Atonement

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Screenshot from: The Katie Phang Show, MSNBC. (10\7\2023)

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“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

-George Santayana

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Some say history repeats. Some say history rhymes. But we mustn’t forget-
History can SING as well. And sometimes… history CRIES.

I’ve recently found myself thinking of the stance Rep. Barbara Lee took on the floor of the House of Representatives, following the attacks on 9/11. Being the ONLY Representative to oppose military action in the aftermath of those terrorist attacks, and the way things have turned out since… memories I haven’t thought of in quite a while. I might have gone the rest of my life without thinking of them, as it was all so long ago. And yet… it seems like only yesterday.

In this moment, it’s difficult for me to say it’s a GOOD THING we’ve recently been remembering her strength and courage. But… I hope Senator Feinstein won’t mind if I do.

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In the aftermath of the attacks on September 11, 2001, there was only ONE thought on every American’s mind…

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Vengeance.

As the search for SURVIVORS had only just started and as the fires at Ground Zero STILL raged. Even as the true scope and magnitude had yet to be realized… one voice SPOKE OUT.

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“Let us not become the evil that we deplore.”

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Where would we be NOW had we followed that advice?
What outcomes could have been avoided… what more could we have done.

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Our desire for vengeance led us down the path to DESTROY our enemies. ‘Dead or alive’ I believe he said. Curiously though, given enough TIME, those feelings seem to fade…

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“I don’t know where he is… I don’t spend that much time on him.”
-George W. Bush (03/13/2002)

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After just a few months, emotions seemed to calm. Securing the Homeland became our top priority, and everyone felt the need to rally around the FLAG…

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Because we all know what happens to those who SPEAK OUT against a
Righteous Vengeance…

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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/15/opinion/guantanamo-detainees.html

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And now all we can say is, ‘Look at all the terrorist attacks we prevented… all the LIVES we might have lost… if we didn’t ACT.’

When you stop and think about it… all the surveillance, the security, the creation of new Government Institutions… eventually, they did become EXPERTS in preventing terrorist attacks…

**Terrorist Attacks, like the ones that were successfully carried out on THEIR WATCH.**

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If only those measures had been in place from the start.

But things happen… fog of war… lack of imagination.
Warning signs missed… messages unsent.

‘We couldn’t have known… I don’t think anyone could have known…’

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https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/12/leadup-iraq-war-timeline/

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Israeli_judicial_reform_protests

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I won’t stand here and tell anyone not to follow their heart. After all we’ve been through, to do so would be hypocritical. But let our story STAND as an example. Take heed of the lessons WE have learned… and pray you never learn these lessons the hard way.

After TWENTY YEARS of war, did we achieve our mission objectives? In some ways yes… in some ways, no. Osama bin Laden is dead. Those who plotted and helped carry out the attacks have been captured… but at what COST.

Has Justice been served? Are the families of the victims at peace with their loss? Have our actions served to HONOR the memories of those we lost? Would they be PROUD of what we have done… in their name.

It would be presumptuous of me to evoke a story from religious texts, considering the nations and peoples who are involved. The birth of religion ITSELF springs from that Sacred Land! All eyes look to them for our spiritual guidance, to the EAST… toward the land where that Ancient LIGHT has risen.

All other nations are jealous of the treasures with which they’ve been BLESSED. But now, we all stare in HORROR… knowing that once again, peace will be pushed aside.

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IF our primary objective is to prevent another 9/11 from happening, then we must act. NOW… before it’s TOO LATE.

The only answer is PEACE. To BECOME PEACE… to embody it. The weapons of war are used AGAINST PEACE… therefore no one in their right mind would attack a peaceful nation or society.

That story rises above all else. We must become that which we wish to see.

We HONOR those we have lost by ensuring it will never happen again.
That is real courage… that is real strength.

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“Let us not become the evil that we deplore.”

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Amen.

Grays. Sports. Almanac.

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Once upon a TIME… back when I was a young man, I remember living through a period in time just like the one we’re living through NOW. The only difference is… we hadn’t figured it out just yet. We were walking BLIND with no guidance or direction…

The rules of decorum were being used against us as a tool of oppression.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/world/national-security/obama-putin-election-hacking/?tid=usw_passupdatepg

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https://www.rules.senate.gov/rules-of-the-senate

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To SILENCE dissent. To benefit ONE over ANOTHER. In-service of a PARTY… not in-service of THE PEOPLE.

