Category Archives: U.S.

U.S.

“It’s not just a one-year blip…declines continue to get bigger…”: U.S. government shenanigans, December 2017

Incomplete (i-e ‘Tip of the Iceberg’) list of U.S. Federal/State/Local Government self-destruct announcements for December 2017:

New York Magazine: How Wealthy People Use the Government to Enrich Themselves

Washington Post: How to score big at government auctions

NPR: States Say They Need Federal Government’s Help To Secure Midterm Elections

Associated Press: Global Cooling Requires More Government Money

According to CNBC there are only 13 U.S. cities where you can actually survive on government mandated minimum wage, barely.

Arizona: In Tucson, after 30 years Las Margaritas shutdown the day before Xmas, due to the owner selling off the property because the city is planning a road project that will impact the property.

California: The Los Angeles Times reports that Santa can’t fix these problems with California’s state government.  Taxpayers in Redwood City will be paying for a new home for the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) as city leaders will let the religious organization use a new city funded building complex, as part of some plan to create ‘green spaces’ in the city.

Colorado:  It’s been revealed that state legislators have forgotten a very important part of the taxpayer funded budget for 2018, according to the gov’na there’s not one cent from General Funds allocated for the most obvious of infrustructures; roads and bridges! 

Connecticut: The city of New London has criminally charged its first victim of its new expanded blight laws, for having a huge bamboo grove on his property.   Despite cash strapped voters rejecting three previous city budgets due to jacked-up taxes, the city of Morris is submitting a fourth budget which again includes tax increases, to be voted on in January 2018.

Florida:  Now former congresswoman Democrat Corrine Brown to spend five years in federal prison for helping to raise more than $800-thousand USD for a bogus charity that she used as her personal account.  Manatee County warning that within three years 5-hundred of its employees will be retiring, creating a burden on the county’s retirement funds. Mmmmm, what happened to those retirement funds? County officials are also launching a scare campaign telling local taxpayers they can’t find enough potential employees to replace those who are retiring.

Georgia:  Cash strapped voters in the city of Roswell are so upset with their city’s secretive budget process that city leaders promise to hold two classes openly explaining the budget, in 2018.

Idaho:    In the town of Heyburn two candidates tied in the November elections, by state law a coin toss was held to decide the outcome, however, the loser of the coin toss demanded a hand recount of the votes and low-and-behold that candidate had actually won the election by one vote!  Turns out the one ballot that decided the election was marked so lightly that the machine, which did the original count, couldn’t read it.     The gov’na of The Gem State Butch Otter, released emails criticizing his appointment to fill vacant spots in the state House.  The emails from taxpayers claim the process used by the gov’na violates state law and Idaho Republican Party rules.  Gov’na Otter said he made the appointments to meet the statutory deadline of December 30.

Illinois: State lottery computer services company GTECH-Northstar Lottery Group eliminating 61 jobs in January 2018, due to loss of contract.   A tow truck driver for the city of Chicago sentenced to nine years in prison for offering to illegally release impounded vehicles in exchange for bribes, his wife got 24 months probation for her role in the scam.   Evil government identification computer systems designer France owned-U.S. taxpayer funded MorphoTrust USA (OT-Morpho) issued a shutdown WARN for its Springfield location, 74 jobs gone in February 2018.  Once again, Illinois set another record for the most residents fleeing any U.S. state; 33-thousand-7-hundred people fled for their economic lives from July 2016 to July 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau!  Analysts say it’s only getting worse: “It’s not just a one-year blip. And the declines continue to get bigger from one year to the next.”-William Frey, Brookings Institution

Iowa: DuPont Pioneer suddenly laid off an undisclosed number of employees, as a result of the DuPont-Dow Chemical merger.  Local news media reminded taxpayers that state leaders gave DuPont a $17-million USD as an incentive to maintain 2-thousand-6-hundred jobs in the state.  Taxpayers are now burdened by state and local government debts totaling $15.9-billion USD!   And that’s considered among the lowest debt levels (versus GDP) of any U.S. state!   The state Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship began a taxpayer funded three years program to subsidize the increased use of ‘cover crops’ and improve water quality: “There is no other incentive like this in the entire country, so we’re really happy that the state of Iowa is breaking ground on this new incentive.”-Aaron Lehman, Iowa Farmers Union

Michigan:  Vice News reports Detroit’s housing crisis is the work of its own government.  The city of Flint is once again in ‘hot water’ due to accusations of failing to comply with a settlement which required the city to replace contaminated water lines within three years. 

Minnesota: Without warning McNally Smith College of Music shutdown one week before Xmas, due to massive Disappearing Students Syndrome.  State education administrators say they’ll help the 4-hundred affected students, meaning taxpayers are being stuck with dealing with the non-profit’s shutdown.  MinnPost reminding you of The 5 most important local government stories of 2017 that you probably already forgot.

Mississippi: The city of Meridian is challenging Lauderdale County’s 9-1-1 service charges, in one case there is evidence of multiple billings for a single ambulance call.

Missouri: King Cash Saver shutdown its Mount Vernon grocery store saying that despite a decent volume of sales it’s not enough to keep up with the cost of the city supplied utilities, which is as much as 40% higher than other areas of the state (city officials swore to local news media that their utility rate was “competitive”).   Despite violent crime for the entire U.S. being at a 30 years low, Kansas City experienced an explosion of violence in 2017 making it one of the most murderous cities.  One report says at least 207 people were killed.  

Montana: Orwellian sounding national mentoring program Big Brothers Big Sisters warning of shutdown in Helena due to state taxpayer funding cuts and dwindling donations.  Federal taxpayer funding has already been cut.   The state government says the 2018 budget is smaller due to crashing tax revenues.

New York:  Mark’s Pizzeria announced the shutdown of dozens of restaurants across The Empire State, due to the new state mandated minimum wage which affects any restaurant chain with 30 or more locations!   ReEnergy wood-chip fired power plant in Lyonsdale shutting down due to the expiration of its contract with New York State Energy and Research Development Authority.  More proof that relying on federal tax money will doom local governments to failure; the city of Newburgh warning that as many as 70 firefighters could become unemployed in 2018 due to the expiration of a federal grant.  A New York Times investigation revealed that the NYC subway project is now The Most Expensive Mile of Subway Track on Earth.  Investigators found multiple reasons for taxpayer screwing cost overruns as far back as 2010, yet only now are they being revealed.  Some of those cost overruns are unexplained, like two hundred more employees than were supposed to officially be on the payroll who were being paid outrageous wages: “Nobody knew what those people were doing, if they were doing anything. All we knew is they were each being paid about $1,000 every day.”-Michael Horodniceanu, formerly with Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Ohio: Licking County Transit Operation eliminating 48 jobs in January 2018, due to the cancellation of a contract.

Pennsylvania:  After 199 years of producing food, and surviving numerous recessions and The Great Depression, the Stewart family farm could be shutdown because of a multi-state electricity power line project!

Texas:  A federal judge is allowing the city of Houston to begin its new anti-homeless police state-ism law.  The city created the law in April, which was challenged by the ACLU.  The federal judge threw out the ACLU’s temporary restraining order against the city.  Yeah, fight homelessness not by creating good paying jobs, but by criminalizing homelessness.  After ten years Austin’s Flying Saucer Draught Emporium shutdown, the owner blames ‘elected’ lawmakers saying “The landscape of the restaurant industry is changing rapidly across the nation, and unfortunately, the Texas beer industry was introduced to topsy-turvy legislation…” 

Washington DC: The Chicago Tribune reports Trump administration rescinding fracking rules on government land.  The Wall Street Journal discovered that about 40% of comments about Net Neutrality posted on the Federal Communications Commission’s website, as well as comments posted on other government websites, were fake!

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

Government Shenanigans, November 2017:“THE PEOPLE…WILL NEVER, NEVER FIND A BETTER JOB…”

ObamaCare ACA Death Spiral, December 2017:“THE REALITY OF OUR INDUSTRY’S ECONOMICS: FLAT OR DECLINING GOVERNMENT REIMBURSEMENT RATES COUPLED WITH RISING COSTS.”

Dumbing Down the U.S. of A., December 2017:“GRADUATION WAS TODAY. DOORS ARE CLOSING. LOCKS HAVE BEEN CHANGED.”

U.S.

“the reality of our industry’s economics: flat or declining government reimbursement rates coupled with rising costs.”: ObamaCare ACA death spiral, December 2017

Incomplete list of healthcare related layoffs and shutdowns, announced in December 2017:

Israel based drugs pusher Teva Pharmaceuticals confirmed leaked reports that 14-thousand of its employees, including thousands in the U.S., are about to be laid off.  Investors loved the news and drove up Teva stock prices.

More proof ‘Mericans are druggies; opioid related hospital deaths quadrupled from 1993 to 2014: “Mortality among opioid-driven hospitalizations increased from 0.43 percent before 2000 to 2.02 percent in 2014, an average increase of 0.12 percentage points per year relative to the mortality of hospitalizations due to other drugs—which was unchanged.”

California: Medical device maker AMF Support Surfaces issued a shutdown WARN for its Riverside ops, 72 jobs gone by September 2018.  PharMerica forced to shutdown operations across The Golden State, more than 2-hundred jobs gone the day before Xmas due to PharMerica being taken over by KKR and Walgreens!  God powerless to stop ‘his’ Loma Linda University Medical Center from shutting down, 94 jobs gone by the end of February 2018.  Boston Scientific issued a mass layoff WARN for its Valencia operations, 289 jobs gone by the end of February 2018!  Strategic Medical Ventures eliminated 110 jobs right after Xmas!  Delta Dental laying off 51 people in Rancho Cordova, by the end of January 2018, no reason given according to local news media. More layoffs with Molina Healthcare, this time 60 people in Long Beach suddenly let go.  Newark based drugs pusher Depomed eliminating 328 jobs as it outsources pain killer meds production to a Massachusetts based drugs pusher, as well as move its HQ to another state in 2018!  The city of Los Angeles investigating Avanir Pharmaceuticals for possible violations of federal and state drugs marketing laws. In San Diego, Dart NeuroScience shutting down, 265 jobs gone by February 2018!  It turns out that Dart NeuroScience was being funded by the owner, who could no longer afford to do so.  Scripps Health warned of massive layoffs in 2018, saying “We’ve got to shift our organizational structures around to be able to deal with the new world of health care delivery, find ways of lowering our costs significantly. If we don’t, we will not be able to compete.”  After only three years the Coarsegold and Prather Medical Clinics suddenly shutdown for economic reasons, a pissed-off patient said “I was so shocked, saddened, but mostly mad, when I heard the news of the closure of Coarsegold Medical Clinic Monday morning. I was told by a staff member that they received their ‘closure’ letters Monday morning when they got to work. The sudden closure provides patients with a very short number of days to find a new provider, and what happens to our medical records? Two clinic closures a year apart will force more retired folks to have to move away or put way too many of us onto an already heavily trafficked Highway 41. We sure didn’t move all the way up here 20 years ago to be in this situation. This community deserves better medical facilities than we have now. We used to have an 24 hour urgent care center, we used to have a decent medical clinic.”

