leads (straw man) set up so you will defend Trump. And on that specific point, you are right! The money laundering story is probably BS. Maddow is a member of the elites and there is a battle between those elites battling over which one will rip off America. They are trying to keep us angry with one another rather than them.

I'm not voting for the lesser of two evils. And that was what Clinton was. I didn't vote for her. I didn't vote for Trump. And all those Clintonistas that blame me for her loss ... shove it. All I need to do is watch her "little girl glee" over the murder of Kaddafi and I know I despise her just as much as I despise Trump.

No, I don't see any difference between Trump and Clinton. Both would continue to spend billions on wars we don't need to fight. Clinton might keep "Meals on Wheels" going, but at the expense of increasing the debt (which even Dr. Evil Cheney said wasn't important)

Anonymous said...

You can read about it in the Forbes Magazine article "The Saga of Russian Billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev's $4.5 Billion Divorce Comes To An End". Oh, wait, Forbes is one of those alt left media sites. Well, maybe Town and Country will suit you. No? How's USA Today or Bloomberg.

Anonymous said...

JK: Obama didn't rely on book sales. He was paid up front by the publisher. His story is pretty fascinating, growing up in Hawaii and Indonesia, then on to the mainland and becoming the editor of the Harvard Law Review. Even though he's the first black president, he'll soon be the Jeopardy question to this answer: he was the president two years before Trump got impeached.

Anonymous said...

How is Trump laundering money for the Russians and why wouldn't he launder it through his hotels and Casinos? He had nothing to do with this home sake and quite frankly I don't think 3:00 pm even knows what money laundering actually is.

Let me help you out SJW*

You sell drugs for cash. Any personal cash deposit over $600 needs to be reported to the federal government. So you but a car wash and mix you drug money in with the businesses cash deposits. **

So your telling me, Trump is importing Russian Rubels, exchanging them.... this just makes NO FUCKING SENSE. You clearly don't even know what money laundering actually is.

* Social Justice warrior. nouninformalderogatory
a person who expresses or promotes socially progressive views.
"these social justice warriors want to apply their politically correct standards and rules to others' speech"

** https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/03/24/the-federal-structuring-laws-are-smurfin-ridiculous/

Unknown said...

You can watch "Breaking Bad", The second Lethal weapon Movie or "Scarface" to learn how money laundering actually works and why drug dealers, pimps and gun runners need to launder their money. A strip club owner in Salina ks was depositing cash from the door cover charge, stage fees, and his cut of private dances in his personal account. Next thing you know, he owes $153k in back taxes and has 3 yrs of Federal probation to serve. Even businesses that deposit more than 10k (or less) have their deposits scrutinized. I can see US cash going over seas, it's a very stable currency to move over seas; but, not the other way around. There are several African countries where the US dollars is a staple currency. I've even used US money in Mexico and Australian. ( but, who would want millions of dollars of Russian rubles in the US?)

http://cjonline.com/news-state/2013-04-22/salina-strip-club-owner-sentenced-tax-fraud

Your accusation of "money Laundering" is laughable and you haven't provided any evidence to substantiate the claim. You can't even answer what illegal activity the fertilizer baron is doing. You can keep dreaming of an impeachment and I'll keep dreaming of Hillary going to jail- it'll remain just that, a dream.

Or, you can just keep trolling and end up like John....

Anonymous said...

Here's an article that explains Trump's money laundering better than I can: http://m.dailykos.com/story/2017/1/9/1618540/-Was-Donald-Trump-bailed-out-of-bankruptcy-by-Russia-crime-bosses

Anonymous said...

Here's another: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/21/deutsche-bank-that-lent-300m-to-trump-linked-to-russian-money-laundering-scam

Anonymous said...

Here's another: https://www.ft.com/content/33285dfa-9231-11e6-8df8-d3778b55a923

John Kauai said...

Hey Bradley, maybe you'd like to tell us where Michael Flynn is now.
He belatedly registered as a lobbyist for a foreign government just last week.

Maybe you can explain Paul Manafort's $10M contract with Ukraine.
Manafort moved into Trump Tower in 2006.

