Excavations in the Peloponnesian village of Iklrania are providing archeologists with an unusual insight into the general population of that time. Frequently, archeological expeditions focus on palaces, temples, military installations and little is known about how the average person lived. Recent discoveries capture what happened 3,000 years ago, and even though the remains are burned and buried, that process helped to keep intact much of the information archeologists are now digging through.
A change in Federal Rules which went into effect on October 6, 2022 are being hailed as Patient Data Liberation Day. This means you can obtain your data from healthcare providers, determine with whom it is shared and see all your data. This process will unfold slowly as the new rules are implemented and challenged by the healthcare industry. It will be interesting to see how this evolves, but it’s a good first step.
There are a lot of accusations being made by Republicans about the crime rate, and little being said, unfortunately, by Democrats about it. One important fact is that the crime rate increased 20% in 2020, President Trump’s last term in office. This has been consistently reported and equally consistently ignored by the media and those opposed to Mr. Biden. I am not suggesting that I think that the crime rate is acceptable as it is now, but it generally takes a considerable period of time to bring a crime rate down once it gets rolling, if you will. This is something Democrats and Republicans should all be working towards ending.
Mr. DeSantis is now begging Mr. Biden for hurricane relief as the result of Ian’s destruction in his communities. It is important to note that this hypocrite voted against Sandy relief for New Yorkers in 2013 voting “no” on the bill, which, fortunately, didn’t result in any substantial negative impact on the legislation, nonetheless, now that he is begging, we shouldn’t let him forget it. More importantly, his constituents need to be made aware so that they can evaluate his hypocracy.
The most recent edition of the American Legion Magazine included a story which they entitled, “Act of Justice”, which covers the legislation which provided benefits to veterans as a result of burn pits during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The stories about the individual soldiers were deeply emotional and explains in vivid detail the suffering that those pits caused both for soldiers and their families. It should be noted by those of us in the 21st Congressional District that our representative who purportedly supports the military and the blue, voted “no”.
An amusing story in Golf Digest indicates that at a recent golf tournament held at the Morrilton Country Club advertised as a prize a truck for any person who aced the 10th hole. The country club has refused to make good on it, so is being sued by Austin Clagitt who did ace it. Will the lawsuit plunk in the hole.
On the immigration front, the US has announced it will return Venezuelans who crossed illegally into Mexico, but they will, at the same time, open up new pathways to asylum. This is very important policy decision because of the great number of Venezuelans who are traveling through Mexico to get to the United States, and represent a substantial portion of the dramatic increase of border crossings across our southern border. Hopefully, this will bring some relief to The CBP Staff and communities along the border.
The recent bombing of an important bridge in the southern Ukraine demonstrates how badly the Russian military is performing. The focus in most of the news reports has been on the bridge itself versus the railroad lines which run across the river under and around the bridge. This complex operation was undertaken by the Ukrainian military and the Russians were unable to protect the bridge, or they simply failed strategically to deploy the assets necessary to do it. In either event, it demonstrates an incredible lack of leadership by Russian generals and their inability to do anything other than rage and commit war crimes. Hopefully, this action by the Ukrainians will lead to a substantial change in the prosecution of the war prosecution of them.
National Geographic has an interesting piece on animal hybrids such as Ligers, Zorses and Pizzlies. Its hybrids are apparently common in nature and often insights into evolution at every level. If your curious you can find out what Ligers, Zorses and Pizzlies are by looking them up.
The Warnock-Walker race is tight and even with an in evidently deficient candidate in Walker who switched positions recently on abortion and lied about his law enforcement background, nonetheless Republican’s Cheer away.
Blackholes may provide insights into the universe. If you take gravity plus quantum mechanics mix them together, stir and out pops the cosmos as a hologram. So what locality are we living in. I must say if this is all a hologram, that will be quite a let down.
Ms. Stefanik is now reported to be taking credit for yet another project she voted no on. Check out her vote for the American Rescue Plan. Describing her as having low moral character is generous, she has no moral character.
Professor Colin Read a friend of mine, in his blog this week, points out that current interest rate increases by the Fed are 6 months late. Inflation is trending down, so this action will likely do more harm than good. The Fed missed the ball.
Bill Owens is a former member of Congress representing the New York 21st, a partner in Stafford, Owens, Piller, Murnane, Kelleher and Trombley in Plattsburgh, NY and a Strategic Advisor at Dentons to Washington, DC.
The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.