Connecticut: Towne Park at Yale-New Haven Hospital issued a mass layoff WARN, 195 jobs gone by the end of February 2018!

Florida:  Family Preservation Services eliminating 249 jobs statewide by February 2018! 

Idaho: Your Health Idaho reports a 10% drop in ObamaCare-ACA enrollments for 2018, compared to 2017, despite an extended sign-up timeline and federal taxpayer subsidies.  In eastern Idaho, 15 doctors are taking a chance and building their own clinics in two locations, accusing the current healthcare system of failing the local population.   Healthcare is still so bad in Idaho prisons that one prisoner had to almost kill himself to get treatment for a flesh eating infection. He’s still alive but his leg was amputated. 

Illinois: Meda Pharmaceuticals issued a shutdown WARN for its operations in Decatur, 80 jobs gone by June 2018 due to consolidations.  South Shore Hospital slashed pay by 10% for the majority of workers, and warned of massive layoffs due to $6-million USD in unpaid Medicaid bills going back to the implementation of ObamaCare-ACA!  Xanitos/AMITA Medical Hospital eliminating 133 jobs by March 2018, due to loss of contracts!  Cigna HealthSpring eliminating 75 Chicago jobs in January 2018.

Iowa: Easterseals laid off 31 people in Des Moines. Healthcare manager Telligen laid off 28 people in West Des Moines.

Massachusetts: The state of RomneyCare is now admitting that by pushing everybody onto healthcare insurance it’s actually costing people more money, not less!  In response to this revelation the exalted lawmakers are pushing a bill that would require drug sellers to tell customers that it would be cheaper to pay with cash than with insurance!   Kindred Living shutting down its Needham nursing home location by March 2018, affecting hundreds of patients and hundreds of employees according to local  news media!

Minnesota: Non-profit, taxpayer owned Winona Health suddenly laid off 17 people, and shutdown 25 vacant positions, and will not fill future vacancies created by retirements.

Missouri: Kindred Healthcare shutting down its Kansas City hospital, 115 jobs gone in January 2018!

Montana: Due to crashing state tax revenues the state Department of Health canceled contracts with four non-profits which help disabled people, affecting 2-thousand-7-hundred Montanans.

New Jersey:  Virtua suddenly laid off 50 people, saying “The healthcare industry is in the midst of significant transformation, both regionally and across the country. Uncertainty resulting from ongoing changes will continue to have a significant impact on health care institutions.”  Fidelity Care eliminating 147 jobs in February 2018! The Medicines Company eliminating 18 jobs in February 2018.

New York: Maimonides Medical Center eliminating 2-hundred jobs due to “the reality of our industry’s economics: flat or declining government reimbursement rates coupled with rising costs.”  Care Connect Insurance issued a shutdown WARN for East Hills, at least 42 jobs gone starting in January 2018.  God powerless to stop ‘his’ Lutheran Augustana Center for Extended Care & Rehabilitation-Langone Health from issuing a shutdown WARN, 286 nursing home jobs gone by June 2018!  Drugs maker Pfizer issued a shutdown WARN for its Rouses Point operation.

Oklahoma: The state Department of Health suddenly laid off 37 people, plus an additional 161 jobs being eliminated by March 2018, claiming the taxpayer funded jobs are redundant!

Oregon: Non-profit FamilyCare Health issued a WARN saying 322 employees will become unemployed by the end of January 2018, blaming lack of payments by Oregon Health Plan-Medicaid!

Pennsylvania: Middletown Community Health Center shutting down in February 2018. The Puerto Rico based owner of nursing home Village of Laurel Run now chapter 11 bankrupt busted, undisclosed number of employees suddenly laid off,  some employees haven’t been paid for weeks, more than $2-million USD in rent hasn’t been paid!  Six months of unanticipated revenue losses are being blamed on Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements being put on hold.

South Carolina: Drugs pusher Merck shutting down its Charlotte location, at least 50 jobs gone by June 2018.

Texas:  East Houston Regional Medical Center shutdown due to damage by Hurricane Harvey.  Dallas based Tenet Healthcare eliminating 1-thousand-3-hundred jobs across several states, in 2018! Tenet reported it lost $366-million USD in its 3rd quarter of 2017.  Aperion Biologics now chapter 7 bankrupt dead.

Washington: Bio-tech drugs pusher PhaseRX bankrupt busted only 19 months after its $18.5-million USD Initial Public Offering.   The bankruptcy is blamed on massive debt financing (like issuing stocks?).

ObamaCare (ACA) death spiral November 2017: “SEVERAL SYSTEM AND CONTROL FAILURES”

U.S.

“Graduation was today. Doors are closing. Locks have been changed.”: Dumbing Down U.S.A., December 2017

Disappearing Students Syndrome (DSS): A phrase created by me to describe a phenomenon taking place across the United States, affecting both privately and publicly funded schools, from Kindergarten all the way through University levels.

There’s been a lot of focus on graduation rates for schools across the U.S.  This focus seems to be missing a major point, are high school students meeting graduation requirements? My experience, and my children’s experience, is that too many teenagers are ‘graduated’ even though they can barely read, write or do math (some students are kept from graduating, they is called Super Seniors)!  Instead of focusing on graduation rates taxpayer funded public education needs to focus on getting children ready for adulthood (something it was supposed to do from the beginning of the creation of public education), regardless of how long it takes.   The major concern for high schools is that some states’ current funding regulations actually halt funding for senior students who fail to graduate.  Maybe it’s time we create a new level of schooling, the Super Senior High School.

“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.”-George Orwell (aka Eric Arthur Blair)

Incomplete (i-e Tip-o-the-Iceberg) list of publicly announced education related layoffs, shutdowns and education crimes, December 2017:

California:  Oak Grove School District appointed a committee to decide how many elementary schools will be shutdown in 2018.  It’s blamed on government mandated benefit increases for employees, and crashing taxpayer funding caused by the loss of 1-thousand-8-hundred students since the end of the 1990s.  A report out of San Francisco revealed that religiously motivated organizations are portraying themselves as representatives of taxpayer funded school districts and tricking taxpayers into attending hours long rallies in which the only way to get out of the rally is to sign a pledge to support the creation of religion based-taxpayer funded charter schools!  Blame immigration?  A lawsuit revealed that The Golden State’s education system’s “reading scores stagnated this year. Fewer than half of students meet its English standards.”

Idaho: The state Board of Education now claims that the statewide teacher exodus is costing taxpayers $6.8-million USD!   IdahoEdNews revealed that a taxpayer funded program to trick high school students into going to college is a dismal failure: “That’s a lot of money for something where we’ve not seen outcomes improve….”-state level Representative Wendy Horman, Idaho Falls

Illinois: La Salle-Peru Township High School District 120 spending 42-thousand+ tax dollars buying a nursing home with the intent of tearing it down for use as a parking lot, one board member said it could be a learning experience for students.   School District 65 began work to replace plumbing contaminated with led (lead) at 13 schools within the district.   School District 308 began eliminating jobs one week before Xmas, due to being $11-million USD in the hole.  Administrators expect to be in financial dire straits until at least 2023!  A former special education teacher (and mother of five kids) was sentenced to ten years in prison for sexually assaulting a student at North Boone High School.  Student loan debt collector Alltran Education shutting down operations in Woodridge, 129 jobs gone by the end of January 2018!

Kansas: Shawnee Mission School District violated at least four of the state’s special-education laws, according to a state investigation report released on 22DEC2017.

Kentucky: The Speed Art Museum (J.B. Speed Memorial) conducted a second round of layoffs (the first round happened just five months after the museum opened) due to shutting down its souvenir shop.  The Courier Journal reports that as a result of The Great Recession the funding disparity between the state’s richest and poorest school districts is as bad as The Great Depression.   Melissa Goins of the state funded Family Resource Center blamed it on one simple fact “We’re a poor state.”

Louisiana: State education officials want to shutdown three charter schools in New Orleans due to lack of academic performance. 

Maine: According to the fifth annual Education Indicators for Maine report the number of poor students in the state increased 10% over the past ten years.   The report also warned that more and more students are failing to become proficient in math and reading exacerbating the state’s “workforce shortage and a skills gap that has reached crisis levels and can no longer be ignored.”

Maryland: The U.S. Department of Education is again investigating the University of Maryland for sex crimes, for a third time this year! Washington County Board of Education member Mike Guessford promised to repay more than $1-thousand-7-hundred USD after being found guilty of ethics violations.  University of Baltimore began furloughing (temporary layoffs without pay) 4-hundred employees one week before Xmas, due to a 15% crash in student enrollments (what I call DSS)!  University administrators claim they’re suffering with a pay cut of as much as 15%, but local news media revealed the pay cut for administrators was voluntary. The university is $4.2-million USD in the hole.   After 40 years L’Academie de Cuisine shutdown without warning one week before Xmas: “Graduation was today. Doors are closing. Locks have been changed.”-unnamed former employee to local news media

Massachusetts: Non-profit Western New England University is asking employees to voluntarily quit (buyouts), not because of problems with student enrollments but because administrators ‘invested’ $90-million USD to “further fortify our University”.

Michigan: God powerless to stop the shutdown of ‘his’ 68 years old Ladywood High School in Livonia, due to a 60% crash in enrollments since 2005 (it’s The Rapture eyes tells ya).

Minnesota: Without warning McNally Smith College of Music shutdown one week before Xmas, due to massive Disappearing Students Syndrome.  State education administrators say they’ll help the 4-hundred affected students, meaning taxpayers are being stuck with dealing with the non-profit’s shutdown.

Missouri: Saint Louis Community College began laying off 95 employees one week before Xmas, after a buyout attempt failed to get enough people to voluntarily quit.  According to local news reports, buyouts are still being offered on top of the layoffs.  For-profit Vatterot College shutdown its Saint Joseph campus explaining “When there’s not interest within the community, or need in the community, then we will just teach out a program.”

Nevada: Clark County School District‘s 2018-19 budget will result in the killing of 539 currently filled and vacant jobs!  Also, 240 employees were reassigned new jobs in alignment with low student enrollments.

