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steve2470

steve2470's Journal
steve2470's Journal
February 13, 2020

"White Rabbit" by Grace Slick and Jefferson Airplane (used by Celebrity Cruises now)

Lyrics:

One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you, don't do anything at all
Go ask Alice, when she's ten feet tall


And if you go chasing rabbits, and you know you're going to fall
Tell 'em a hookah-smoking caterpillar has given you the call
And call Alice, when she was just small


When the men on the chessboard get up and tell you where to go
And you've just had some kind of mushroom, and your mind is moving low
Go ask Alice, I think she'll know


When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead
And the white knight is talking backwards
And the red queen's off with her head
Remember what the dormouse said
Feed your head, feed your head


https://genius.com/Jefferson-airplane-white-rabbit-lyrics

Released June 24, 1967 by Jefferson Airplane




It does annoy me that such a classic song is being used to sell cruises, but such is the fate of many classic 1960's songs.
February 13, 2020

Which student loan programs would vanish if Trump's proposed budget goes through?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/02/12/trump-budget-student-loan-forgiveness-other-aid-chopping-block/4728741002/

*Heavily edited*

Scrapping student loan forgiveness?

No more subsidized Stafford Loans?

Eliminating Supplemental Grant?

Limits on borrowing?

(questions quoted verbatim in article)

also see: https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142431568
February 12, 2020

Russians Think Triumphant Trump Is More Their Man Than Ever

https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-acquitted-is-more-russias-trump-than-ever

Dmitry Kiselyov, the host of Russia’s popular Sunday news program Vesti Nedeli, said, “Democrats are openly raging, but while they’re licking their wounds, Trump can now objectively afford to pursue a more positive course of action toward Russia—just as he planned all along while being elected for the first term.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent invitation to Trump to attend Victory Day festivities in Moscow this spring is designed to bring the U.S. president ever deeper into the Kremlin fold. Appearing on Sunday Evening With Vladimir Soloviev, politician Sergey Stankevich asserted, “Donald Trump has to come to Moscow in May, no doubt about it. He is obligated to be here.”

Expecting concessions from Trump, the Russian state media are playing along with his agenda, attacking Democrats, the Ukraine whistleblower, and impeachment witnesses. Vesti Nedeli described the ouster of the Vindman brothers as Trump “settling the scores” against those who dared to speak up against him. It repeated a previously debunked conspiracy theory baselessly claiming Yevgeny Vindman was assigned to review former National Security Adviser John Bolton’s book manuscript before “leaking the draft to the press.”

Pundits on Vladimir Soloviev’s show appeared practically giddy about Trump’s acquittal and the retaliatory onslaught that followed. “Trump pulled out a machine gun and started to purge everyone who ever said a bad word about him,” exclaimed Dmitry Egorchenkov, director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts, “because in his mythologized world, he is now a superhero.”
February 11, 2020

How do you vote in the primaries and general election ?

Note: I am ONLY referring to the mechanics of voting, NOT who you will vote for.

If you refuse to vote for whatever reason, please do not respond to this.

February 11, 2020

If you are voting-by-mail, you should have your ballot now or very soon

I have my Democratic Party ballot now, and I am in Orange County. If you don't receive yours in the next few days in the mail, I would contact your County Elections Supervisor to get one. My understanding is, you had to request a VBM ballot in advance, but maybe you can still get one ? ETA: I read the information and it appears, except on Election Day, that you can still request a VBM ballot.

The Florida Democratic primary is Tuesday, March 17th.

Florida Division of Elections page on county election supervisors

February 11, 2020

Trump looks to kill student loan forgiveness program

Source: CNBC

As student debt continues to climb, President Donald Trump on Monday released a budget for 2021 that would slash many of the programs aimed at helping borrowers.

Student loan spending would be cut by $170 billion in Trump’s plan, titled “A Budget for America’s Future.” The reductions include “sensible annual and lifetime loan limits” for graduate students and parents and the end to subsidized loans, in which the government covers the interest for borrowers who are still in school or experiencing economic hardship.

It would also reduce the number of repayment options for borrowers and nix the popular, if challenged, public service loan forgiveness program.

That program, signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2007, allows not-for-profit and government employees to have their federal student loans canceled after 10 years of on-time payments. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau estimates that up to one-quarter of American workers are eligible.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/10/trump-proposes-end-to-student-loan-forgiveness-program.html



Dictator-wannabe Trump: the man who tries to screw over ordinary people as much as possible
February 10, 2020

This New York deli offers customers free food if they can solve simple math problems

https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/10/us/new-york-deli-five-seconds-free-food-math-trnd/index.html

A sandwich, a soda or maybe even a chocolate bar to satisfy a midnight craving: These are some of the many things you'd expect to find at a New York deli and convenience store.

But customers at Lucky Candy in the Bronx get an entirely different experience, and it's all thanks to cashier Ahmed Alwan.

To his customers, the 20-year-old college student is easily recognizable, and it's not just because of his bright smile and cheerful energy. Two weeks ago, Alwan decided to start playing a game with shoppers -- and it's since gone viral.

The rules are simple: If you can solve a math equation, you get five seconds to grab anything you want off store shelves and have it for free.

The one thing you're not allowed to grab? His cat. (Yes, someone tried.)



What a great guy, Mr. Alwan pays for all this out of his own pocket.


eta: His Gofundme https://www.gofundme.com/f/1w74cvq3uo (up to $1735 out of $2000 goal)
February 10, 2020

Trump Proposes 25 Percent Drop in Fund Designed to Deter Russia

Source: US News and World Report

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP has proposed a 25 percent cut to the signature military fund designed to offset Russian aggression in Eastern Europe, according to the Defense Department's budget documents unveiled Monday.

Budget proposals for fiscal 2021 released Monday afternoon call for $4.5 billion for the European Deterrence Initiative, a fund started by the Obama administration in the aftermath of Russia's 2014 invasion of parts of eastern Ukraine and annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, which sparked a conflict that continues to inflict casualties on both sides. The latest proposal represents a precipitous drop from the $6 billion enacted for the current fiscal year and $6.5 billion the year before. Congress approved funding in line with administration requests for those years.

Trump has repeatedly expressed criticism of U.S. programs like the EDI that provide training, resources and money for foreign governments throughout Europe, calling on other U.S. partners to do more. The president has previously raided this fund as a workaround to pay for a wall along the southern U.S. border after Congress refused to allocate those funds. Defense Secretary Mark Esper is expected to make an announcement later this week on how the military will pay for additional border wall construction, CNN reports, after Defense budget officials on Monday said that decision was not yet final.

The proposal released Monday does not represent precisely how the Pentagon will in fact spend money for the coming year as Congress will make significant changes in its appropriations process. Support for countries facing Russian aggression, including Ukraine, has traditionally enjoyed rare bipartisan support on Capitol Hill, though that backing has begun to crack amid the president's outspoken skepticism of such programs. Trump has continued to claim that Ukraine attempted to influence the 2016 election.

Read more: https://www.usnews.com/news/world-report/articles/2020-02-10/trump-seeks-steep-cut-to-fund-designed-to-deter-russia-from-threats-to-europe

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