Trump's lawyer is Roy Cohn. The same guy who was McCarthy's lawyer during the '50s "commie search". Are you afraid of the "reds" Bradley?

To repeat, Clinton lost the campaign because she was a lousy choice. The Russians may have tried to influence the election, but it hardly had that much of an affect. Comey's "reopening" the email case hurt her more. But, I'm not at all unhappy that Clinton isn't president. I'm not even sure she was the "lesser of two evils". Maybe Comey does have a conscience.

Anonymous said...

I've seen those articles and none of them answered my three questions. All they do is make the same unfounded, implausible accusation you've made. If Trump was on the verge of bankruptcy, then why was he paying 38+ million dollars a year in Federal income tax in 2005?* once again we're back to your lack of independent critical thinking skills. The confirmation bias is strong with you.**

*. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/03/24/the-federal-structuring-laws-are-smurfin-ridiculous/

** The tendency to confirm ones beliefs even when expose to evidence to the contrary


#fake news serious, Ft news the daily kos and the guardian? LOL There even worse then the NY times.

John Kauai said...

@12:32, and of course, you are going to tell us why only 2 pages of that 2005 return were released, and only that year was released.

DailyKOS sometimes has well researched articles.

Financial Times seems to have a good reputation.
The Guardian has an excellent rep, better than NYT I think. I read it all the time.

However, since you think all of these print "fake news" perhaps you would like to provide us with a pointer to what you consider to be a good news outlet. Please don't point to any outlet owned by Rupert Murdoch.

When we can't even agree on the facts of a case, it becomes impossible to reach agreement on the case.

All those 3 articles prove to me is, "Money Laundering is really hard to do" and "Banks usually (99.9%) know when they are laundering money." Much like the "illegal immigrant" problem, it is the 1% who is taking advantage of the rest of us.

To bring this back home to many who post on these pages, one of the best ways to launder money is by buying prime American Real Estate. Can you think of anything more "prime" than Kauai?

I'll let you debate whether or not Trump has been laundering money. It hardly matters to me unless is it proven to the extent that he can be impeached for it. I doubt that will happen because, even if true, it would open up way too many real estate transactions for way too many others.

But, I will not let you claim that Trump is a great businessman. It amazes me that people can make this claim when Trump has declared bankruptcy 6 times. When one is relieved of having to pay his debts, the guy he owes the money to has to "eat it". Did your 401k or IRA have mutual funds that invested in Trump? Gosh, how much better of might you be if Trump weren't such a poor businessman?

If you really like people who know how to "screw before getting screwed", then why in the world don't you like Hillary Clinton?

Anonymous said...

12:32 asks "If Trump was on the verge of bankruptcy, then why was he paying 38+ million dollars a year in Federal income tax in 2005?"

Trump hasn't filed for personal bankruptcy, but his companies filed for bankruptcy in 1991, 1992, 2004 and 2009.

The three articles are interesting because they shed light on Trump's financial problems, but you don't appear to be interested in learning about whether Trump's debt made him vulnerable to the Russians.

Unknown said...

Not financial problems, business restructuring.... Please learn the difference before running you mouth about things you know nothing about. Skipped reading the rest of your comment due to lack of credibility and because it was wasting my time....
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/sep/21/carly-fiorina/trumps-four-bankruptcies/

Your first article link started out with and false statement and I quit wasting my time from that point forward... Keep looking inward into your own echo chamber and you'll continue to find exactly what your looking for...

The alt-left writing is no longer balanced journalisms, it's a propaganda machine looking to indoctrinate lackeys looking to further their causes...

You've officially fell into the John Kauai pit of oblivion...

Gook Luck With That...

John Kauai said...

Bradley@3:51, interesting that you would point to a story that even politifact labels "Mostly True".

The only problem is, Trump actually filed for bankruptcy 6 times not just 4. (3 times in one year) Call it whatever you want, but Trump took money from someone promising to pay it back and he never did. But student loans that were used to attend his bogus university, where he actively encouraged students to max out their credit cards, cannot be discharged in bankruptcy.