New Mexico: After four years Taos International School had its charter revoked for the next 12 months, signaling a possible total school shutdown.

New York: NYC Department of Education shutting down 14 schools in 2018! StudentsFirstNY blamed the liberal-lefty-mayor saying “Mayor de Blasio’s expensive school turnaround model has failed miserably.”  After 38 years the pro-Israeli Drisha Institute for Jewish Education is abandoning its location in NYC’s Upper West Side as part of “redeployment” operations, meaning they’re trying to save money by shifting pro-Israeli programs onto NYC synagogues.

Ohio: Who needs litature when you’ve got coffee?  In Mentor, Half Price Books shutting down to, possibly, be replaced by a drive through café.

Oklahoma: The state Department of Education finally revealed that 24-thousand-625 sixth-through 12th-graders were suspended during the 2016-17 school year!  70% of the suspended students were boys. 

Oregon: God powerless to stop the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office from arresting a Springfield Christian School teacher for having sex with one of her students “on a regular basis.”   The sex crime Revelation was made after the teacher’s husband caught her and the 15 years old in bed together, an email was then posted with pics of the two in the act.  Taxpayers in Oregon City voted to build a new $20-million USD police/court building right on the location where a now active school sits, Marylhurst School has to vacate by June 2019.   An editorial in an Oregon newspaper claims that “The rate at which students in Oregon schools are being bullied, harassed or targeted by other troubling or aggressive behavior appears to be skyrocketing.”  The writer not only blames the Trump regime, but the previous Obama regime as well.

Pennsylvania: McGuffey School District dealing with a federal lawsuit accusing three teachers of intimidating a special needs student, supposedly it was recorded on a cell phone.   Scranton School District could lay off 89 people by the end of the school year, because even with grant money the district is still $19-million USD in the hole.  Quakertown Community School District shutting down its Tohikon Valley Elementary School at the end of the 2017-18 school year.  Local news media report it’s the third school in the district to be shutdown since 2011.  Former employees blame the school shutdowns on poor planning by taxpayer funded administrators: “This happened because of a lack of preventative maintenance.  We don’t have a true preventative maintenance program and without it they go quick.”-Vic Bartholomew, former school janitor

Texas:  Dallas Independent School District wants to shutdown four schools in 2018, officially due to low academic performance.  Texas Education Agency (TEA) suddenly canceled a contract with Georgia-based SPEDx, which was meant to find out why the TEA sucks when it comes to educating ‘special needs’ students.  The contract was already being questioned by taxpayers because it was awarded without any bidding by other companies, and most educators had never heard of SPEDx.

Utah: Despite the fact that 30% of Utahans voluntarily attend marriage classes the state Marriage Commission is demanding a new law be created to force all people who want to get married to pay for a premarital education course.  It’s suggested that to help offset the cost of the course that a $20 discount be applied to the Marriage License.  Law students at Brigham Young University have joined the fight against debt collectors. It’s estimated that 70-thousand debt collections cases are filed every year in the Mormon dominated state! The BYU law students are working with a Salt Lake City based attorney to provide debtor’s legal defense free of charge. 

Virginia: U.S. Department of Education investigating Lake Braddock Secondary School for reports of sex crimes committed by a coach, who suddenly retired.

Washington DC:  The federal Department of Education (DoE) reneged on its promise to forgive student loan debt for students who were tricked into attending the now dead Corinthian Colleges, which operated schools with various names across the country.  DoE officials claim they’ll come up with a more fair way to deal with the estimated $550-million USD in outstanding federal student loans.

Wisconsin:  “I wish we could vote, because we’re the ones actually in the education system that they’re fighting to have control over!”–Marisa Rodriguez, senior at Saint Joan Antida High School

Dumbing Down November 2017: “CLOSING WAS THE ONLY OPTION.”

U.S.

“sorry folks the end has come for the pig.”: U.S. Food Crisis, November 2017

Incomplete list of announced United States food supply shutdowns for the month of November, 2017: Many food suppliers/distributors are consolidating operations and killing jobs due to the collapsing grocery store and restaurant industries, as well as rising costs of food production, spread of disease and extreme weather.

A new study says rain spreads diseases to crops: “While the importance of rain for providing water and nutrients to plant life is well-understood, it also contributes to the dispersal of microscopic pathogen particles.”-American Physical Society’s Division of Fluid Dynamics

Alabama:  Piggly Wiggly shutting down its grocery store in Cullman, about 30 jobs gone by Xmas due to the undisclosed “decision of the owners.”

Arizona: In Scottsdale, after only six months El Panzon y Frida shutdown without warning or explanation, an unnamed employee revealed the shutdown plan to local news media!  Apparently The Grand Canyon state is experiencing a locust infestation: “I’ve never seen anything like this. At first, there were a few. And then you realize day after day there’s more of them.”-Dianna Isaacson, who says her plants looks like a bunch of skeletons

California:In Sacramento, after 50 years bar Distillery was sold-off and suddenly shutdown.  Outback Steakhouse suddenly shutdown its restaurant in Goleta, blaming the landlord for jacking up the rent (this location was not on the February Outback shutdown list).  Cal Pacific Specialty Foods suddenly shutdown its operations in Moss Landing, 323 jobs gone right before Thanksgiving!  Dole issued a shutdown WARN for its operations in Watsonville, 140 jobs gone by mid-January 2018!  Tyson laying off 70 people in San Diego, in January 2018.  Specialty Commodities (owned by food giant Archer Daniels Midland) issued a shutdown WARN for its Stockton location, 63 jobs gone in January 2018.  In Paramount, Latitude 45 Catering shutting down, 33 jobs gone right after Xmas.  Fruit tree grower L.E. Cooke issued a shutdown WARN for its Visalia ops, 278 jobs gone by mid-January 2018!  Restaurant operator Saddle Ranch Universal issued a mass layoff WARN, 124 people in Universal City jobless by January 2018!

Colorado:  After 20 years internet based Door to Door Organics food delivery service shutdown without warning, vaguely blaming “recent events in our industry”.

Florida:In Orlando, expensive ‘farm-to-table’ Nova Scratch Kitchen suddenly shutdown due to lack of sales.  Hurricane Irma reduced the citrus crop by as much as 70%, which is significant when you realize that The Sunshine State can supply up to 49% of the citrus for the entire United States!

Idaho: After 28 years in Chubbuck, it was revealed that restaurant Taquiera La Costa suddenly shutdown because the immigrant owner failed to become a legal resident/citizen and had to move back to Mexico.  He swears he’ll be back when his ‘paperwork’ is approved.  In Pocatello, after eight years locally run restaurant Efresh-The Gathering Place suddenly shutdown, the owner blaming the sudden escalation in corporate big-box restaurants: “There were so many restaurants that came into town really quickly and people decided to go there and just being a local little business, we felt that hit.”-Emily Fisher, interviewed by KIFI

Illinois:  In Chicago, after 11 years, and recently reporting $19-million USD in sales, popular steak joint Primehouse shutting down in December, apparently due to the landlord James Hotel.  After 52 years Chicago Brauhaus shutting down in December.  In Bellevue, bbq joint Righteous Pig shutdown, the Facebook post simply said “sorry folks the end has come for the pig.”  In Champaign, after two years Brixx Wood Fired Pizza shutting down, 30 jobs gone in December because “We don’t have the volume of customers that we needed to stay viable.”   Farmers blaming stunted corn and soybean crops on the Enbridge Southern Access Extension oil pipeline. 

Indiana:  Police owned Cops & Doughnuts suddenly shutdown their one year old South Bend location, the day before Thanksgiving, an unnamed manager blamed lack of sales. In Hebron, after more than 50 years Patz’s Market finally shutdown following years of online reviews that said it looked deserted.  Aunt Millie’s Bakeries announced it will shutdown its Fort Wayne bakery, 91 jobs gone between now and April 2018 due to “excess capacity and costs” (which is code for too much inventory and not enough sales).   Also in Fort Wayne, after only one year restaurant The Golden shutdown.  In Lafayette, after 50 years Pizza King in the Jefferson Square Shopping Center shutdown, the owner says despite being busy after school hours “… it’s a lot cheaper just to shut it down.”

Iowa:  In Sioux City, after 99 years Coney Island shutting down by the end of the year due to a failed attempt to sell the popular hot dog joint.  After 75 years The Supervisors Club (supposedly an elite club for John Deere employees) shutting down due to lack of members (probably because of all the Deere layoffs).  ICON Ag & Turf issued a layoff WARN, 83 people in Ireton jobless by January 2018.  Mike Naig, state Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, reported “Dry weather, particularly in southern Iowa, stressed crops and did negatively impact yields in some areas.”

Kansas: In Wichita, after five years Ernie Biggs Chicago Style Dueling Piano Bar shutdown.  In Topeka, after 31 years Pepe & Chela’s shutdown because of “an opportunity” the owner couldn’t pass up.  In Manhattan, after a recent name change The Hut shutdown: “… the volume just hasn’t been what it should be.”-Bud Cox, co-owner

Michigan: In Bay City, after 14 years Sweet Boutique & Chocolate Lounge shutdown, the owner credits getting an Idaho Spud Bar from the Idaho Candy Company for giving him the idea to open his shop, however, he says with the way things are “now is the time” to shutdown.  In Farmington, after 50 years Dan’s Giant Submarine Sandwiches shutdown so the surviving co-owner can retire.

Minnesota: In Saint Paul, restaurant Como Dockside announced on Facebook that it is forced to shutdown the day before Thanksgiving.  Duluth Homebrew Supply announced on Facebook its sudden shutdown, they couldn’t renew the lease which is $2,690 USD per month.

Montana: Flathead Lake Brewing shutting down its Woods Bay taproom and brewing facility after Xmas, so the owners can focus on their Bigfork location. In Valier, after 29 years restaurant The Lighthouse shutdown.  India hitting Montana pea farmers with a 50% import tax!

Nebraska: In Omaha, Willy Theisen’s Paragon Dundee shutdown saying “We just didn’t get the traction we needed.”

New Jersey: In New Brunswick, after 30 years Old Bay Restaurant shutdown.  Sales were so bad that Kimchi Smoke II suddenly shutdown its five months old Montclair location, despite the lease being in effect for at least two more years!