And this is merely ONE PART of a multi-piece puzzle. The FBI, the Election Interference, the Electoral College… and the arrogance. As it is TODAY, the candidate was decided LONG before the Primaries had even started.

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https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/sanders-obama-meet-discuss-future-campaign-n588946

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It’s not about the VOTERS, it’s all about securing the DONORS… you can’t win The Office if you can’t secure the BASE.

Bernie wanted to EXPAND the footprint of Government and help lower the cost of healthcare for ALL Americans… something that stood opposed to the agenda of the DONORS. The pharmaceutical industry, the owners of the hospitals and clinics themselves, as well as the commercial real estate owners that profit off of the leasing of all those properties.

Hillary Clinton had been working with the healthcare sector since her time as First Lady… Bernie was an Independent Senator from the Great State of Vermont.

The DONORS made their choice and the PARTY fell in line. The machinery started turning… and everyone played their part.

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https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/2016-conventions/democratic-national-committee-chief-stepping-aside-after-convention-n615826

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All that was left were the formalities… the casting of the VOTES. After all that, then we could celebrate our new candidate.

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https://observer.com/2017/08/court-admits-dnc-and-debbie-wasserman-schulz-rigged-primaries-against-sanders/

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Like I said, a million pieces… but we’ve SEEN THIS SHOW BEFORE. There’s NO WAY we’d allow ourselves to make the same mistakes, we’ve already learned that lesson… right?

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The Democratic Party has a problem. Because right now, the Democratic Party is starting off the 2024 Campaign Season IN THE HOLE. I cannot vote for Joe Biden. I did not vote for Joe Biden…

**Joe Biden voted FOR the war in Iraq.**

A Senator who voted FOR the invasion of Iraq should never be President of the United States. The Presidency of Joe Biden now proves that to be so.

The Senator who voted FOR the invasion of Iraq, demonstrated the same leadership capabilities during our withdrawal of forces in Afghanistan.

The Senator who voted FOR the invasion of Iraq, brought that same vision and foresight to the table while dealing with a broken supply chain and a struggling economy.

The Senator who voted FOR the invasion of Iraq… while Osama bin Lauden was STILL ALIVE… took his place in The White House and WATCHED as Russian Forces invaded Ukraine.

He then went on to do the SAME THING as our President.

Let there be NO DOUBT… Vladimir Putin is the sole cause of the war in Ukraine, but our INACTION every step of the way did nothing to assuage that aggression.

In fact… our INACTION encouraged it.

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https://theintercept.com/2019/09/26/donald-trump-wants-ukraines-president-probe-conspiracy-theories-democrats/

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https://observer.com/2019/04/mueller-report-paul-manafort-konstantin-kilimnik-russia-ukraine/

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INACTION. Born of INACTION…

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https://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/michigan-hillary-clinton-trump-232547

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Party Politics at its finest.

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Even after the election of President Biden in 2020, we still find ourselves sliding BACKWARDS. Legislatures across this Land are working everyday to take rights away from American Citizens… based on their SEX… based on the color of their SKIN… based on the demographics of the community they are FROM…

Hillary Clinton didn’t lose to Donald Trump in 2016 because he was a brilliant orator or a political genius. Hillary Clinton lost because THE PEOPLE didn’t show up. I hate to quote Senator McConnell here, but candidate quality has a lot to do with it.

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https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/did-biden-win-little-or-lot-answer-yes-n1251845

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Right now, we’re racing headlong toward another 2016 Presidential Election…

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… and EVERYTHING that goes along with it.

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https://www.justice.gov/archives/sco/file/1373816/download

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We must learn from our mistakes, or we are bound to repeat them.

-JC

The Cornerstone of Peace

In 1995, the Okinawa government erected a memorial monument named the Cornerstone of Peace in Mabuni, the site of the last fighting in southeastern Okinawa. The memorial lists all the known names of those who died in the battle, civilian and military, Japanese and foreign. As of June 2008, it contains 240,734 names including 382 Koreans.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Okinawa

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Downfall

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The decision made by the United States of America to use the first nuclear weapon in a time of war… was made out of an intense desire for PEACE.

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It wasn’t used to start a war. It wasn’t used to liberate another country. It wasn’t used in an act of aggression against a foreign country in an attempt to take away their land.

