EXCERPT: Lincoln Brower, a leading entomologist at Sweet Briar College in Virginia, wrote that "the migration is definitely proving to be an endangered biological phenomenon."
"The main culprit," he wrote in an email, is now genetically modified "herbicide-resistant corn and soybean crops and herbicides in the USA," which "leads to the wholesale killing of the monarch's principal food plant, common milkweed."
Beets are an ancient, prehistoric food that grew naturally along coastlines in North Africa, Asia, and Europe. Originally, it was the beet greens that were consumed; the sweet red beet root that most people think of as a "beet" today wasn't cultivated until the era of ancient Rome.1
By the 19th century, however, the natural sweetness of beets came to be appreciated and beets began to be used as a source of sugar (reportedly, Napoleon was responsible for declaring that beets be used as a primary source of sugar after the British restricted access to sugar cane).2
Today, sugar beets (unfortunately often genetically modified) are a common raw material used for the production of sugar, but many people are missing out on including them in whole form in their regular diet.
There's good reason to do so, in fact, as beets contain a variety of unique health-boosting nutrients that you may not be getting elsewhere. Plus, they're delicious!
Why Eat Beets? 6 Top Reasons
Beet roots have always been included in my most recommended vegetables list, although they are in the "use sparingly" category because of their high carbohydrate levels.
Although beets have the highest sugar content of all vegetables, most people can safely eat beet roots a few times a week (and their greens in unlimited quantities), enjoying not only their sweet, earthy flavor but also their powerhouse nutrients that may improve your health in the following ways.
1. Lower Your Blood Pressure
Drinking beet juice may help to lower blood pressure in a matter of hours. One study found that drinking one glass of beet juice lowered systolic blood pressure by an average of 4-5 points.3
The benefit likely comes from the naturally occurring nitrates in beets, which are converted into nitric oxide in your body. Nitric oxide, in turn, helps to relax and dilate your blood vessels, improving blood flow and lowering blood pressure.
2. Boost Your Stamina
If you need a boost to make it through your next workout, beet juice may again prove valuable. Those who drank beet juice prior to exercise were able to exercise for up to 16 percent longer.4 The benefit is thought to also be related to nitrates turning into nitric oxide, which may reduce the oxygen cost of low-intensity exercise as well as enhance tolerance to high-intensity exercise.
3. Fight Inflammation
Beets are a unique source of betaine, a nutrient that helps protects cells, proteins, and enzymes from environmental stress. It's also known to help fight inflammation, protect internal organs, improve vascular risk factors, enhance performance, and likely help prevent numerous chronic diseases.5 As reported by the World's Healthiest Foods:6
"[Betaine's]… presence in our diet has been associated with lower levels of several inflammatory markers, including C reactive protein, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor alpha. As a group, the anti-inflammatory molecules found in beets may eventually be shown to provide cardiovascular benefits in large-scale human studies, as well as anti-inflammatory benefits for other body systems."
4. Anti-Cancer Properties
The powerful phytonutrients that give beets their deep crimson color may help to ward off cancer. Research has shown that beetroot extract reduced multi-organ tumor formations in various animal models when administered in drinking water, for instance, while beetroot extract is also being studied for use in treating human pancreatic, breast, and prostate cancers.7
5. Rich in Valuable Nutrients and Fiber
Beets are high in immune-boosting vitamin C, fiber, and essential minerals like potassium (essential for healthy nerve and muscle function) and manganese (which is good for your bones, liver, kidneys, and pancreas). Beets also contain the B vitamin folate, which helps reduce the risk of birth defects.
6. Detoxification Support
The betalin pigments in beets support your body's Phase 2 detoxification process, which is when broken down toxins are bound to other molecules so they can be excreted from your body. Traditionally, beets are valued for their support in detoxification and helping to purify your blood and your liver.
Eat Your Beet Greens Too
If you simply throw away the green leafy tops to your beets, you're doing yourself a disservice, as these are among the healthiest part of the plant. Besides containing important nutrients like protein, phosphorus, zinc, fiber, vitamin B6, magnesium, potassium, copper, and manganese, beet greens also supply significant amounts of vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron.