Just like his new health care bill, which thankfully did not pass today, was nothing but a massive tax cut for the 0.01% saving them at least $200,000/year in taxes, it is only the "little guy" who gets screwed.

Here you are reports: Russia’s White House Spy Exposed — KGB Turncoat Tells All

As far as "balanced journalism" goes, as Safire's book Scandalmonger shows, it hardly exists in the USA. Sadly, you have to read the entire KOS piece, and the FT piece and the guardian piece, and THEN, you have to spend time finding a reputable article that debunks those claims. Politifact isn't exactly disreputable but then it isn't reputable either.

Good book though. I enjoyed it even though I find Safire a right wing loon when he writes his op-ed articles.

http://www.nationalenquirer.com/photos/donald-trump-russian-influence-washington/

https://www.amazon.com/Scandalmonger-Harvest-Book-William-Safire/dp/0156013231/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1490413639&sr=1-4&keywords=james+callender

John Kauai said...

Better yet, Trevor Noah sums up Trump's Healthcare in 15 minutes.


http://www.cc.com/episodes/lshp06/the-daily-show-with-trevor-noah-march-23--2017---zara-larsson-season-22-ep-22083

Anonymous said...

Sorry bc, I am not the financial whiz that you profess to be. 4 bankruptcies as restructuring. Okay, but who lends money to someone with shitty credit? Was Trump in debt to lenders who are Friends of Vladimir? If Trump doesn't deliver, Putin will sell the video to the DNC, along with a recording of his conversation with Donald.

Anonymous said...

About time you quit feeding the TROLLS Mr Choquette. I would've quit 40 comments ago.

Anonymous said...

USA Today joins the alt-left:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/03/28/trump-business-past-ties-russian-mobsters-organized-crime/98321252/

John Kauai said...

@9:40 LOL! ROTFL!
USA Today "alt left"? You might be able to accuse them of being "alt-news", just like Fox, but "alt-left"? Just what the hell is that suppose to be?

They (USA Today) could indeed be making stuff up, but the last time I recall we all agreed on the "facts" was sometime before Reagan's election.

In the end though, the 'mob' is in control. Whether it is Russian, Italian, Jewish, whatever, don't forget how Oliver North imported crack into LA to support the Nicaraguan Contras. Don't forget that Reagan negotiated with the Iranians to prevent the release of the hostages so Carter would lose in 1980. Why do you think America's wealth is in the hands of so few? And they are so greedy that they'd rather defund "meals on wheels" than pay a few percent extra on their Income Tax. They are the "mob".

Hey, I won't diss your conspiracy if you won't diss mine! ;-)

Anonymous said...

I was being facetious. The Donalds don't accept any scandalous news article about Comrade Trump as anything but "alt-left".

John Kauai said...

@12:22 Consider working on your communication skills. There's nothing in your 9:40 post that would indicate any form of sarcasm/levity/humor or facetiousness.

Please recall that you are one of many who are Anonymous and most of those who post under that banner would have made that post without any irony. It is, indeed, a PITA to have to provide such mundane details, but if you want to be understood, you might at least try.

Anonymous said...

Actually, there are two hints. You laughed out loud and you rolled on the floor laughing, indicating that you understood my comment to be humorous and not serious. Either that or I give you too much credit.

Anonymous said...

I Read part of the US TODAY article. OMG a guy with "alleged" criminal ties bought 3 condo units.... DO YOU REALLY THINK TRUMP HAS TIME TO SELL INDIVIDUAL CONDO UNITS? After that, my give a crap busted, as most normal people would've. But hey, if you believe this artifice, then here is more news that resounds in your ECHO-Chamber.

http://occupydemocrats.com/2017/03/31/republican-insiders-just-revealed-trump-weighing-resignation/

Ya, like TRUMP would admit that to anyone connected to Occupy Democrats. It's not like the Democrats have the votes to Impeach, so why resign? You poor snowflakes, you make my head hurt.

Anonymous said...

Yeah there's no way someone as honest and decent as Donald Trump would be a traitor. If he says that he has nothing to do with the Russians,then by golly it must be true.