The Pacific Campaign that played out through the summer of 1945 proved to be some of the most horrific battles of the entirety of the Second World War. The People of the Empire of the Rising Sun demonstrated how far they were willing to go to secure their victory… and it would be at all costs.

Okinawa comes to mind. Where women and children took their own lives… rather than risk surrender to the advancing Allied Forces.

Millions of men, women, and children. ARMED. In defense of the Japanese Homeland. The invasion would have taken the lives of millions of American soldiers, as well as millions of Japanese civilians.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Downfall

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That theoretical invasion of the Japanese mainland would have taken the lives of Russian soldiers as well. The participation of the Soviet Union in that strategy would have been essential to its success, just as it was in ending the European Conflict.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_invasion_of_Manchuria

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Allied in a war, where we fought side-by-side with the Soviet Union. Engaged in a struggle, where we fought UNITED, in defense of modern civilization. Against Nazism and everything that resembles it. Against aggression… against true evil.

The United States and Russia. UNITED. Fighting together in a struggle for the survival of HUMANITY.

Three-quarters of a century later… our nations are not the same as they once were. These are not the countries our grandparents once knew, and nor should they be. That’s one of the lessons we’ve learned from that war. Things MUST change… or we will continue to suffer through the SAME THINGS.

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Their country is not the same…

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet–Afghan_War

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Union

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… just as our country is not the same.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_Afghanistan_(2001–2021)

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_War

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With time our values and ideals have CHANGED. We no longer see things as they once were. But no matter how many decades have passed, there is ONE overarching principle that will never change:

The People of the United States of America will never support or defend anyone aligned with the ideals of the Nazi Party.

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Those organizations we’ve helped to develop and continue to support to this day, would never support or defend anyone aligned with the ideals of the Nazi Party.

The People of the United States of America STILL BELIEVE in the commitments established at the close of the Second World War, and we hold them as sacrosanct in furtherance of our foreign diplomacy.

I may be but ONE, but I know I speak for the MAJORITY when I say… we will not support any leader who has shown themselves to be in any way, a supporter of the ideals of the Nazi Party.

Once they’ve shown themselves to be, they are OUTCAST. Those values are not the values of a people who yearn to LIVE FREE. The Pursuit of Life, Liberty, and Happiness, as laid out in our Founding Documents, is unattainable under the rule of any leader adhering to the beliefs of the Nazi Party.

And the Armed Forces of the United States of America will continue to STAND READY to defeat those ideals… wherever they arise.

Just as they were in August of 1945.

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A war, into which we were pulled kicking and screaming… we did not seek to start that conflict. We sought the means to bring it to an end.

To secure PEACE. Not just for ourselves… but for the Soviet Union as well. For ALL Humanity. For all of HISTORY, as it will be written for generations to come.

That chapter has now been written. Our great-grandchildren will learn of our struggles and see that our Alliance stood for Just Principles… for all time.

Today, we write what comes NEXT in that story.
Chapter and verse… it is ours to decide.

The People of the Russian Federation must know… they must be made to understand. In this moment, The United States will NOT utilize our first-strike capabilities. We decided long ago, that’s not what those weapons should be used for… they are a deterrent to war.

The United States of America will never START a Nuclear War…

… because we know how it would end.

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“The only winning move is… NOT to play.”

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I believe The People of the Russian Federation feel the SAME WAY…
Regardless of what their leaders might say.

-JC

The Price of Appeasement

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https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/fuel-recycling/mixed-oxide-fuel-mox.aspx

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https://www.jnfl.co.jp/en/business/mox/

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That’s always been the biggest problem with embracing nuclear energy production… what do we do with all that WASTE? Thousands of tons of radioactive nuclear fuel sits cooling in spent fuel pools in every nuclear power facility across the globe. For thousands of years that fuel will be highly radioactive… where will it go? What will we do with it?

We can bury it. We can forget it. We can ignore it. But no matter what we decide to do with it, it will continue to cost us money… for centuries to come.

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https://www.rbth.com/science_and_tech/2016/03/21/new-siberian-nuclear-fuel-production-unit-is-worlds-first-of-its-kind_577647

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https://world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/BN-800-fast-reactor-fully-loaded-with-MOX-fuel

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Thousands of tons of highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel… with nowhere to go. No one wants it… ‘not in MY backyard!’ No one has a permanent plan for it… so why not recycle some of it? Make some more useful fuel out of it and save some money in the process. No one seems to want it. I doubt anyone would mind if it just… disappeared.