Beet greens actually have even more iron than spinach (another leafy green in the same botanical family) as well as a higher nutritional value overall than the beetroot itself. For more details, read "What Are Beet Greens Good For?" You may be surprised to learn, for instance, that research shows beet greens may:
Help ward off osteoporosis by boosting bone strength
Fight Alzheimer's disease
Strengthen your immune system by stimulating the production of antibodies and white blood cells
If you've never tried beet greens before, don't let them intimidate you. They can be added raw to vegetable juice or sautéed lightly right along with other greens like spinach and Swiss chard.
Try This Healing Recipe for Russian Beet Soup (Borscht)
There are many ways to enjoy beets:
Grate them raw over salads
Add them to your fresh vegetable juice
Lightly steam them
Marinate them with lemon juice, herbs, and olive oil
For an even more intense flavor, try Borscht, or beet soup, which is a traditional Russian dish. This particular recipe below, from Dirt Doctor, also includes homemade broth, making it particularly nourishing and healing.
Borscht
Ingredients:
1 quart of organic, homemade broth (preferably beef or buffalo)
1 tablespoon butter
3 or 4 medium size beets – thinly sliced
1 onion – thinly sliced
1 cup of shredded red cabbage
1/8 cup minced parsley
1 tablespoon Sherry (optional)
Lemon juice – 1 tablespoon
Salt and pepper
Sour Cream (optional)
Instructions:
Over medium low heat, melt butter in a medium size soup pot.
Add onions and beets and cook until soft – about 7 or 8 minutes.
Add a dash of salt and pepper. Stir in broth.
Simmer for about 20 minutes. Then add fresh cabbage, parsley, nutmeg, and sherry. Simmer for a couple minutes more, season with additional salt and pepper, serve, and enjoy.
Add a dollop of crème fraiche or sour cream if you like
This is a very interesting article and short 3-minute video showing the energy field around the human body, which is capturing the interest of serious scientists (at long last!). If you have unbounded curiosity about the unseen world that is in us and all around us, and a desire to learn more, the Collective Evolution site is an excellent one to add to your list of favorites and to share with others.
WHAT IS COLLECTIVE EVOLUTION ALL ABOUT?
Collective Evolution (CE) creates content that engages us all to begin thinking consciously about what it means to be a human on the planet. A grassroots organization started in 2009, CE is now one of the world's most popular alternative media, production company and community outlets that gives others an opportunity to expand their everyday way of thinking. CE’s content ranges from writing to video to live events all with one common goal: to raise awareness towards how our world truly functions and encourages conscious change that moves beyond it.
Who is Collective Evolution?
All CE content is brought into conscious existence by an awesome, (but not too awesome) dynamic (but not too dynamic) community of writers, filmmakers, editors, speakers and other phenomenally creative minds… but not too phenomenal.
To contact CE for radio or media appearances please use out contact form found by clicking the contact menu button.
And here is another interesting article on the same subject:
Russian Scientist Photographs the Soul Leaving the Body at Death
The timing of astral disembodiment in which the spirit leaves the body has been captured by Russian scientist Konstantin Korotkov, who photographed a person at the moment of his death with a bioelectrographic camera.
The image taken using the gas discharge visualization method, an advanced technique of Kirlian photography shows in blue the life force of the person leaving the body gradually.
According to Korotkov, the navel and head are the parts that first lose their life force (which would be the "soul") and the groin and the heart are the last areas.
The technique developed by Korotkov, who is director of the Research Institute of Physical Culture, St. Petersburg, is endorsed as a medical technology by the Ministry of Health of Russia and is used by more than 300 doctors in the world for stress and monitoring progress of patients treated for diseases such as cancer. Korotkov says his energy imaging technique could be used to detect all kinds of biophysical imbalances, and diagnose in real time and also to show if a person does have psychic powers or is a fraud.
This technique, which measures real-time and simulated radiation, is amplified by the electromagnetic field and is a more advanced version of the technology developed for measuring the Kirlian aura.
