He's at it again

John Bolton is trying to foment war. Something he's been doing for most of his career. This time it's war with Iran. The Wall Street Journal reported that he "asked the Pentagon to provide the White House with military options to strike Iran last year, generating concern at the Pentagon and State Department."

Trump is also after Iran. He has ditched the Iran nuclear deal—formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)—and reimposed economic sanctions. 

My biggest fear re Trump is that he will start another war.

Paying the boss

Snow Sculptures

Morning in Bloomfield

He likes hamburgers

The new head of the EPA, Andrew Wheeler, is an investor in Upshur Burger Concepts, which runs a hamburger joint, Lucky Buns, in D.C. The restaurant allows him to have up to $2,000 per month in free hamburgers, as they do with all of their investors. But why didn't Wheeler disclose this investment in his nominee financial disclosure report? Is there something about being head of the EPA that makes you do stupid things, ala Scott Pruitt?

Another poor score

That is the U.S. did not do well in the 2018 edition of The Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index. The index is based on 60 indicators spanning five interrelated categories: electoral process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture. Each category gets a 0-10 score, with the final score being the average of those five.

Our score of 7.96 put is in 25th place. The leaders were Norway, Iceland, Sweden, New Zealand, and Denmark. They were declared "full democracies.

Are monarch butterflies disappearing?

It looks that way according to a study by the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, a nonprofit group that conducts a yearly census of the western monarch. Their study concluded that the population decreased by 86 percent from the previous year. This goes along with the fact that, since the 1980s, the total population has decreased 97 percent. 

It looks that part of the problem is the decline in the availability of milkweed, the monarch's favorite food. This has happened because of pesticide use and urban development, as well as the droughts that have afected Calfornia since 2011.

One approach to drug addiction

Glad I'm not a brewer of craft beer

One section of the Treasury Department is the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. One of its tasks is to review labels on cans, bottles, and kegs of all wine, malt beverages, beer, and distilled spirits in the United States, ensuring they carry information like the alcohol content by volume and the Surgeon General’s warning. Well, the shutdown has prevented this from happening.

There are thousands of new beers introduced in most years. Normally, the labels are approved within three weeks of submission; selling can begin. And the brewer can start getting back some money on his investment. But now who knows when, if ever, the beer will be on the market? 

A loving couple

Glad I'm not a government contract worker

Regular government workers will eventually get paid for this shutdown period. Government contractors will not and it is estimated there are about 4,100,000 of them. (per NPR Morning Edition today.)

A country with fewer crimes

Too much emphasis on men's bodies?

Glad I don't need food stamps

If I was one of the 38 million who do, I'd worry about next month. If the shutdown continues into February, it's unlikely that I'll receive my stamps.

Walking after 30 years

Protecting crocodiles

Glad I'm not flying

The TSA is reporting an increasing amount of employees calling in sick. At JFK 170 called in each day so far this week. At Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, employee call outs increased between 200 and 300 percent. These employees are among those not being paid.

Is this the beginning of a major campaign?

China goes to the dark side

Hell on our borders

I've written several times about the horrors of Gaza. Living there is living in hell on earth. Well, it now looks like hell has come to North America. As described by Francisco Cantu, who once worked for the Border Patrol, it is hard to imagine life there. You're living in a military zone where everything is surveilled. Laws and rights are applied differently there than in any other part of the country.

"At immigration checkpoints between distant desert towns, automated cameras snap mugshots of you behind the wheel, and uniformed agents nod at drivers with light skin, waving them on to “have a nice day,” while requiring those who are darker to prove their status, to explain their presence, and, often, to step out of their vehicles while agents rummage through their belongings and invite drug-sniffing dogs to crawl across their car seats. On the open highway, you pass multitudes of green-striped border patrol vehicles driving in either direction, often too many to keep count. Signs warn of “Danger” and advise “Travel Not Recommended,” cautioning travelers that “Smuggling and Illegal Immigration May Be Encountered in This Area” or “Visitors May Encounter Armed Criminals and Smuggling Vehicles Traveling at High Rates of Speed.” Observation towers and trucks equipped with radar and infrared cameras can be seen stationed upon surrounding hilltops, monitoring the desert in every direction. Away from roads, if you are bold enough to go hiking on desert trails, you might encounter low-flying helicopters overhead, reporting your location to nearby agents."

Starlings in Israel

The shapes moving in the sky are really birds. Every year starlings from Russia and Eastern Europe winter in Israel.