New York: Hannaford announced it is shutting down its grocery store in Massena, 62 jobs gone by July 2018 due to lack of profits.  In Buffalo, after 68 years wholesaler Willowbrook Farms suddenly shutdown, 22 jobs gone because the family owners don’t want to continue the business.   Green Planet Grocery shutting down its three years old Cicero store once most of the inventory is gone. Bohemia based Vitamin World is now dead, shutting down 124 stores and selling off the remaining 210, at least 1-thousand-478 jobs gone! In Schenectady, after 11 years Cella Bistro shutdown due to health problems with the family owners.  Terrafina issued a shutdown WARN for its snack factory in Bronx-NYC, 109 jobs gone by February 2018!  Restaurant Associates lost its contract with Barclays Executive Dining Room, 37 jobs gone right after Xmas.  In NYC, restaurant Giovanni Rana Pastificio & Cucina shutting down, 98 jobs gone by the end of February 2018.  Tops Markets issued a shutdown WARN for its grocery store in Wappingers Falls, 83 jobs gone by February 2018.  State agricultural commissioner Richard Ball warning of an Asian insect that could destroy crops: “If left unchecked, the spotted lanternfly can wreak havoc on some of our state’s largest and economically important crops…..  including grapes, apples, hops and forest products.”

Ohio: Fusian shutting down its restaurant near Ohio State University, as part of a plan for growing the chain.  In Hamilton, Alexander’s Market & Deli shutdown because the owner doesn’t have the time for it.  In Sandusky, after 42 years Kreimes Cardinal Grocery shutdown because of the family owners’ health problems.  France based food service contractor Sodexo issued a WARN, 30 people in Cleveland jobless right after Xmas.

Pennsylvania: In Dallas, after 17 years Olde House Cafe shutdown after the property was sold to Misericordia University.  In West Nantmeal, Wyebrook Farm shutting down its restaurant after Xmas.  In Craley, after 86 years Barry’s Country Food Market shutdown the day before Thanksgiving, the frustrated family owners told customers “times have gotten too tough.”  In Washington, after more than 50 years restaurant Peppino’s shutdown, the property is for sale.

South Dakota: Corn, soybeans and grain sorghum harvests are expected to go down by 5%.

Tennessee: Spaghetti Warehouse suddenly shutdown its restaurant in Memphis.  It’s still going on, tobacco crops failing and again state inspectors blame contractors for improper herbicide spraying.  One tobacco farmer says he lost more than $400-thousand USD as a result. 

Texas: Irving based Dairy Queen franchise owner Vasari chapter 11 bankrupt busted and shutting down at least 23 of its 70 Dairy Queens in New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma, blaming oil industry layoffs and destruction caused by hurricanes.  Grocery giant Kroger suddenly canceled its contract with a  warehouse operator in Keller, 690 jobs gone a week after Thanksgiving! Kroger is now contracting with Penske Logistics for its warehouse operations.  In Dallas, restaurant Sambuca shutting down its McKinney Avenue location because for years the landlord refused to fix ongoing problems with the building, even after being sued.  In Longview, after four years Bootlegger Grill shutdown without warning after failed attempt to sell it: “The problem is there is an oversaturation of restaurants in the Longview market. Nobody wanted to purchase a restaurant.”-Chris Cline, owner

Texas fruit growers are worried about this year’s warmer than average winter forecast: “The trees are not able to set leaf buds or flower buds normally and that can lead to problems. It can also lead to little or no fruit sap.”– Steve Huebner, peach and plum famer

Virginia: In Altavista, after many decades Vista Food Market shutting down, 23 jobs gone in December.  Blaming the “natural business cycle” Not Your Average Joe’s shutdown its 11 years old Lansdowne restaurant. Farm Fresh shutting down its store on Arthur Way, in Newport News, right after Xmas due to lack of profits.  Firefighting themed Halligan Bar & Grill shutdown two of three locations without warning, one had been open for only 90 days, and the other had already been closed officially for remodeling but not anymore!  For some reason the co-owners suddenly decided to retire!

Washington: Seattle based Amazon shutting down its Amazon Fresh grocery service in at least nine U.S. states!

West Virginia: FoodFair shutting down its 13 years old store in Huntington, 30 jobs gone because “Unfortunately, the market conditions have deteriorated…”

Wisconsin: In Milwaukee, after more than 20 years restaurant La Fuente shutdown without warning.  British empire Canada based Saputo shutting down its cheese factory in Fond du Lac, 126 jobs gone by May 2018!  University of Wisconsin says carbon emissions actually increase when crops are grown for ethanol production.  Colder than average temperatures are preventing crops from necessary drying, some farmers reporting that the ground is already freezing which could prevent them from harvesting.

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

U.S. Food Crisis, October 2017: “SHOCKINGLY CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE”

U.S.

“The people…will never, never find a better job…”: U.S. government shenanigans, November 2017

Incomplete (i-e ‘Tip of the Iceberg’) list of U.S. Federal/State/Local Government self-destruct announcements for November 2017:

Alligations of sexcrimes by your ‘elected’ officials not only revealed a now no longer secret federal taxpayer funded hush fund (Congress paid $17 million in settlements. Here’s why we know so little about that money), but even State’s have their own state taxpayer funded sexcrimes hush funds (“State governments’ practice of spending taxpayer funds to settle sexual harassment lawsuits against legislators and staff has created an uproar…”)!

Alabama: A U.S. Army Reserve officer from The Heart of Dixie spending four years in prison, and forced to pay-up $4.4-million USD, for selling Chinese made caps and backpacks to U.S. Army Recruiting Command which requires such items to be made in the United States. According to the court documents, the officer got three federal government contracts worth $6.2-million for the recruiting items, which he falsely claimed were made in the United States.

Alaska:  According to the Rain Coast Data/Southeast Conference, state government jobs declined by 720 from 2014 to 2017.

California:  “We have rapists in this building. We have molesters among us. There are perpetrators, enforcers and enablers in this building, and … a lot of us know who they are. We find out through that whisper network. People do talk, they just don’t come forward.”-Christine Pelosi, California Democratic Party Women’s Caucus, talking about The Golden State’s government system

California’s electricity rates are still 50% higher that the national average, despite claims that mandating renewable energy sources would bring costs down.  This as the state Public Utilities Commission predicted that Southern California Gas Company will fail to meet customers’ needs this Winter.

Colorado:  State agencies warning people getting healthcare assistance for their children from a federally funded program to prepare to get nothing, because the federal government halted funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Connecticut: According to U.S. Government Spending, state government tax spending has outpaced the state’s gross domestic product (GDP), since the 1990s!

Florida:  Federal taxpayers giving The Sunshine State at least $615-million USD to help recover from Hurricane Irma. Local news media pointed out that there is currently no plan on how to distribute the money and predicted most of the money won’t get to those who need it.

Georgia:  The gov’na announced that taxpayers are being forced to pay an additional $35-million (on top of the $58-million) USD for a massive cyber security/cybercrimes unit campus in Augusta.

Idaho: Recently appointed (not elected) state-level senator from Idaho Falls, Tonny Potts, was revealed to have gone chapter 7 bankrupt busted back in March. Potts was appointed to his senator job by Right to Work (you over) gov’na Butch Otter in October.  Current state level representative Ryan Kerby got a slap-on-the-wrist for committing a criminal act while he was superintendent for School District 372 (aka New Plymouth School District).  According to the Professional Standards Commission’s review, Kerby “willfully or deliberately” submitted a falsified teacher qualification report.  Kerby can challenge the slap-on-the-wrist letter of reprimand.     More court proven cases of voter fraud as a man who lost his ‘right’ to vote (due to being on criminal probation) somehow voted in this month’s elections.  Ada County elections employees warning that the three years old Interstate Voter Registration Crosscheck Program doesn’t work, for a simple reason: “We learned the hard way that there are many people who share names and birth dates across the country.”-Phil McGrane, Ada County chief deputy clerk

Idaho Statesman: Idaho is sharing your private voter data (even though it promised not to)

Illinois: Cook County’s new budget calls for the elimination of 321 jobs due to a failed tax on soda-pop, starting in December: “The people should really wonder what kind of government we are when we are laying off this many people at this time of year. The people losing their jobs will never, never find a better job than the one they’ve lost.”-Larry Suffredin, county commissioner

Louisiana: The state’s First Circuit Court of Appeal ruled that the gov’na cannot issue an executive order protecting homosexuals working for state government from discrimination, harassment and firing based on their sexual thing.

Michigan:  Local taxpayers in the Evart area are pissed about Switzerland based Nestlé’s request to increase its use of local water to 794-million liters (210-million U.S. gallons) yearly.  The water is then sold as bottled water under various Nestlé brands at huge profits.

Mississippi: The state administered SNAP (commonly called food stamps) is under federal investigation for submitting fake food stamp claims.

Missouri: The current federal tax bill might save state taxpayers  $1-billion USD by affecting something called ‘rolling conformity’ of standard deductions at the state level.  State tax collection officials refused to comment to local news media as to what the state government would do to make up the difference.

Montana: The Treasure State could lose $30-million USD in federal taxpayer funding if the current federal tax plan becomes law.  The loss would come from changes to ObamaCare-ACA and mining royalty payments.  To offset the possible loss Montana politicians are thinking about jacking-up state taxes.

New Jersey: A taxpayer funded Bergen County animal shelter had a Catholic bishop bless the animals, and is now facing a lawsuit over 1st Amendment violation.

New York:  Voters in The Empire State overwhelmingly voted against a Constitutional Convention.  Such a thing could end the United States as we know it.  British empire United Kingdom owned, U.S. taxpayer funded, Luxfer Magtech halting its manufacture of U.S. Department of Defense Meal Ready to Eat ‘flameless’ ration heater at its factory in Riverhead, 60 jobs gone by February 2018 due to production being moved to other factories.

North Carolina:  After several years of ‘mistakes’ the state is now accused of owing federal Medicaid $41-million USD due to overpayments.   It’s been revealed that the Office of State Human Resources does not keep records of government employees disciplined for sexual crimes.  The state Department of Health and Human Services took-over mental health provider Cardinal Innovations for giving former executives millions of dollars in taxpayer funded severance.

Ohio:  An audit revealed that over the past ten years $3.4-million USD in payments to the state government never made it into government accounts, because of criminal taxpayer funded government employees: “Time and again rogue employees have successfully robbed governments because they were entrusted with total, unchecked control over fiscal operations. It’s time for more administrators to take up shields and involve themselves in the defense of their financial resources.”-David Yost, state auditor

Oklahoma: State taxpayers have been paying for politicians to buy promotional items like key chains, stress balls and T-shirts, up to $58-million USD worth every year!  It’s called ‘swag’ by insiders and gov’na Mary Fallin issued an executive order banning it.

Pennsylvania: Evil for-profit prison operator The Geo Group laid off 51 people at the Coleman Hall prison.