Korotkov's observations confirm, as proposed by Semyon Kirlian, that “stimulated electro-photonic light around the tips of the fingers of the human being contains coherent and comprehensive statement of a person, both physically and psychologically.”
In this video interview Korotkov speaks of the effect in the bioenergy field with food, water and even cosmetics. He emphasizes drinking pure water and eating organic food, particularly noting that the human energy field suffers negative effects of technologically created nutrients (GMOs).
Korotkov also speaks of scientific measurements of connective energy fields showing the power and influence that people have in the bioenergy fields of others. This verifies Rupert Sheldrake’s experiment of the feeling of being watched: a person’s bioenergy field changes when someone else stares at him, even though it is behind the back of the individual and is not consciously perceived. Also, scientists have noted that energy fields are altered when people are in crowded places.
This scientific study also warns of cell phones and their negative radiation, warning they can be carcinogenic, which several other studies seem to confirm.
Korotkov is optimistic that this pioneering new scientific field is becoming more mainstream especially in Russia, where some schools are teaching children to recognize and use energy, as a metaphysical quantifiable fact.
Three decades of research into this area and considerable practical application are enabling scientists to present some very convincing evidence that there is far more to the Universe than that which we currently experience with the 5 senses.
You can bet your bottom dollar this teacher is a Tea Party Republican. It's embarrassing to have such ignorance in our country--and yet it seemingly abounds in the GOP's radicals, especially in the southern states.This ridiculous bigoted attitude alone would make me want to ditch that political party where common sense and "good will toward men" seem absent these days.
A public school in Louisiana allegedly advised a Buddhist family to change their beliefs if they didn’t want their child to face harassment from zealous teachers.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Louisiana on Wednesday filed a federal lawsuit against Negreet High School in Sabine Parish on behalf of two parents, Scott and Sharon Lane, and their son, “C.C.” The lawsuit claims the school has “a longstanding custom, policy, and practice of promoting and inculcating Christian beliefs,” including the teaching of creationism.
Sixth-grade teacher Rita Roark has told her students that the universe was created by God about 6,000 years ago, and taught that both the Big Bang theory and evolution are false, according to the lawsuit. She told her students that “if evolution was real, it would still be happening: Apes would be turning into humans today.”
One test she gave to students asked: “ISN’T IT AMAZING WHAT THE _____________ HAS MADE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” The correct answer was “Lord,” but C.C. wrote in something else. Roark responded by scolding the boy in front of the entire class.
When informed that C.C. was a Buddhist and therefore didn’t believe in God, Roark allegedly responded, “you’re stupid if you don’t believe in God.”
On another accusation, she allegedly described both Buddhism and Hinduism as “stupid.”
When the outraged parents confronted Sabine Parish Superintendent Sara Ebarb about the incidents, she allegedly told them “this is the Bible belt” and that they “shouldn’t be offended” to “see God here.” Ebarb advised that C.C. should either change his faith or be transferred to another District school where “there are more Asians.”
The parents, “hoping to save him from suffering additional psychological harm,” decided to transfer their son to another school, according to the lawsuit. The school is 25 miles away from their home.
“The treatment this child and his family have endured is not only disgraceful, it’s unconstitutional,” said Heather L. Weaver, senior staff attorney for the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief.
The lawsuit claims that other teachers and faculty members also push Christian beliefs on their students. Prayer is often lead by teachers in classrooms and during school events. Religious literature that denounces evolution and homosexuality has been distributed by faculty members to students. The school’s hallways are filled with Christian iconography and electronic marquee in front of the school scrolls Bible verses.
“Public schools should be welcoming places for students of all backgrounds,” said Marjorie Esman, executive director of the ACLU of Louisiana. “No child should be harassed and made to feel like an outsider in his own classroom, and students should not have to endure school officials constantly imposing their religious beliefs on them while they are trying to learn.”
