Time-traveler's claim just a big waste of Time?

A video of a time traveler claiming to be from the year 6000 AD was on ApexTV lately. He says: Human government will cease to exist in 6000 AD. This is going to really upset those Christian believers who are looking for “The Rapture” and Jesus' return soon (in this generation). It seems that A.I. units takes over human government because they are more efficient and do not make emotion-based decisions. I can think of several movies about the machines taking over. I wonder how much shares of stock in A.I. start-up companies will be worth in four-thousand years? Humans will achieve near-immortality by downloading their consciousness in computers or virtual reality worlds (sounds familiar??). I suppose this is an option or alternative of going to Heaven or Hell after death?

Humans and cities will be shrunk down. I guess it's more efficient and economical that way, and resources last longer. This sounds like someone met the living-computer called “Brainiac” from Superman's (Kal-El) planet Krypton, who's LEVEL-10 super-intelligence created a shrinking ray, unleashing it on the city and inhabitants of 'Kandor.' Either that, or someone stole the formula of Dr. Henry Pym's “Pym particles” (used by Ant-Man/Giant-Man). As proof of time-travel the visitor provided a hazy-looking photo, supposedly showing a futuristic city but says time-travel distorted the picture. He might have had me convinced up until that point. Four-thousand years of advancement and he could not preserve photographic evidence or other proof except a fuzzy picture that even the technology of today could do a better job.

He brought no scientific devices or instruments from the future; not even a data recorder; something or anything that might have made his claims more believable. He did not even say if Donald Trump would be reelected as POTUS, or not. I guess we'll just have to wait for the next time-traveler to show up, or until the year 2028, when according to this visitor from the future, the government will finally reveal its time-traveling program; something to look forward to; I guess. Oh, I almost forgot, since he's from the future, he knows, or should know I am writing this article, so if he wants to prove me wrong, I am waiting. Well, nothing yet; so, I guess I'm right, then.

Robert Randle

776 Commerce St Apt 701

Tacoma, WA 98402

February 19, 2018

robertrandle51@yahoo.com

Reflections on the Stoneman Douglas HS mass shooting

The recent mass shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL has left parents, teachers, law enforcement, local as well as federal legislators struggling to find answers to the growing and alarming rise in these deadly incidents. This tragedy evokes strong passions, but the reality is somewhere in America, another troubled, young male is planning the next mass shooting. You don't need an AR-15 to kill a lot of people; any automatic or semi-automatic model is just as deadly efficient. Dallas sportscaster Dale Hansen said about the FL mass shootings “If it was a Muslim or a Mexican [non-White] doing the shooting, how many new laws and how much money would we spend then to stop the madness?” Is he saying what many people really feel but are afraid to admit it? Black or Hispanic shootings are usually gang or drug-related (robbery), gambling debts, and sometimes deadly violence happens due to arguments and fights over a female.

So, instead of looking at the problem from the outside in, why not consider a view from the inside out. On the show “Criminal Minds” federal agents from the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) profile perpetrators of the most horrific crimes by establishing a profile of the unidentified suspect (“unsub”) so that they can understand the motive and pattern to predict when and where the next attack is likely to happen. I think the same kind of process can be utilized in these cases in an attempt to intervene before a series of events turns into an active shooter situation. The first thing to consider is what are the most important and powerful influences in a young persons life. Let's start with the environment where they are socialized or learn their values, and the second, and in some cases the most important is, “peer group” pressure.

Has the person learned empathy or sensitivity to the pain or suffering of others; or is such a one indifferent to anyone experiencing it? There are kids who grow up taking pleasure in killing insects, torturing or enjoying seeing animals undergoing such things. Another indicator is how a child treats toys, or to put it another way, are the toys mangled or are dolls heads ripped (twisted) off or hair ripped out, etc. Does a child beat the stuffings out of a soft toy? This is different from the normal rough play or wear-and-tear that kids have with their playthings. Sadistic tendencies develop quite early and should not have gone unnoticed. Does the person have siblings, and if so, what is their level of interaction- close or distant? Is he being raised by a female single- parent and does she work long hours where he has a lot of time to himself? Does the male have a relationship or contact with his father? Or are the parents or legal guardian spending quality time as a family or too busy working?