Puerto Rico:  The island territory, which provides relatively little in national tax revenues, wants $94-billion USD in national taxpayer funding to deal with the unprecedented damage caused by Hurricane Maria. Hell, even the States are struggling to pay for things with both state and federal taxpayer funding, so where is all this extra natural disaster recovery funding coming from?

Tennessee:  Developers working for Japan’s Toyota and Mazda want taxpayers to fork-over an additional $72-million USD to complete the Memphis Regional Megasite, which has already cost $144-million in state taxpayer funding!  Toyota and Mazda claim they’ll hire 4-thousand people once the Megasite is finished!  At what point does state taxpayer funding outweigh tax revenues created by jobs in an industry that no longer provides steady long-term employment?

Texas:  State Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) spending at least 60-thousand tax dollars to get rid of an estimated several hundred sewer rats at their Austin HQ.  The Texas Facilities Commission (TFC) questions the payment because state agencies are supposed to go through the TFC with any building maintenance problems, which the HHSC did not.  Veteran Texas cops began operation Government Crime Stoppers, aimed at politicians!  Whistleblowers can get up to $10-thousand USD for ratting-out politicians who commit crimes: “We’re looking for corrupt government officials, which has been a problem throughout the state. ….Twenty-five years ago I was hoping for something like this.”-James ‘Perry’ Huckaba

Utah: A state resident was sentenced to two years in federal prison after he was caught stealing $3.4-million USD in U.S. Army equipment at Dugway Proving Grounds.  The stolen medical equipment and vision devices ended up with U.S. wholesalers and retailers.   Youth suicide in the Mormon dominated state approaching record levels, four times faster than the national average according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  The CDC study also indicated that the three official anti-suicide programs in Utah are not working.

Washington: King County Superior Court ruled that Seattle’s left-wing-liberal income tax solely on wealthy people is illegal: “The city knowingly violated several laws in imposing this tax.”-Brian T. Hodges, attorney with Pacific Legal Foundation

It should be noted that the tax system in Washington is considered the most repressive in the United States for poor people, meaning poor people pay a higher percentage of tax than rich people.

Washington DC: The federal government admitted that a U.S. citizen is being detained in Iraq by the U.S. Department of Defense, without legal recourse!

West Virginia: China Energy is making a 20 years $84-billion USD investment into petroleum operations within the state, and state and federal (Team Trump) government leaders refuse to give any details about it, or how it came to be.  The state Division of Corrections shutdown a 34 years old prisoner work-release center supposedly due to fire code violations.  Kanawha County Magistrate Jack Pauley pled guilty to charges of making court decisions that resulted in two men dying!  Judge Pauley told the court he made the decisions in haste in an effort to expedite court cases.  His punishment could be a slap-on-the-wrist 45 day suspension!

Wisconsin:  After spending years driving away good paying jobs, Right to Work (you over) Scott Walker now wants taxpayers to spend $7-million USD to bring good paying jobs back! 

Governing.com: Sexual Harassment Investigations Are Kept Secret in Wisconsin, and That’s How Lawmakers Want It.

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

Government Shenanigans, October 2017: “WHO’S PROFITING…?”

ObamaCare ACA Death Spiral, November 2017: “SEVERAL SYSTEM AND CONTROL FAILURES”

Dumbing Down the U.S. of A., November 2017: “CLOSING WAS THE ONLY OPTION.”

Idaho, U.S.

“It shook my entire house!” Explosions in the sky as more minor quakes hit Idaho!

01 DEC 2017 (01:55 UTC-07 Tango 06) 10 Azar 1396/12 Rabi ‘al-Awwal 1439/14 Ren-Zi 4715

On 30 NOV 2017, just before 13 hours after midnight (that’s just before 1pm for those of you who insist on using a 12 hours clock to track the 24 hours in a day) the area around Soda Springs, Idaho, was hit by yet another 3 magnitude earthquake.

Ever since September southeast Idaho has been hit with low magnitude quake ‘swarms’, possibly due to petroleum exploration.

But in the south central part of the state, in the Twin Falls area, people have been reporting unexplained sounds of explosions, or “booms”.  Many say it sounds like the booms are coming from the sky, but one woman saw a smoke cloud rising from across the Snake River: “It shook my entire house! It freaked me out. …..It looked like it came off the ground and was slowly dissipating and rising. It was yellowish or maybe even greenish.”– Sara Bloss, as quoted by Twin Falls Times-News

The National Weather Service said there were no big cloud-to-cloud lightning strikes. Idaho Department of Transportation swore they had no road construction projects in the area.  The U.S. Air Force at Mountain Home refused to comment about a ‘secret bombing range’.  Interestingly, according to local news media these Skyquakes happen at the same time every year.

Apparently nobody in the Twin Falls area speculated that it could be petroleum exploration.  Perhaps it’s because a professor from Boise State University claimed there were no seismic registrations.  In mid-November a lawsuit in Oklahoma revealed that a former university professor was being bullied not to make a connection between increased quakes and petroleum exploration/fracking: “Researchers have linked the spike in the number of earthquakes in parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas and other states to the underground disposal of wastewater from oil and gas production. Holland said he was reprimanded for helping publish a peer-reviewed journal article on how to cope with such earthquakes.”-Associated Press

For November, Oklahoma continued to be plagued by fracking quakes: Yukon earthquakes linked to fracking well

Numerous small earthquakes recorded in northern Oklahoma

“researchers are certain the quakes are a result of fracking practices of the oil and gas industry”

Two earthquakes rattle Oklahoma town

Earthquake swarm leaves Oklahoma residents unsettled

To get an idea just how many quakes The Gem State of Idaho experiences on a daily basis, visit Earthquaketrack.com.  According to the website, Idaho has experienced 919 earthquakes in the past 12 months!

WestVirginiaPublicBroadcasting: How the U.S. Government Hid Fracking’s Risks to Drinking Water

U.S.

“Fix it, Jesus, fix it!”: U.S. Christian Rapture, November 2017

Incomplete (tip-o-the iceberg) list of U.S. Christian shutdowns, layoffs and Rapture oddities for the Gregorian (western christian calendar) month of November 2017.

Newsweek: CHRISTIANS LOVE PEDOPHILIA SAYS CHURCH OF SATAN

California: Despite having the strictest anti-2nd Amendment laws of any U.S. state, god was still powerless to stop a shooting at the Saint Alphonsus Church.  In San Francisco area, more competition for ‘christians’ as ex-google executive Anthony Levandowski is founding a ‘church’ where members can worship a computer created Artificial Intelligence God!  In Oakland, god powerless to stop a man from being stabbed to death outside the Union Baptist Church.  In San Luis Obispo County, proof the economy ain’t recovered as the Mountainbrook Church raised $9-thousand for the local Food Bank Coalition.  The British empire based Salvation Army shutting down its East Avenue thrift store operation in Chico after Xmas, blaming crashing sales and skyrocketing rent/utilities.  In Fresno, New Harvest Church announced it will shutdown its child-care-center right after Xmas, vaguely blaming financial reasons.

Florida:  In Seminole Heights, the fourth victim of the serial shooter was a church volunteer who was shot in the back as he walked to a meeting with his church pastor.  Food insecurity is so bad in Citrus County that New Church Without Walls reporting it has 20 truckloads of food on its way: “We’re getting trucks three times a week, but we need some place to put it. What I’d really like is something like the old Kmart or an empty store. We need it now….They’re on their way.”-Doug Alexander

Georgia: Police responded to a near-riot at the Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church, over the firing of the pastor and misuse of church money.  Members were shouting “Fix it, Jesus, fix it!”, as police arrived and kicked everybody out.

Idaho: The pastor of Candlelight Christian Fellowship is endorsing the Mormon politician Raul Labrador.  Raúl Rafael Labrador once said “Nobody dies because they don’t have access to healthcare.”  Candlelight Christian Fellowship could face investigation by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for openly endorsing a political candidate, according to Robert Tuttle, professor of law and religion at George Washington University Law School.

Illinois:  The Woodford County Sheriff arrested a man who threatened to shoot-up a church in Peoria because he was kicked out. Law enforcers told local news media they didn’t know why the man was kicked out of the church, the man is not being charged with a crime, instead he was placed in a mental facility.  It was a pastor of another church that reported the man to police.

Indiana: God powerless to stop burglars from targeting several vehicles in the parking lots of Bethany Church of the Brethren and Nappanee Missionary Church on 05 NOV 2017.  Then on 12 NOV 2017, vehicles in the parking lot of Sugar Grove Church were targeted.

Iowa: Easter Seals of Iowa issued a layoff WARN, 33 people in Des Moines jobless right after Xmas.

Kentucky: In Lexington, police responded to a near-riot at the Southern Acres Christian Church after members were told that “a known suspect took $100,000 from the church fund and exercised control over those funds with the intention to deprive the church thereof.”

Louisiana: An illegal immigrant is now living in the First Grace United Methodist Church in New Orleans, for fear of being deported.

Maine:  Kennebec Community Church and Feed My Starving Children begged for food donations, not for economically struggling ‘Mericans, but for people in other countries!

Maryland: Faithless church leaders in Carroll County attended an “active shooter” class put on by the local Sheriff.

Michigan:   It was revealed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is looking into threats made against the Masjid Bilal Mosque, Westminster Presbyterian Church, and a third unnamed religious house, after a toiletry bag containing a gun and a map were discovered in Dearborn Heights.  The map had religious houses marked as “targets”.  God powerless to stop ‘his’ Kensington Church, in Troy, from getting suckered by a con-artist.  It worked like this; a man sent a donation check for $4-thousand-5-hundred USD, then said ‘oops, I meant it to be for $45’,  so the church sent him a refund check for the difference.  It turns out the original donation check was fake!  In Grand Rapids, god powerless to stop the internet from shutting down ‘his’ christian Eardmans Bookstore. Christian book printer Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company says it’ll focus solely on internet sales.  In Wayne, New Hope Baptist Church hit by vandals, yet again according to local news media.  I think a possible problem is that the church is located in a vacant Burger King building, which is currently being remodeled.

Minnesota: After 151 years Brooklyn United Methodist Church shutting down at the beginning of January 2018.  Blame The Rapture as there are only 48 official members left, however, the pastor blames “The younger generation of Brooklyn’s congregation has, for the most part, moved away, and those who are left are dealing with issues related to old age and poor health.”

Missouri: In Kansas City, the 1-hundred years old Westminster Congregational Church is now a furniture store.  Apparently the church had been declared an eyesore and people wanted it torn down.

Nevada: Taxpayer funded Lyon County School District facing a lawsuit for blocking Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley from distributing religious material on taxpayer funded school property (in violation of the 1st Amendment).