It gives an update to history with facts that have been kept from us, for reasons that will become obvious as you listen to this former military man who had access to "cosmic top secret" documents. I've met this man and heard him speak several times. He is a remarkable human being, wanting to tell what he (and many of his "old boys network" in the military) know. They are getting old, many of them in their 80s now -- and have some fascinating facts to reveal -- what this man calls "The Greatest Story Never Told."
He was stationed in Paris in the early '60s in an important aide position at SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers in Europe) and was introduced to information/documentation in the form of a report called Assessment -- it literally changed his life and he has dedicated the years since then to telling the information to whomever would listen. He believes we all deserve to know the truth. He is an articulate man who I'm sure will hold your attention throughout the interview (despite the woman interviewer's often annoying interruptions). Bob Dean is a good man, an honest, intelligent, sincere man who naively thought everyone would want to hear what he and many other military men (including astronauts) know to be true. He and they thought that once the information made it into the public's eye, the powers-that-be would admit the truth of what they were saying. That turned out not to be the case--and Bob says he can understand why they don't want to reveal it to the public at large, despite the fact that many of us now know and believe we are being visited by extraterrestrials. This information, when fully divulged, will change practically everything about life on earth and introduce us to a whole new history of our origins and genetic makeup. It will broaden our understanding of the universe and our place in it. For years, Bob has delved into the depths of this mystery that was being kept from us -- and, through his interactions with other military men and their experience and access to secret documents, he has expanded almost limitlessly his scope of information on the subject.
After years of speaking to whoever would listen and trying to inform the public at seminars and conferences, he became discouraged and decided to retire from the circuit/circus. He no longer appeared at conferences -- he gave up, dejectedly thinking there was no more use in trying. He hermited himself for a period of several years when his son, a Naval Commander, came to him and told him military people had shared similar stories with the son, and they had confirmed that what Bob Dean had been saying all those years was the truth. They encouraged Bob to come back into the public eye and continue telling the story he has so much wanted to get out to people everywhere. And so, fortunately for us, he did.
So now you have a chance to view the interview -- and there are many other interviews online of Bob Dean, as you will see in the sidebar on the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI9fS8Y-fww
Watch the video and see what you think of Bob Dean's story. I've seen and talked with this man over many years since the early 1990s. I am convinced that he is telling the truth -- and it is verified by many others in the military and high government positions. I believe he is truthfully revealing what he has discovered and observed. After you listen to him, see if you share that opinion.
If you pass by this one, you will be missing out on what I think is the most important information in Earth's history. See if you agree that it is time for everyone to know about it.
The political field is very cult-like--this brain-washed woman is still devotedly loyal to Christie, even after he has viciously thrown her under the bus to save his own skin. After being elevated in status within the "big boys" realm, she became as tough, ruthless and vindictive as the "boys." Power went to her head, just as it has to Christie.
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. --Lord Acton
Aide Fired by Christie Is Called Loyal Team Player, Not Rogue Operative
Bridget Anne Kelly was fired for her role in the retaliatory lane closings at the George Washington Bridge.North Jersey Media Group, via, Reuters
Bridget Anne Kelly is devastated that Gov. Chris Christie denounced her as stupid and a liar — but she also is distraught over how much her actions have damaged him politically.
Unheard-of a week ago, now a caricature of a political attack dog, Ms. Kelly, the deputy chief of staff to Mr. Christie who was fired for her role in the retaliatory closings of lanes to the George Washington Bridge, has described her ouster and vilification as surreal, like an “out-of-body experience,” according to her close friends.
The experience has been so traumatic, they said, that Ms. Kelly fled her home in Bergen County, N.J., leaving behind her four children, as reporters continued staking out the residence and that of her parents. And with New Jersey lawmakers expected to issue more subpoenas this week, the next time Ms. Kelly appears in public could well be under oath.
That, in a bubble, is the unforgiving world that Ms. Kelly, 41, inhabits a week after the release of correspondence among Christie administration officials showing the behind-the-scenes machinations over the September lane closings, a scandal that has blossomed into the gravest crisis of the governor’s political career.
In the absence of an argument to the contrary from Ms. Kelly, her pungent eight-word email to an official at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey — “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee” — has been treated as the proverbial smoking gun.