**One man’s TRASH is another man’s TREASURE.**

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_thermal_rocket

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https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-nuclear-powered-spacecraft-moon-venus-jupiter-2021-5

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https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03147500/document

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-49432681

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It’s called ‘closing the loop’ on the nuclear fuel cycle. Instead of disposing of all that waste, some of it can be recycled and used again in a nuclear reactor. Not in the BOMBS, though. That requires the highly enriched material. The TOP SHELF supply… the GOOD STUFF.

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https://neutronbytes.com/2020/12/27/japans-mox-fuel-plan-gets-a-green-light-but-reprocessing-start-delayed-for-two-years/

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And that GOOD STUFF is in short supply. Only a handful of locations on earth can produce highly enriched, weapons-grade nuclear material. Those nations who currently have a stockpile want to save all they can for use in their nuclear arsenals.

They wouldn’t want to go and waste the ‘good stuff’ on a single-use rocket engine… especially if they plan on making a lot of them.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/30/science/nuclear-fuels-are-vulnerable-despite-a-push.html

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When there’s short supply and high demand, someone has to find a new supply. Someone will find a way. If there’s money to be made, someone will make it… and TRILLIONS of dollars will motivate people to do, just about anything.

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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-flynn-nuclear-exclusive/exclusive-mideast-nuclear-plan-backers-bragged-of-support-of-top-trump-aide-flynn-idUSKBN1DV5Z6

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https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03147500/document

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https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/russia-want-take-chernobyl-rcna17615

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https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/First-assemblies-loaded-into-new-Chernobyl-used-fu

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Yes, it may be ‘Rocket Science’… but it’s as easy to understand as the phrase ‘FOLLOW THE MONEY’.

They can see the writing on the WALL. They’re living in a dying petrostate. Oil is going the way of the dinosaur and they want a piece of the FUTURE. But, in essence… Nuclear Fission is energy of the PAST. Its time is UP.

We are currently working to unleash the Power of the SUN. And as it turns out… that energy is SAFER and CLEANER than anything we’ve ever seen before.

The Nuclear Age is now a relic of the PAST…

… and we will be dealing with the fallout of that era for many years into the future.

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https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/pressreleases/iaea-chief-grossi-to-head-assistance-mission-to-ukraines-chornobyl-nuclear-power-plant-next-week

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And what will they find when they get there? It’s already been widely reported that the Russian soldiers destroyed radiological monitoring stations around the site. They even dug trenches in the highly radioactive exclusion zone and then tracked that radioactive dirt back inside the facility, contaminating parts of the building that were already clean… what else did they do while they were there?

They have no respect for International Laws. They have no respect for the Ukrainians whose territory they’ve invaded. They don’t adhere to standards or follow established protocols to ensure safety…

We must brace ourselves and be prepared to find the worst-case scenario inside that building. The inspectors from the IAEA might get there… and find nothing at all.

What would be our response then.

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https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-sees-gold-in-ukraine-nuclear-plants-chernobyl-reactor-fuel-waste-disposal-11646946568

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There cannot be any appeasement. There must not be any appeasement… because there will never be any appeasement.

Vladimir Putin must withdraw all Russian forces from the entirety of Ukraine. These actions should not be rewarded in any way.

We do so at our own peril.

-JC

Fear Itself

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https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/23/nyregion/mark-pomerantz-resignation-letter.html

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And so there you have it. Everything Donald J. Trump did was alright by the Southern District of New York. No harm. No foul.

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https://twitter.com/mrjlcharbonneau/status/1054762282553610241?s=21&t=23ZHBTVZr7eQAZK2Z3-lgA

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Tax fraud is now legal in the Great State of New York.

And why wouldn’t it be? You heard him on the campaign trail… ‘They do it all the time’… ‘That’s just how it works in the World of Real Estate’… and in New York City, Real Estate RULES THE WORLD.

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https://news.ambest.com/newscontent.aspx?refnum=52954&altsrc=13

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Silverstein#Insurance_dispute

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If they held Trump accountable, who would be NEXT… what other shady deals have gone down in Gotham?

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https://www.justsecurity.org/69094/timeline-on-jared-kushner-qatar-666-fifth-avenue-and-white-house-policy/

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How much property value do these two gentlemen alone hold in NYC? How many more individuals would potential prosecutions rattle if they were to be pursued? Well… now we’re talking some serious CASH.