New Jersey: God powerless to stop ‘his’ Saint Peter’s University Hospital from suddenly eliminated 108 jobs in order to “remain competitive”!  Presbyterian founded Westminster Choir College suddenly laid off 33 people and revealed the school might be transferred to the control of an ‘Asian’ institution, and if that fails then the 91 years old school will shutdown.

North Carolina:  Former members of the controversial Word of Faith Fellowship say a 2005 court agreement is failing to protect children from being abused by church officials.   Buncombe County’s Tourism Development Authority is being accused of violating the 1st Amendment by giving the Haywood Street Congregation a $75-thousand USD taxpayer funded grant.  Providence Baptist Church was hit by vandals that accused the church of being anti-homosexual, the pastor swears he has never made any anti-homosexual comments.

North Dakota: Two men were “dragged out” of the River Church, in Dickinson, for protesting a female pastor.  One witness said the men were pointing out the lack of Biblical references in the female pastor’s sermon.

Ohio: A man was found, shot in the chest, in the Center Christian Church parking lot.  The man is alive, but so far police don’t know who he is, they suspect its the result of illegal drugs.

Oklahoma: The great-grandson of the founders of the Rhema Bible Training College pled guilty to being the Broken Arrow shooter.  God powerless to stop the sudden (without warning) shutdown of ‘his’ Saint Gregory’s University, supposedly due to a sudden change in federal taxpayer funding rules from the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture): “The USDA came up with a new rule last week, never before heard of, to say, ‘Oh, you’re not eligible until the next census’.”-Michael Scaperlanda, university president

Pennsylvania:  Doing something that many people don’t think about when it comes to poor people, for the second year in a row First Presbyterian Church of Allentown bought shoes for people who rely on the Dubbs Memorial Community Center-Daybreak program: “It’s like Santa went to my house already.”-Gladys Arroyo, Daybreak user

Rhode Island: A Ford van used by Saint Patrick’s Church to  help homeless people, and to make deliveries to food pantries, was stolen and then ‘totaled’.  Church volunteers say they used the van to help feed more than 2-hundred families: “It’s almost impossible to do what we need to do without our van.”-Marlyn Batista

Tennessee: After 140 years ‘god’ powerless to stop ‘his’ Tennessee Baptist Convention from excommunicating ‘his’ First Baptist Church of Jefferson City for hiring a female reverend!

 Texas: God powerless to stop a known crazyman from killing nine people in the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs.  After the shooting the ‘christian’ dominated U.S. Air Force admitted that it failed to report the shooter’s criminal/mental health records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which would have prevented the man from buying guns.  In response to the shooting, the Williamson County Sheriff conducted an “active shooter” class at the Celebration Church in Georgetown. A female Cy-Springs High School history teacher is accused of having sex with a student and doing drugs (ain’t that why it called High School?), according to the complaint the teach and the student would meet at a ‘christian’ Chick-Fil-A for their trysts.   God powerless to stop ‘his’ Abilene Christian University from eliminating an undisclosed number of jobs as part of its attempt at “…lowering student debt and the cost of delivering a quality higher education, while increasing affordability…”

Utah:  Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the most powerful of several LDS organizations) accidentally revealed secret Handbook 1 church administration rules, but then quickly removed them from the internet when the mistake was discovered.  Handbook 2 is considered de-classified for public viewing.  Imagine Dragons’ mormon frontman Dan Reynolds executive-produced a new documentary about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ homosexual policy, its called Believer.

Washington: ‘Christians’ voted in favor of parking lots over helping homeless people. In Seattle the members of the University Unitarian Church voted to remove three houses used to help homeless people and replace them with a parking lot!  Local news media pointed out the University Unitarian Church’s decision comes at a time when the city is dealing with a homelessness “crisis”. 

Washington DC: The Archdiocese of Washington (DC) suing the DC Metro which refused to run a promotion about Xmas.  Ignorant church leaders said there was no reference to religion, forgetting that Christmas is a stolen ‘Pagan’ Winter Solstice holiday modified for a specific religion called Christianity.  The equally ignorant First Baptist Church joined in protest of the DC Metro anti-Xmas, pro-1st Amendment, decision.

West Virginia: It was revealed that during the ‘christian’ motivated Civil War (southern christians used the Bible to support slavery and northern christians used the Bible to oppose slavery, proof the Bible can’t be relied upon) the Claysville Church opened it doors to both Union and Confederate soldiers.

Wisconsin: This happens every friggin’ year, baby Jesus stolen from a church nativity scene.  The latest incident happened at a church in Mensha, the statue (idol) is more than a hundred years old.  Local ‘christian’ police are so upset about it they’ve issued an all-points bulletin (aka BOLO).

U.S. Christian Rapture, October 2017: “THEY SAID…WE WERE SINNERS!”

“No man can work for two masters, for either he will hate one and will love the other, or he will honor one and the other he will ignore. You cannot work for God and for money.”-Matthew 6:24, Aramaic Bible

“But the root of all these evils is the love of money, and there are some who have desired it and have erred from the faith and have brought themselves many miseries.”-1 Timothy 6:10 Aramaic Bible

“And Yeshua [Jesus of Nazareth] entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. And he said to them, It is written: ‘My house will be called the House of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers.’ “-Matthew 21:12-13 Aramaic Bible

“Yeshua said to them, ‘Give what is Caesar’s to Caesar and what is God’s to God.’ And they marveled at him.”-Mark 12:17 Aramaic Bible

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.-1st Amendment, U.S. Constitution

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

Former employees of religious non-profits might not qualify for unemployment assistance (or even be counted as unemployed): “If the non-profit organization is a church, you may or may not be entitled to unemployment. It all depends upon state regulations for church employers. In many cases, churches are allowed to set their own rules regarding unemployment benefits, meaning the church can choose whether to offer benefits to former employees.”

U.S.

“several system and control failures”: ObamaCare ACA Death Spiral, November 2017

Incomplete list of healthcare related layoffs and shutdowns, announced in November 2017:

Employees with Israel based drugs pusher Teva Pharmaceuticals reporting that ‘thousands’ of its U.S. employees are about to be laid off, Teva administrators refused to answer questions from the news media.

Israel based, but U.S. stock market listed, Protalix BioTherapeutics eliminating 50 jobs due to decreasing Israeli taxpayer funding.

Internet based WebMD laid off about 170 people after being taken over by vulture capitalist KKR-Internet Brands!

Arizona: Insurance company United Healthcare eliminating 381 military Tricare jobs after Xmas, due to expired taxpayer funded contract!

Arkansas: Drugs maker Cantrell Drug Company now chapter 11 bankrupt busted, blaming government regulations.

California:  Pacific Alliance Medical Center issued a shutdown WARN for Los Angeles, 685 jobs gone a week before Xmas!  Medicare-Medicaid manager SynerMed eliminating 626 jobs in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, in January 2018, possibly due to “several system and control failures within medical management and other departments.”!  Avanir Pharmaceuticals issued a layoff WARN, 73 jobs gone by mid-January 2018.  Actelion Pharmaceuticals issued a layoff WARN, 34 jobs gone by the end of February 2018.  Less than a month after shutting down, ‘crisis consultants’ are working to bring Tulare Regional Medical Center back from the dead, starting with job application/interviews at the end of November.  Amgen eliminating 121 drug research jobs after Xmas, in the name of “efficiency”!  Genentech eliminating 128 drug making jobs after Xmas, blaming increased competition!  It was revealed that Orchard Hospital suddenly laid off an undisclosed number of employees at the end of October, due to lack of money.  Despite massive layoffs across the U.S., Long Beach based Molina Healthcare reported it lost $97-million USD in its 3rd quarter, and even issued a WARN saying 44 jobs in Long Beach will go away after Xmas. 

Connecticut: Conduent State Healthcare eliminating 102 jobs by mid-January 2018!   Bristol Myers Squibb conducting another round of layoffs, this time 29 people in Wallingford jobless sometime after Xmas.  Blair Manor Nursing Home and Ellis Manor Nursing Home both issued WARNs, an undisclosed number of jobs being eliminated starting in January 2018.

Delaware: UnitedHealth eliminating 138 jobs after Xmas, due to losing the contract to manage the state’s Medicaid program!

Florida:  After 14 years GulfCoast Surgery Center now chapter 11 bankrupt busted due to as much as $10-million USD in debts, and only $50-thousand, or less, in assets.  Diabetic supply companies Arriva Medical and American Medical Supplies both shutting down their Florida operations, 182 jobs gone after Xmas, possibly in connection with both companies being taken-over by Abbott Laboratories!

Georgia: Washington County Regional Medical Center suddenly laid off 27 people as a result of a new management contract with a Utah based company.

Idaho State Journal Pic

Idaho: One month after issuing a mass-layoff WARN, the SafeHaven care center in Pocatello mysteriously burned to the ground.  The residents were evacuated, but the building is a $2-million USD loss.  Fire inspectors say the fire was not arson, but are calling for a review of national fire code.  The fire started in the attic of the building, apparently in an area where no fire sprinkler system was required under current national fire code. Last month SafeHaven issued a WARN saying 117 people in Pocatello were losing their jobs!   

Illinois: Cook County Health and Hospitals System eliminating 34 jobs as part of much bigger county-wide layoffs (321 in total)!  It’s been revealed that state taxpayers owe billions of dollars to healthcare providers, and currently state administrators are putting taxpayers even deeper into debt by getting loans to pay-off about $9-billion USD in unpaid Medicaid bills! 

Indiana: Dearborn County Hospital laid off 25 people and shutdown 36 vacant jobs due to “Changes in healthcare related to advances in technology, a shift toward outpatient procedures, shorter lengths of stay and numerous other factors…”  Drugs maker Eli Lilly revealed that in September more than 2-thousand-3-hundred employees accepted bribes to voluntarily quit (buyouts)!

Iowa: AmeriHealth Caritas eliminating 4-hundred jobs as part of its exit from Iowa’s Medicaid program!  Community Support Advocates issued a WARN, 26 jobs in Des Moines gone by mid-December.

Kentucky: Louisville based health insurance company Humana eliminating 2-thousand-7-hundred jobs across the U.S.!  This is on top of the 1-thousand-5-hundred employees who voluntarily quit (buyouts) in September!

Massachusetts: Harrington HealthCare System suddenly laid off 23 people right before Thanksgiving, due to an $8.2-million USD loss. 

Michigan: Taxpayer funded Brookhaven Medical Facility shutting down after Xmas due to lack of county taxpayer funding to fill the growing multi-million dollar debt hole.  Now former Michigan State University and U.S.A. Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar pled guilty to multiple charges of sex crimes.