But friends, Trenton operatives and people who have recently been in touch with Ms. Kelly said that the portrait of her that had emerged — as a vengeful rogue operative — did not square with the woman they knew. And while they were careful not to discuss with her what happened, let alone ask why, they said that her actions were highly uncharacteristic for someone who had always been a loyal soldier, but never a rule-breaker.
“The person I worked with through the years is not the person you see in the press these days,” said Jeff Tittel, a longtime environmental advocate.
At first glance, nothing about Ms. Kelly’s life — not her strict Catholic upbringing; her close-knit extended family; her decision to send her children to the same Catholic schools she attended in her hometown, Ramsey; or her fierce loyalty to her political mentors — would suggest anything but a dutiful, behind-the-scenes role player.
“She follows the chain of command,” said a friend who, like nearly everyone contacted for this story, insisted on anonymity to avoid being caught up in the continuing investigations. “She’s not a cowboy.”
Yet friends said that Ms. Kelly, known as B.K., possessed grit and a desire to prove people wrong. She was seriously injured when hit by a car while in college, at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Md., and was not expected to walk again. But she recovered, and eventually began running 5K races.
A few months ago, she finished a half-marathon, in what Ms. Kelly, whose faith remains deeply important to her, described as a redemption.
“She’s a very determined person,” a friend said.
Republican politics have long been in Ms. Kelly’s blood. She joined the staff of Assemblyman David C. Russo, a moderate legislator, not long after college, and rose to become his chief of staff in 2002. Her mother also works for Mr. Russo. Her father is the director of Bergen County’s Division of Veterans Services. But it was Mr. Russo’s unsuccessful bid for Congress in 2002 against two conservative primary opponents, Scott Garrett and State Senator Gerald Cardinale, that frustrated, and may have hardened, Ms. Kelly politically.
After she worked to line up support for Mr. Russo in Bergen and Passaic Counties, the race took an unexpected turn when Mr. Cardinale, who had pledged to drop out of the race, stayed in. Mr. Cardinale siphoned off some of Mr. Russo’s support, and Mr. Garrett prevailed.
“She thought it was unfair,” a friend said. “She really resented people who got a shortcut.”
In 2009, Ms. Kelly volunteered to help run Mr. Christie’s phone-bank effort in Bergen. Her efforts attracted the attention of Bill Stepien, Mr. Christie’s campaign manager, and she was chosen to serve as director of legislative relations in the State House, where she worked closely with lawmakers and their staffs.
She later served under Mr. Stepien, who became a deputy chief of staff, as Mr. Christie’s director of intergovernmental and legislative affairs. In the job, officials said, she was the caretaker of the governor’s relationships with other elected officials, community groups and business associations.
It was her task, for example, to decide whom to invite to President Obama’s events on the Jersey Shore after Hurricane Sandy and which legislators should be given tickets to the governor’s box for sought-after sporting events.
But the job — with a 90-minute commute each way — apparently took a toll on her personal life. With Mr. Russo as her lawyer, as court records indicate, she divorced her husband, Joseph Kelly, a golf pro in Mendham, in Morris County. (Among the Mendham residents who had taken golf lessons from Mr. Kelly were Mr. Christie’s wife, children and brother, friends said.)
Several Trenton political operatives said that Ms. Kelly, having paid her dues, became more brusque after being elevated to Mr. Christie’s inner circle. She stopped mingling with lobbyists and other staff members, and, they suggested, she seemed to relish teaming up with Mr. Stepien in administering political payback.
“A lot of these guys lose perspective on reality,” a Republican official said. “I think that’s what happened here.”
Even now, after Mr. Christie’s denunciation of her, friends of Ms. Kelly said she sounded as devoted to him as ever.
“Her unrequited loyalty is not wavering,” a friend said.
WAR IS A FORCE THAT GIVES US MEANINGLESSNESS By Ted Rall
Ten years ago, Blackwater contractors and US troops unleashed two battles to take control of Fallujah. Thousands of Iraqis and scores of Americans were killed. Ten years later, Al Qaeda is back in charge, underscoring the utter pointlessness of war.