Now let's look at school; This is probably a socially isolated male with very few friends, who is not popular or in the mix. This male is not playing sports, or is athletic, and it is doubtful that he is dating or ever had a girlfriend; and if he did, they broke up. He might not be a total 'nerd' but is probably someone that avoids crowds and usually talks with 1 or 2 male classmates on occasion. There is a lot of time spend online posting what might be considered a manifesto (diary) of what he thinks about or rather what he wants the world to know; it may not even be what he really believes but what he wants others to believe he does. The most important question to ask is, “What triggered this act;”What is the “traumatic event” that set things in motion where someone planned to kill (murder) innocent people without a cause? Is this an act of revenge, or why target the people that he did? Is this person preoccupied with all things pertaining to death or mas shootings?

Former classmates of the suspect Nicolas Cruz say they weren’t surprised to discover he was the alleged gunman.“I can’t say I was shocked,” Joshua Charo “From past experiences, he seemed like the kind of kid who would do something like this.” “I think everyone had in their minds if anybody was going to do it, it was going to be him,” Dakota Mutchler,“A lot of people were saying it was going to be him,” Eddie Bonilla, another student, “A lot of kids joked around like that, saying that he was going to be the one to shoot up the school. But it turns out everyone predicted it.” “All he would talk about is guns, knives and hunting,” Charo said. “He used to tell me he would shoot rats with his BB gun and he wanted this kind of gun, and how he liked to always shoot for practice.” Mutchler said Cruz often boasted on Instagram about killing animals and that “he started progressively getting a little more weird.” “He was that weird kid that you see,” Daniel Huerfano, another former classmate, told the AP. “Like a loner.” The question is, why didn't these students contact law enforcement because these were serious concerns?

Continuing further: Broward County Commissioner Beam Furr told CNN that Cruz had been receiving treatment at a mental health clinic, but stopped going about a year ago. Broward County Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie told reporters on Wednesday afternoon that he did not know of any threats posed by Cruz to the school- But Jim Gard, a math teacher at the school, told the Miami Herald that administrators had identified Cruz as a potential threat Gard remembered that the school administration had previously sent out an email warning teachers about Cruz.“We were told last year that he wasn’t allowed on campus with a backpack on him,” Gard said. “There were problems with him last year threatening students, and I guess he was asked to leave campus.” Did school administrators contact the parent or guardian about the reason for the expulsion and was the sheriff's department notified about the threats? Was the parent or legal guardian aware that Nicolas was not taking his medication or receiving treatment at the clinic?

BuzzFeed  reports that in September, a YouTube user Ben Bennight alerted the FBI that a commenter posted an alarming remark on one of his videos.“I’m going to be a professional school shooter,” wrote the commenter named Nikolas Cruz. According to Bennight, FBI agents conducted an in-person interview with him the following day. “They came to my office the next morning and asked me if I knew anything about the person,” Bennight said. “I didn’t. They took a copy of the screenshot and that was the last I heard from them.” Protocols were not followed on information received by Public Access Line (PAL) tip line regarding Nicolas Cruz. The staff and supervisor associated with that department should be severely reprimanded and terminated because this is a failure of epic proportions.

What purpose does it serve or satisfy to take someone's life; to shed innocent blood? Is it merely or simply to become “famous?” I think “Columbine” is like a pole vault event of school mass shootings where the bar is set so high and like an athletic completion, these sociopath or psychopath entrants want to pass over the bar; thereby setting a new record. Their legacy and purpose in life is to go down in the annals of history as one of the biggest mass murders in America; what a legacy. Sounds far-fetched?? EVERETT, Wash. - An Everett teen is under arrest Wednesday after police found evidence that he was in the advanced stages of plotting a shooting at his high school, writing in his journal that "I can't wait to ... to blow all those (expletive) away," court documents state.