Tighter rules. Enforcement of current laws… that might piss-off some very wealthy people. Some of whom might decide to take their POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS somewhere else. They might have to find another PARTY. One that more closely aligns with their BOTTOM LINE.

That sounds pretty catastrophic for the incumbent party… definitely something they should keep in mind.

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In this light, it’s not about the VOTERS. Hell… it’s not even about the LAW. It’s about MONEY and the pursuit thereof. For the Real Estate developers, for the Political Campaigns, and for the Political Party Machines.

Trickledown Economics… all boats are LIFTED with the rising tide.

Wait a second… you wouldn’t wanna go and rock the boat now, would ya’? It certainly would be a SHAME if they had to take their MONEY somewhere else.

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https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/08/03/democrats-took-millions-real-estate-interests-allowing-eviction-moratorium-end

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Because they are BEHOLDEN.

Not to disparage or attack their character, it’s just a STONE COLD FACT. Laid bare when it’s boiled down to its essence. They can’t WIN if the donors don’t DONATE… and they won’t DONATE if they’re not happy with the ROI.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/24/virginia-thomas-mark-meadows-texts/

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It pains me to say it… but Donald Trump was right. The system is rigged.

In favor of people like him… and against everyone else.

The influence of money in our election system, turns our legislative processes into an unnecessary balancing act… balancing between doing what’s right and doing what’s necessary to get re-elected.

Making microscopic legislative gains for The People… session after session, decade after decade. All while those who FUND their election campaigns increase their market share… session after session, decade after decade.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/23/nyregion/mark-pomerantz-resignation-letter.html

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https://newrepublic.com/article/163846/means-testing-manchin-reconciliation-bill

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Who do our elected officials work FOR… who SHOULD they be working for?

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It underlies every decision they make. It colors their perception of what’s RIGHT and what’s WRONG. It limits the number of TOOLS in their legislative toolbox… preemptively. BEFORE they’ve even considered a single piece of legislation.

Legislators legislate based on MONEY and the pursuit thereof. Therefore, legislation favors those with money over those without.

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https://www.axios.com/pelosi-stock-trading-ban-congress-069dc627-71fd-490f-a005-510bbd18cce2.html

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And I can hear it now. Yes, this is a ‘free-market economy’, but I question the validity of the assumption that someone who has accumulated vast amounts of WEALTH, would naturally act in the best interest of everyone ELSE.

There’s simply no financial benefit for them to do so.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill

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https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/pentagon-kbr-wont-face-charges-in-shower-electrocution/

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It clears the mind when we view our government in this light. Why do they NOT act when it’s CLEAR that they should… even when that action is supported by a bipartisan MAJORITY of this Nation?

The answer to the problem would cost their donors MORE MONEY, risking their own political future.

Again, this is not a character assassination… it’s just simply the WAY IT IS.

… and I believe it must change.

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Because it’s at the HEART of the problem… which problem? ALL OF THEM. Immigration reform. Voting Rights. The Right to CHOOSE. The education of our children. Our National Debt. Our National Security…

It’s at the heart of the problems that we can SEE… and the problems we cannot.

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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-flynn-nuclear-exclusive/exclusive-mideast-nuclear-plan-backers-bragged-of-support-of-top-trump-aide-flynn-idUSKBN1DV5Z6

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https://thebulletin.org/2019/06/why-nuclear-power-plants-cost-so-much-and-what-can-be-done-about-it/

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Rot. Greed. Corruption. Self-interest.

Would the MAJORITY of this nation have supported such a plan? Would this plan embody our opinions on the subject of PEACEFUL nuclear proliferation? Would this endeavor help to secure our Nation’s Strategic Nuclear Defense posture?

What about the nuclear waste these facilities would create? What about the long-term maintenance and inspection of those facilities? What about geopolitical instability… civil unrest… and what about regime change?

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economics_of_nuclear_power_plants

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We set BILLIONS of dollars on fire studying the potential cost vs. benefit of nuclear energy at HOME and ABROAD. If the United States Government hasn’t already done an in-depth study on the potential long-term consequences of widespread adoption of Nuclear Energy in the Middle East… then they’d better set another BILLION on fire and hop to it.

Because apparently, that idea has been pursued in the recent PAST, and I have no doubt… someone will attempt to pursue it again in the FUTURE. Who do we allow to write our policies on Nuclear Energy… who shouldn’t be allowed to do so.

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