Sam Berns died today, and the world is lesser for his passing. I don't know if you've seen the HBO documentary on this boy (Life According to Sam) but it showed his wisdom and courage--and remarkable spirit. He is an old soul. I'm sending him many good wishes today as he continues his soul journey. During the short time he spent on earth, he taught us all some valuable lessons on how to live life well. Viewing the documentary on Sam brought tears to my eyes and laughter to my heart. He and his parents were perfectly matched -- they are both doctors, and his mother has devoted her life to finding a cure for progeria. In her research, she discovered that one drug had the ability to prolong the life of a progeria child. Sam lived 4 years past the age most children with progeria die -- I believe it was because of his mother's work -- and because of the love this family felt for each other and then shared with the world.
CHRIS CHRISTIE IS THE FACE OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY By Richard Eskow
Some Republicans are claiming Chris Christie isn't really one of them. Some pundits are claiming, even as scandal erupts around him, that he's a "different kind of Republican." He's more than that: He is the archetypal Republican, the incarnation of its arrogant, corporatist soul.
It's like we said a while back: Christie is "the heartless, smug, bullying embodiment" of his party. He and his staff reflect a world in which other people are nothing more than rubes to be manipulated and exploited, whether they're trying to escape the trap of long-term unemployment or Fort Lee during the morning rush hour.
The conventional wisdom says that Christie's not like other Republicans. Pundits say he's a "moderate," a "pragmatist," a counterbalance to the far-right ideology of the Tea Party Republicans. But no leading Republican is really moderate, including Christie. And at the end of the day they're all pragmatists, ready to do whatever it takes to serve their paymasters' agenda.
Democrats and liberals routinely express frustration and bafflement at Republican hypocrisy. "They claim to hate big government," they'll say, "but they want to expand the Defense Department. They say they want government out of our lives, then vote to control women's sex lives or manage a brain-dead woman's care from the nation's capital."
Well, yeah.
It's true that Republicans are hypocritical in word and deed. But while they may be false to an ideology, they're always true to their mission: to promote and serve the interests of big corporations and ultra-wealthy individuals. And when it comes to that agenda, all of them -- the Chris Christies as well as the Paul Ryans -- are as extremist as the political climate will permit. Whether the subject is taxation, "corporate personhood," or the future of the planet, there's no room for either moderation or ideology in the service of corporate goals.
That's why the party's few real ideologues - the Ron Pauls and Rand Pauls - frustrate the leadership so much. Unfortunately, when Republicans aren't hirelings they're usually extremists. And when party leaders complain that other Republicans aren't "moderates" or "pragmatists," what they're really saying is that they won't behave like Rep. Spencer Bachus (who famously said that the institutions of government exist "to serve the banks"), or, like the ever-"pragmatic" Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, work with corporate-friendly Democrats to fund Defense Department boondoggles.
Why does Christie sound so much more moderate than Mitch McConnell? Because he holds his elective office in New Jersey, and McConnell holds his in Kentucky. You need the right salesman to make the sale. That's Job One. Once you've closed the deal, your objective is to shaft your customers as much as you can without losing the business altogether. That's the Republican Party's business model in a nutshell.
"Different"? Christie embodies his party perfectly. Arrogant? Check. Bullying? Check. Indifferent to the well-being of constituents? Check. He may sound like a different kind of Republican, but he governs the same way the others do.
Tax giveaways for big corporations? Christie doled out $1.57 billion for "job creation," with far fewer jobs created than across the river in New York State.
Following the ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) agenda funded by the Koch Brothers and other big corporate interests? As the New Jersey Star-Ledgerreported in 2012, "At least three bills, one executive order and one agency rule accomplish the same goals set out by ALEC using the same specific policies. In eight passages contained in those documents, New Jersey initiatives and ALEC proposals line up almost word for word."
Meet the new GOP, same as the old GOP.
And say what you will about him, but Chris Christie is a hell of a salesman. He's managed to make this radical corporatist agenda look "moderate."