The investigation into the 18-year-old ACES Alternative High School student began when his grandmother called 911 on Tuesday to report what she believed were credible threats by her grandson to shoot other students at the school, according to the court file. Excerpts from the teen's journal that said, in part, "I'm preparing myself for the school shooting. I can't wait. My aim has gotten much more accurate. ... I can't wait to walk into that class and blow all those (expletive) away," police reports say. The teen continued by writing, "I need to make this shooting/bombing ... infamous. I need to get the biggest fatality number I possibly can. I need to make this count. … I'm learning from past shooters/bombers mistakes, so I don't make the same ones," according to the case file. Everett police said. Detectives served a search warrant at the grandmother’s house and seized the grandson's journal, semiautomatic rifle, military-styled inert grenades and other items.

This is not a political issue, nor does it have to do with mental health, but if our children are acting this way it is an indictment against our entire American society and values. The American Dream is turning into a waking nightmare as teenagers, especially males, are in pain, crying out for help, and because “WE” have failed them, they see no way of escape but to end their lives and murder others along the way. When will we as adults finally hear the terrifying screams and wake up from our self-induced coma to bring healing to our kids and ourselves before it is too late and there is nothing left to save.

Robert Randle

776 Commerce St Apt 701

Tacoma, WA98402

February 14, 2018

robertrandle51@yahoo.com

The U.S. government planning to borrow a record-setting 1 trillion dollars

It was another crazy news week, so it's understandable if you missed a small but important announcement from the Treasury Department: The federal government is on track to borrow nearly $1 trillion this fiscal year — Trump's first full year in charge of the budget. That's almost double what the government borrowed in fiscal year 2017. Here are the exact figures: The U.S. Treasury expects to borrow $955 billion this fiscal year, according to a documents release Wednesday. It's the highest amount of borrowing in six years, and a big jump from the $519 billion the federal government borrowed last year.

Treasury mainly attributed the increase to the “fiscal outlook.” The Congressional Budget Office was more blunt. In a report this week, the CBO said tax receipts are going to be lower because of the new tax law. The uptick in borrowing is yet another complication in the heated debates in Congress over whether to spend more money on infrastructure, the military, disaster relief and other domestic programs. The deficit is already up significantly, even before Congress allots more money to any of these areas. “We're addicted to debt,” says Marc Goldwein, senior policy director at Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. He blames both parties for the situation.

What's particularly jarring is this is the first time borrowing has jumped this much (as a share of GDP) in a non-recession time since Ronald Reagan was president, says Ernie Tedeschi, a former senior adviser to the U.S. Treasury who is now head of fiscal analysis at Evercore ISI. Under Reagan, borrowing spiked because of a buildup in the military, something Trump is advocating again. Trump didn't mention the debt or the ongoing budget deficits in his State of the Union address. The absence of any mention of the national debt was frustrating for Goldwein and others who warn that America has a major economic problem looming. “It is terrible. Those deficits and the debt that keeps rising is a serious problem, not only in the long run, but right now,” Harvard economist Martin Feldstein, a former Reagan adviser, told Bloomberg.

The White House got a taste of just how problematic this debt situation could get this week. Investors are concerned about all the additional borrowing and the likelihood of higher inflation, which is why the interest rates on U.S. government bonds hit the highest level since 2014. That, in turn, partly drove the worst weekly sell-off in the stock market in two years. The belief in Washington and on Wall Street has long been that the U.S. government could just keep issuing debt because people around the world are eager to buy up this safe-haven asset. But there may be a limit to how much the market wants, especially if inflation starts rising and investors prefer to ditch bonds for higher-returning stocks.

Fiscal policy is just out of control,” says Peter Davis, a former tax economist in Congress who now runs Davis Capital Investment Ideas. The Federal Reserve was also buying a lot of U.S. Treasury debt since the crisis, helping to beef up demand. But the Fed recently decided to stop doing that now that the economy has improved. It's another wrinkle as Treasury has to look for new buyers. Tedeschi, the former Treasury adviser to the Obama administration, calls it “concerning, but not a crisis.” Still, he says it's a “big risk” to plan on borrowing so much in the coming years. Trump's Treasury forecasts borrowing over $1 trillion in 2019 and over $1.1 trillion in 2020. Before taking office, Trump described himself as the “king of debt,” although he campaigned on reducing the national debt.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget predicts the U.S. deficit will hit $1 trillion by 2019 and stay there for a while. The latest borrowing figure — $955 billion — released this week was determined from a survey of bond market participants, who tend to be even faster to react to the changing policy landscape and change their forecasts. Both parties claim they want to be “fiscally responsible,” but Goldwein says they both pass legislation that adds to the debt. Politicians argue this is the last time they'll pass a bill that makes the deficit worse, but so far, they just keep going.