Mississippi: University of Mississippi Medical Center shutdown its Madison wellness center, saying the rent was too high.

Missouri: Saint Louis based SSM Health eliminating more than 3-hundred jobs across four states!

New Jersey: God powerless to stop ‘his’ Saint Peter’s University Hospital from suddenly eliminated 108 jobs in order to “remain competitive”!  In Branchburg, ImClone Systems eliminating 77 jobs in January 2018.

North Carolina: Rite Aid shutting down its nearly four decades old drug pushing operation in Marion, ten jobs gone in January 2018 supposedly due to not being able to afford to renew the lease.  The evil Carlyle Group owned, and now schizophrenic, Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD) laid off 12 InfoTech employees, and is laying off an undisclosed number of HR employees, as part of off-shoring of jobs to an unnamed European location, while at the same time claims to be hiring “hundreds” of new employees.

North Dakota: The Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Health Board got 154-thousand U.S. tax dollars to enroll people in North Dakota’s ObamaCare ACA, but for some unexplained reason signed up only 67 people!

Ohio:  OhioHealth eliminating 19 jobs as part of its consolidation of child therapy programs.

Rhode Island: Providence based Care New England lost $47-million USD for its fiscal year 2017, which ended in September.

South Carolina: AnMed Health suddenly laid off 94 people and shutdown 65 vacant jobs, blaming mandatory investments into digital records keeping!

South Dakota: The Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Health Board got 200-thousand U.S. tax dollars to enroll people in South Dakota’s ObamaCare ACA, but for some unexplained reason signed up only one person!

Washington DC:  It’s been revealed that at least 16 groups (aka ‘navigators’) claiming to help people sign-up for ObamaCare ACA got paid big taxpayer bucks for enrolling less than 1-hundred people, at a cost to taxpayers of $5-thousand USD per sign-up!

West Virginia: Mylan Pharmaceuticals suddenly laid off an additional 3-hundred people as part of its ongoing “restructuring” operations announced last year!

ObamaCare (ACA) death spiral October 2017:“BUSINESS AS USUAL.”

U.S.

“closing was the only option.”: Dumbing Down U.S.A., November 2017

Disappearing Students Syndrome (DSS): A phrase created by me to describe a phenomenon taking place across the United States, affecting both privately and publicly funded schools, from Kindergarten all the way through University levels.

“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.”-George Orwell (aka Eric Arthur Blair)

The nonprofit Center on Budget and Policy Priorities used federal data to compile a list showing that 29 U.S. states whose state taxpayer funding of education is still below their funding levels prior to the 2008 Recession.  However, cuts to education funding actually began before the Recession: “Your ability to invest in your schools is severely limited by those decisions of the past, before the recession hit. And it continues to have an important impact.”-Michael Leachman, interview with news media

Incomplete (i-e Tip-o-the-Iceberg) list of publicly announced education related layoffs, shutdowns and education crimes, November 2017:

Alaska:  Fairbanks North Star Borough School District suffering long term Disappearing Students Syndrome.  Local news media reported that enrollments are down for 2018.  In 1998 enrollments peaked at 16-thousand-431, today there are 13-thousand-643 students, which could force the district to shutdown schools.

California: In San Francisco, after 25 years Thidwick Books shutting down after Xmas.  Zuckerburg funded (partly) hi-tech driven, expensive private school AltSchool shutting down its Palo Alto campus, and more campuses could be shutdown due to the fact that administrators are spending more money than they’re taking in (just because you’re a hi-tech geek doesn’t mean you know how to handle money).  Parker School Uniforms issued shutdown WARNs for four locations, taking place right after Xmas. Non-profit Zenith Education Group shutting down its Santa Ana campus, 29 jobs gone after Xmas.  The state Attorney General suing Ashford University-Bridgepoint Education, accusing them of illegal marketing, sales and debt collections.

Colorado: California based non-profit Zenith Education Group shutting down its Altierus Career College campuses in Colorado Springs and Thornton, 53 jobs gone.

Connecticut:  A stranger rescued an autistic elementary student after he wandered off the campus of Vance Elementary School: “I just went out the front door.”-student to local news media

Florida: California based non-profit Zenith Education Group shutting down its Altierus Career College-Wyotech-Everest University campuses in Tampa, Ormond Beach and Orange Park, at least 306 jobs gone right after Xmas!

Georgia: Atlanta Metropolitan State College suddenly laid off 18 employees right before Thanksgiving.  Also, vacant positions will not be filled and equipment repairs/replacements will not be made, due to a 10% drop in enrollments from last school year.   California based non-profit Zenith Education Group shutting down its Altierus Career College-Atlanta West campus.

Idaho: Enrollment in public schools is slowing down, except where immigrants/refugee populations are on the increase, like in Twin Falls and Boise areas.  Even with immigrant/refugees coming into the state, this school year’s total statewide enrollments were only 581 higher than last year.

Indiana: After 37 years of supporting Purdue University, University Spirit shutdown, the owners saying “With the retail and campus landscape changing on a national and local basis with Amazon and other internet options, closing was the only option.”  In Porter, non-profit Discovery Charter School discovered that $60-thousand USD in fundraising revenues and electronic transactions are now missing.  Local police say school administrators know who did it and efforts are being made to get justice.

Maryland: Carroll County School District halting field trips to Baltimore due to escalating city violence (this is the third year in a row that 3-hundred+ people have been murdered in the city).  Project Baltimore revealed that 13 schools in the city of Baltimore had not a single student that was considered proficient in math, and nine out of ten ‘black’ male children can’t read!   And Baltimore City Public Schools is warning that four more schools could be shutdown by the end of the school year, due to what I call DSS, and poor academic performance.  A volunteer sports trainer at Gwynn Park High School now facing criminal charges after sending a nude pic of himself to a female student.

Massachusetts: University of Massachusetts Boston suddenly laid off 36 people the week before Thanksgiving, and reduced work hours for remaining employees due to ongoing “financial and operational challenges”.  In Taunton, a three years old was left on a preschool bus for several hours before anybody noticed.  It was only after the school called the parents to question why he was absent that they decided to check the bus! 

Michigan: California based non-profit Zenith Education Group shutting down its Altierus Career College-Southfield campus.

Missouri: Saint Louis Community College warning that their new budget could result in at least 95 jobs being eliminated, due to crashing enrollments and taxpayer funding.   The state government now facing two lawsuits for holding illegal closed door meetings in an apparent coup attempt, regarding leadership of the state education system.

Nevada: California based non-profit Zenith Education Group shutting down its Altierus Career College-Henderson campus.  Taxpayer funded Lyon County School District facing a lawsuit for blocking Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley from distributing religious material on taxpayer funded school property (in violation of the 1st Amendment).

New Jersey: California based non-profit Zenith Education Group shutting down its Altierus Career College-Plainfield campus, 41 jobs gone right after Xmas.  Westminster Choir College suddenly laid off 33 people and revealed the school might be transferred to the control of an ‘Asian’ institution, and if that fails then the 91 years old school will shutdown.

New York: New York ‘listed’ RYB Education New World Kindergarten was accused of drugging children in China, however, Chinese news media now says those parents who made the accusation have retracted their statements.  NYC Department of Education, Hicksville School District, and Rockville Centre School District, all suddenly canceled their taxpayer funded contracts with Baumann Bus Company, 232 jobs suddenly affected!

Ohio: California based non-profit Zenith Education Group shutting down its Altierus Career College-Gahanna campus, 31 jobs gone after Xmas.  Ontario Police Department accuses a high school band leader of rape, investigators say it does not involve students.   A mom, her daughter and goddaughter arrested after allegedly attacking a school official at Linden McKinley High School.  Two school bus drivers punished (unpaid suspension) for ‘making out’ in front of students getting on a school bus in Kettering City.

Oklahoma: God powerless to stop the sudden (without warning) shutdown of ‘his’ Saint Gregory’s University, supposedly due to a sudden change in federal taxpayer funding rules from the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture): “The USDA came up with a new rule last week, never before heard of, to say, ‘Oh, you’re not eligible until the next census’.”-Michael Scaperlanda, university president

Oregon: California based non-profit Zenith Education Group shutting down its Altierus Career College-Tigard campus, 29 jobs gone right after Xmas.  The state Department of Education admits that Tribal Nations-Native American’s are graduating at lower rates, failing more exams and getting into more trouble than non-Native Americans. Native American Debbie Austin blames the U.S. education system which continues to outright lie about The First Nations: “Our children need to know that is not true. They need to know who they are and where they came from.”

“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.”-George Orwell (aka Eric Arthur Blair)

Pennsylvania: Students at Cheltenham High School apparently videoed themselves having sex, then shared it with junior high students on social media, school officials told local news media they haven’t seen the video despite many parents seeing it.  East Stroudsburg University warning of mass layoffs due to flat-lined enrollments and increasing operating costs, resulting in the university being short by at least $5.8-million USD.  California based non-profit Zenith Education Group shutting down its WyoTech-Blairsville campus, 73 jobs gone right after Xmas.  At least 45 teachers in Harrisburg quit in protest of escalating student violence, which prompted the superintendent to warn of a “different type of support that is needed.”

South Carolina: A Berkeley County School District bus driver arrested after allegedly assaulting a ‘special needs’ student.

Texas: Hurricane Harvey directly affecting property tax payments across 60 counties, which in turn directly affects local taxpayer funding of schools.   After only three months on the job the state Special Education Director was suddenly fired, after complaining about the Texas Education Agency (TEA) awarding a no-bid contract to a company that ‘mines’ data on disabled students!  However, the TEA says they fired the Director for covering up sex crimes against disabled students!  A female Cy-Springs High School history teacher is accused of having sex with a student and doing drugs (ain’t that why it called High School?), according to the complaint the teach and the student would meet at a ‘christian’ Chick-Fil-A for their trysts.  A now former Director of School Finance Operations Region 16 Education Service Center pled guilty to a charge of possession of child porn.   California based non-profit Zenith Education Group shutting down its five campuses across The Lone Star State.  God powerless to stop ‘his’ Abilene Christian University from eliminating an undisclosed number of jobs as part of its attempt at “…lowering student debt and the cost of delivering a quality higher education, while increasing affordability…”  In Amarillo, after more than 60 years of supplying local teachers A&D Bookstore shutdown: “There are too many people using their computers and not buying things from stores. Therefore, we just don’t have enough business.”-Elnora Dennis, owner

Virginia:  California based non-profit Zenith Education Group shutting down its Altierus Career College campuses in Chesapeake and Woodbridge.