We're probably obliged to point out that there's no evidence Christie was personally involved in this political retribution scandal. (Those of us who remember Watergate may experience some déjà vu at this point.) What we do know is that Christie picked the people who wrote those emails, and the attitudes revealed in them reflect precisely what we've seen in Christie's own personality.
Listening to his press conference, it was easy to imagine Christie's face morphing from one famous Republican to another, the way those young people's faces did on Michael Jackson's "Black or White" video. The passive voice ("you are human and mistakes are made") and "I am not a ..." construction ("I am not a bully")? Pure Nixon. The grandiosity, paired with a refusal to accept responsibility? Pure Cheney.
Then there was the narcissistic focus on how the scandal affected him -- rather than, say, the elderly woman who died or the children who were trapped for hours in school buses. That's pretty much any leading Republican of the last 50 years.
As is so often the case in the corporate world, the GOP's culture is shockingly insensitive to the human consequences of its actions. George W. Bush "joked" about not finding weapons of mass destruction after hundreds of thousands of people died under false pretenses in Iraq. Christie joked that he was no longer in the "traffic study" business.
Theirs is a culture where people, even children, are either allies or enemies. Hence the Christie staffer's suggestion that there was no need to feel badly about the kids on those buses because they were "the children of Buono voters," referring to state Sen. Barbara Buono, Christie's gubernatorial opponent last year. The sins of the fathers ...
The truth is, there's no such thing as a "new Republican." Today's Republican Party doesn't reflect a viewpoint. It reflects a strategy -- one intended to maximize the wealth of those it serves. The pundits cheering Christie's press conference performance, like Politico's Mark Halperin and right-winger Erick Erickson, would've applauded Nixon's "third rate burglary" defense.
The Republican Party has finally achieved spiritual death -- and Chris Christie is its face. Gaze upon it as you would the face of Ozymandias. Then look on its works, and despair. _______
About author Richard (RJ) Eskow, a consultant and writer, is a Senior Fellow with the Campaign for America's Future.
Christie is one of the most unlikeable characters on the political stage, soon to exit it forever. I don't see how he can recover from this, especially after some of his aides get immunity from prosecution and tell the truth. The following essay gives a clear evaluation of Christie, his personality and his administration
Chris Christie was a ticking time bomb. It was only a matter of time before he blew up
By Michael Cohen, The Guardian
Thursday, January 9, 2014 12:09 EST
171
If there is a singular skill that separates presidential contenders from presidential “also-rans” it is discipline. The ability to stay on message, to keep emotions in check, to avoid distractions, to understand that the long-game must take precedence over the daily news cycle and to dodge the inevitable political headaches that emerge is essential to political success on a national stage.
Obama has it; W had it; Nixon (at least in public) was practically the king. Here’s who doesn’t have it: Chris Christie, and it’s the reason that his political career is on life support.
Even before the bombshell revelations that his top aides actively sought to punish the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee, New Jersey by closing down on-ramps to the George Washington Bridge, it was fairly obvious that Christie was a man whose decisions were guided as much by impulse and emotion as political calculation.
There have been not one or two but repeated losses of his temper, even with his own constituents. This video of Christie yelling at a skeptic on the Jersey boardwalk while holding aloft an ice cream cone spoke to Christie’s remarkable inability (particularly for a politician) to control his temper. He couldn’t even prevent himself from yelling at a teacher who questioned his education policies only days before Election Day in November.
To be sure, lots of politicians are thin-skinned. But Christie is different, with his almost complete lack of impulse control. An article last month in the New York Times highlighted Christie’s struggles. After John F McKeon, a New Jersey assemblyman, offered a mild critique of Christie’s relationship with public sector employees, he received a handwritten note complaining about it. “What governor would take the time to write a personal note over a relatively innocuous comment?” asked McKeon.
But this behavior fits a regular pattern of reprisals and retaliation against anyone who even mildly crosses Christie.
A disciplined politician would understand the pitfalls of making so many political enemies and of acting so harshly in public. But not Christie, which leads us to this week’s “Bridge-gate”.