The latest example of largesse is the GOP tax bill. It's expected to add $1 trillion or more to the debt, according to nonpartisan analysis from the Joint Committee on Taxation (and yes, that's after accounting for some increased economic growth). But even before that, Goldwein points to the 2015 extension of many tax cuts and the 2014 delays in Medicare reimbursement cuts. “Every time you feed your addiction, you grow your addiction,” says Goldwein. There doesn't seem to be any appetite for budgetary restraint in Washington, but the market may force Congress' hand.

OUR NATIONAL DEBT

$20,538,648,349,072

YOUR family share $242, 553

THE NATIONAL DEBT CLOCK

REFERENCE: The Washington Post (article quoted in its entirety)

U.S. Government debt- is the total outstanding borrowing of a central government, comprising of internal debt (owing to national creditors) and external debt (owing to foreign creditors), incurred in financing its expenditure.

U.S. Government deficit- The amount by which a government's expenditures exceed its tax revenues. The difference is made up for by borrowing from the public through the issuance of debt. also called Federal Debt.

COMMENTARY: The $1.5 trillion dollar “tax cut” means that amount of revenue will not be used to pay government expenditures; which means that the amount will be added to the federal deficit. Either the government will have to slash government expenditures (which is highly unlikely) or have to borrow the money by selling government securities to “buyers” (Federal Reserve, foreign investors/central banks, etc.) to pay its bills. It is curious that president Trump hasn't said anything about the national debt or the deficit; nor have any members of Congress-why??

Robert Randle

776 Commerce St Apt 701

Tacoma, WA 98402

February 2, 2018

robertrandle51@yahoo.com

AFL-CIO president weighs in on president Trump's SOTU speech

Donald Trump, even as a candidate talked about how much he cares for the blue collar American worker in the manufacturing sectors in “Rust Belt” states, but AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says president Donald Trump has “actively hurt” U.S. Workers. Trump “joined with corporations and their political allies to undermine the right of workers to bargain collectively and made our workplaces less safe. Trump wants to spend $1 trillion on infrastructure, but would include only $200 billion in federal funds – with the rest coming from states, cities and private-public “partnerships.” Critics fear that most of the private-public money would wind up in Wall Street’s pockets, rather than fixing the nation’s roads, bridges, railroads, airports and Internet infrastructure. Tax credits would go to private developers and investors, who will line their pockets by issuing bonds for toll roads through rich communities, while refusing to fund new water pipes in poor neighborhoods. Let's look at a run down of the SOTU speech:

TRUMP: Created 200,000 manufacturing jobs.

FACTS: 93,000 manufacturing jobs have been outsourced.

TRUMP: New tax plan ($1.5T tax cut).

FACTS: The law will make it tax-free for employers to create overseas subsidiaries.

TRUMP: I did away with more regulation than any other president.

FACTS: Trump eliminated regulations that protected workers health and safety. Companies lose 150 workers daily lost to occupational injuries and disease. Trump proposes a budget to slash safety research dollars that eliminate safety and health training for workers. Employers are not “required” to record injuries anymore (or that the occurrences/incidents are not reported as such). Delays standards to protect worker health and safety like silica or mine safety inspections.

TRUMP: Rising wages for American workers.

FACTS: Actually Trump's plan lowered wages by taking away OT or the way employers calculate it for about 5 million workers.

TRUMP: $200B for infrastructure projects ($20B for 10 years).

FACTS: The Society of Civil Engineers say that over 3 trillion dollars are needed to repair our old infrastructure and create a new system well into the next century.

Robert Randle

776 Commerce St Apt 701

Tacoma, WA 98402

February 1, 2018

robertrandle51@yahoo.com