Washington: California based non-profit Zenith Education Group shutting down its Altierus Career College campuses in Tacoma and Everett, 74 jobs gone right after Xmas.

Washington DC: A local TV station discovered that teenagers are allowed to graduate Ballou High School despite not attending for most of the year.   WJLA reports that students who had unexcused absences for more than three quarters of the school year were somehow able to graduate.  

Wisconsin: Appleton based Book World announced it is done, shutting down all 45 stores across seven U.S. states.  But get this, the administrators blame their brick-n-mortar operations demise on internet competition, despite the fact that Book World has a website (www.bookworldstores.com)!

Wyoming: California based non-profit Zenith Education Group shutting down its WyoTech campus in Laramie.

Dumbing Down October 2017: “I’M BEING BULLIED!” “HE WAS SHOOTING AT TRUMP!”

U.S.

Marines guilty of endemic violence? Ghosts of my father & grandfather!

Image

11 NOV 2017 (04:39 UTC-07 Tango 06) 20 Aban 1396/21 Safar 1439/23 Xin-Hai 4715

Couple of U.S. Marines found guilty of crimes; a Drill Instructor, and a General!

Gunnery Sergeant Joseph Felix

On 10 NOV 2017, a military jury found a Iraq occupation vet, and Drill Instructor (DI), guilty of punching, kicking and choking U.S. Muslim recruits in his charge, one of those U.S. Muslims killed  himself.  The DI was reduced down in rank to private, lost his pay and will spend ten years in a military prison: “Felix was accused in more than three dozen criminal counts of being a central figure in an abusive group of drill instructors at Parris Island that came to light after the March 2016 suicide of one of the three Muslim-American recruits Felix targeted.”-Associated Press

Does anybody remember the U.S. Marines in Afghanistan pissing contest, back in 2011?

General James Amos.
U.S. Marine Corps photo by Corporal Clayton Filipowicz, 17OCT2014.

Now-retired USMC General James Amos found guilty of ‘Unlawful Command Influence’ (UCI) regarding the 2011 incident, and as a result the conviction of a Marine sniper involved in the Afghan urinating case has been thrown out.  The court ruled that General Amos used his authority to illegally influence events surrounding the case, and to focus the investigation unfairly on one particular sniper.  Investigations into the UCI by General Amos also included his chief legal adviser, and a Major who resigned from the USMC.

The UCI case against James Amos is considered unprecedented in USMC history.  But USMC violence is not unprecedented, its endemic.

My paternal grandfather is a prime example of a hardcore Marine whose only response to difficult situations, real or imagined, is to fight your way through.

O.G. Hutchins Junior spent 30+ years in the USMC, serving in World War Two, Korea and Vietnam.  He also served as a DI and recruiter.  He was so hardcore that after finally being forced to retire he furnished his bedroom in his Jackson, Mississippi, home with wall lockers and foot lockers, a hammock for the bed, and a huge Marine Corps flag covering one wall.

O.G. Hutchins, 30+ years hardcore Marine

O.G. Hutchins Jr, 30+ years hardcore Marine.

I remember one night in a drunken rage he broke a bowl made from walnut shells and began crying about it, saying it was made by one of his buddies in Vietnam.  The next morning he accused me of breaking it, and my father had to intervene to stop him from beating me.

This wasn’t the first time my father stood up to his father.  In the late 1950s, while my grandfather was stationed at Yermo Annex, in California, my father tried to protect his mother from being beaten and got beat himself.  My grandmother could take being beaten by my grandfather, but seeing her son get beat was too much for her. She not only got a divorce but got a California arrest warrant issued for my grandfather.  The Marine Corp protected him from arrest by shipping him outside The Golden State (which was typical back then).

But my father is guilty of being an abuser as well, yes he was a Marine.  My father was a USMC BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle) gunner for two years, before transferring to the U.S. Air Force in the early 1960s (you could do that then).  Strangely, after the mid-1970s incident where my grandfather wanted to beat me for his breaking of his Vietnam buddies’ bowl, my father started abusing me whenever he got drunk. This lasted until the early 1980s when he tried to do it in front of some of my high-school friends.  He grabbed me by the neck, made a fist with his free hand, and ordered me to call him ‘sir’.  I looked him in the eyes, then looked at my friends, then back at my father and said “No.” and added “Go ahead.”  Realizing there were witnesses he angrily backed off.

For a few years my mother didn’t believe me about my father’s abuse, until one day he did it in front of her.  I believe that’s what finally lead her to divorce him, she began to fear him and claimed during the divorce trial that he threatened to kill her.  She told me afterwards that she stayed in the marriage for as long as she did because she thought he loved his children, until he tried beating me in front of her.  I have a sister and brother, but for some reason I was the only one he was abusing (as far as I know, I don’t communicate with my siblings), apparently I was what used to be called a Whipping Boy.

It was after my parents’ divorce that my paternal grandmother revealed the abuse at the hands of my grandfather.   While my father and grandfather were both Marines there’s a major difference between them; my grandfather was honest about who he was, my father was a coward.  My grandfather openly told people how he felt about them, how he hated ‘blacks’, how he hated Asians more than blacks, how he hated anybody who wasn’t a Marine (when I told him I joined the Army he cursed me, but later on after I got married and joined the Air Force he forgave me because he was happy at the chance of becoming a great grandfather).

O.G. Hutchins and fellow Marines somewhere in the Pacific

O.G. Hutchins and fellow Marines somewhere in the Pacific

My grandfather honestly told me how, during World War Two, they would murder Japanese PoWs (Prisoners of War) and get away with it by claiming the PoWs were trying to escape (its legal to kill PoWs if they’re attempting to escape).  They would unlock the PoW cage at night, and when the first prisoner opened the cage the Marines would open fire, on everybody in the cage.

O.G. Hutchins, tank commander M4 Sherman

O.G. Hutchins, tank commander M4 Sherman.

He also told me how they would kill women and children, and then blame the Japanese.  There are plenty of reports of the U.S. military trying to help civilians on the islands they were capturing, one way was to drop leaflets telling civilians to surrender themselves to the U.S. forces.  My grandfather said many times, at night, civilians would approach their front lines and try to cross the barbed wire only to be shot down in a hail of bullets as everybody in the unit would ‘open up’ with everything they had.   He said in the morning all you’d see were the bodies of old people, women and children hanging the wire.  But he was unphased because he was tired of pulling the bodies of his dead buddies from burned out tanks (he was a tank commander).  The reason why the civilians approached at night was because the Japanese army had orders to shoot any civilian that tried to surrender, so they tried to surrender at night because the Japanese army was terrible at night operations. The Marine Corps reported that the civilians were being used as human shields by the Japanese army to probe U.S. defenses.

My grandfather had similar stories about Korea and Vietnam.  He was brutally honest.  My father was the opposite, a bold faced liar.  He was still a ‘racist’, hated a lot of religions (he was raised Lutheran), would complain about government corruption yet as a civil servant joyously took part in ripping off taxpayers (he would actually brag to me about the latest gadget he acquired from the Air Force, without the Air Force knowing about it, or put in for every taxpayer funded education convention when he was a member of the Hesperia school board).  My ‘black’ hating father could convince ‘blacks’ in church that he was ‘on their side’.  At home my father would yell about corporate executives and politicians ruining the country, but then in public, when confronting them he suddenly became the biggest ass-kisser I ever saw!  I think one reason my father started abusing me was because even as a child I was calling him out on his dishonesty (especially on government corruption and his civil service ‘crimes’, and his lies to black church members).  My grandfather would never do that, instead he would risk getting arrested for assaulting people for being ‘in violation’ of his personal beliefs, he admitted to me that the reason he became a Marine was to get away from what he saw as a ‘corrupt’ civilian world.

While my father and grandfather were polar opposites regarding living an honest life, they were both Marines and both dealt with stressful situations with violence, because that’s how a Marine is made. Or is it?  Is it possible that the United States Marine Corps attracts people who are already violent?  It should be noted that even before O.G. Hutchins joined the Marines in the late 1930s he had a history of violence, even being occasionally shunned by the larger Hutchins clan of Mississippi because of it (that’s according to what my father said).  One reason my grandfather joined the Marines was that he could never find decent paying work, but then it was the Great Depression.  His brothers, Lloyd and Billy,  joined the Army Air Force and served in Europe, apparently they didn’t have an anger management problem.   My father was always a high achiever; an Eagle Scout, high scoring high-school graduate and a ‘letterman’, even getting an Associates Degree from Victor Valley College while working at Edwards AFB in the 1970s.

A couple of years before my grandfather’s death he had been barred from every VFW (Veterans Foreign Wars) post in the Jackson area, for causing fights (again, according to my father). He openly hated anybody who “wasn’t a Marine” or wasn’t ‘white’, at least I can respect him for living his brutal life openly and honestly.

Unit Citations, O.G. Hutchins Junior:  “The officers and enlisted men of the First Marine Division, Reinforced…..1942…..forced landing assaults….on Tulagi, Gavutu, Tanambogo, Florida and Guadalcanal, British Solomon Islands….”

“…extraordinary heroism in action against enemy Japanese forces at Peleliu and Ngesebus…September 15 to 29, 1944.”

“…extraordinary heroism in action against enemy Japanese forces…Okinawa Shima, Ryukyu Islands…..1945.”

“…for outstanding and heroic performance….  ….September 1950, the First Marine Division…..recaptured Inchon City.”  

“For extraordinary heroism in action against enemy aggressor forces in Korea….October 1950.” 

“For extraordinary heroism….against enemy aggressor forces in the Chosin reservoir and Koto-ri area…..December 1950.”

“For extraordinary heroism….in Korea….April…May…June…September 1951.”

“For extraordinary heroism….against the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong forces in the Republic of Vietnam from 8 March 1965 to 15 September 1967……   Third Marine Division (Reinforced)…”

2015: INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT SAYS U.S. GUILTY OF WAR CRIMES!

FEDERAL COURT OKS WAR-CRIMES LAWSUITS AGAINST BUSH ADMINISTRATION!

2013: BUSH, OBAMA & DOJ LIED ABOUT NO TORTURE!

2012:  Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, U.S. generals and even Obama facing investigation and War Crimes trials by International Criminal Courts 

DICK CHENEY AFRAID OF CANADIANS

2011: THE HUNT FOR WAR CRIMINALS BUSH JR & BLAIR, AFRICAN COUNTRIES REFUSE TO ARREST, FEARFUL OF LOSING U.S. TAXPAYER FUNDING

Bush Jr & Blair found Guilty of War Crimes by International Court!

CANADA BEING URGED TO ARREST GEORGE BUSH JR