What is perhaps most striking about these actions is that they were directed at a small-town mayor who refused to endorse Christie in a gubernatorial race in 2013 that he had basically no chance of losing. Christie was always going to wallop his Democratic opponent Barbara Buono. The real subtext of the race was the governor’s entrance onto the national stage as a Republican presidential contender. If there was ever a moment to let bygones be bygones or to turn the other cheek, it was here.
Of course, Christie has decided to use the Captain Renault defense, “‘I’m shocked, shocked that my aides would do this.” He even claimed (we can only assume with a straight face) that, “this behavior is not representative of me or my administration in any way.” It’s the rhetoric equivalent of a drone strike on irony.
We may never know for sure, but personally, I don’t buy for a second the notion that Christie’s deputy chief of staff and his hand-picked choice for the Port Authority were operating independently of Christie. That he has a long track record of personally striking back at political opponents who cross him – but sat this one out – stretches credibility. As the New York Times noted:
Even Republican lawmakers who have supported Mr Christie tell stories of being punished when he perceived them as not supporting him enough.
At this point, the New Jersey governor has lost any right to the benefit of the doubt.
Even if Christie wasn’t involved, what does it say about the culture in the governor’s office? What kind of shop is he running when one of his most trusted aides would feel comfortable conspiring with the Port Authority to use lane closures as a way to punish Christie’s political opponents? Even if Christie was at arms length on the bridge closures, his fingerprints are all over this.
It’s why that when the smoke clears not only will Christie no longer be the front-runner for the Republican nomination – there’s a reasonable chance he’ll no longer be Governor of New Jersey. To be sure, it was always going to be difficult for Christie to win over Republican primary voters – what with his willingness to shake hands with President Obama and his feint toward political moderation. But the bigger problem for Christie was cultural. Republicans voters like a tough guy, but there’s toughness and then there’s Jersey toughness. These aren’t the same things.
Above all what today’s revelations demonstrate is that he simply lacked the discipline to be a national figure, to undergo political scrutiny and to respond to political differences with something other than fury. He was a ticking time bomb as a politician. It was only a matter of time before he blew up.
Republican platform: no unemployment insurance, cut food assistance, no access to comprehensive healthcare for poor and middle class, no jobs programs including infrastructure spending, oh and tax cuts for business and the super wealthy along with deregulating everything and opening all public land for mining and petroleum exploration. (Little bit of cynical satire here)My gosh, who wouldn't want this? I predict a landslide victory for Republicans in the next (s)election.
This video is on the intriguing side. Bob Dean is a great guy--I have seen and talked with him several times at UFO conferences I've attended over the decades. Bob is a sincere, honest gentleman, in every sense of the word "gentleman" -- and has acquired more information from inside government contacts than any other human I've ever met. How much of that info. is genuine (as far as the sources go) and how much of it will manifest in the world as time goes on is unknown and debatable, as even he admits. He is a very intelligent, gracious and compassionate human being (last time I met and spoke with him, he raised my hand to his lips and kissed it as we said goodbye--where else can you find old-fashioned gentlemen like that these days? (~.~)) and I know he always tries to get to the bottom of info. he hears. He's humbly honest and admits when he doesn't know the answers to questions put to him. However, the fact that he has been a part of the "old boy" network of former high military career men rates him as a good source of inside info. from generals, admirals and the like who seemingly want to get hidden information out to the public. He himself had the highest level of security clearance in a position at SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe) when he first was informed of the ET presence on the earth. If you watch the following video in which he is interviewed (probably in 2011), he tells a bit about that experience in the very beginning. As you'll see, he is an extremely articulate man, and his open-hearted sincerity is obvious for all to see. There are many other interviews of Bob on youtube for those who find this one interesting. He is a waterfall-like fount of information. In this particular video, he is mainly addressing the Zacharia Sitchen info on Planet X or (as it is called) Nibiru. You can find out more about the Planet X predictions on youtube or in Sitchen's books available on Amazon, if it piques your interest.
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