Dwain Northey (Gen X)

Our founders thought of a lot a contingencies have checks and balances through, congress, the executive, and the courts but the didn’t foresee this level of chaos. The GOP has spent the past 50 years slowly, quietly chipping away at the pillars of our democracy and now their wet dream is about to come true.

Because the Democrats have tucked their tails and let the GOP pass a CR on the budget that gives the Executive Branch cart Blanche to spend money how ever they see fit. For the past 4 years the Republicans have cried about raising the budget ceiling but now they want to raise the debt ceiling 3 trillion dollars, yes this is the party of fiscal responsibility… This giant cash grab by Donny and his minions is going to bankrupt the nation but will still benefit them.

The founders and spinning in their graves…

You might be familiar with the never-ending number π (pi), which is most relevant for studying circles. But you might not know much about the genius guy who first calculated pi: Archimedes of Syracuse, Sicily, one of the greatest mathematicians of the ancient world.

My random off comment …

Hopefully Donny doesn’t ban Pi because he likes cake more 😜😳🤣

Dwain Northey (Gen X)

For 4 years I saw with same sticker with Joe Biden on gas pumps and anything else the Red Hat militia morons what to blame him for . Now the shoe is on the other foot except this time we can realistically place the blame on the Mango Menace.

The sad part is that Faux News is still placing the prices and volatility in the markets on Biden not Donny’s tariff threats. Gawd know that if everything was going well, gas prices down, eggs affordable the markets trending the way they were expected if the previous administration policies were continued Donald would certainly be taking credit for everything.

Place these stickers on gas pumps in grocery stores on every shelf, in liquor stores, anywhere you can… let’s play the Red Hat childish game and see how they like it.

Dwain Northey (Gen X)

This travesty started in 2017 during Donny’s first occupation of the Oval Office with the introduction of the term ‘alternative facts’ and it continues with his second occupation.

The truth we all saw on January 6, 2021 was just a peaceful walk through the Capital Complex and Donald pardoned all those convicted of the crime committed on that day even for those who confessed.

Now Ukraine was the aggressor not Russia and we should side with Russia in that conflict. Canada and and Mexico, our biggest trading partners are now enemies of our country. The economy that was steadily rising under Joe Biden was somehow the worst economy ever and now that the economy is taking a turn to the negative that has nothing to do with the current occupant of the oval office.

So for the next few years, we’re gonna be living in a world of alternative facts or as what they were called when I was a kid lies.

Dwain Northey (Gen X)

It seems that we are in the stupidest timeline, has it been so long since the atrocities of the First and Second World Wars that those lessons have been forgotten. We have groups standing up to quite literally take rights from other people, instead of standing up for the little guy, like every movies from the 80s told us we are now on the side of the bully.

This current crop of malignant nimrods have even co-opted the teaching of the deity they profess to follow. Their version has Jesus telling the poor and sick that they should pull themselves up, that their lot in life is their own fault and that the rich and powerful are the truly blessed. Sorry I am not religious but that isn’t the message that I was taught as a child.

In a more current cinematic context they think Thanos had it right even if it did mean deleting half of everything living thing… although their version only deletes the poor, minorities and anyone they don’t agree with.

Our population has grown but there are still enough resources for all, unfortunately the rich and powerful have consolidated it into their hands. It’s time to recognize that there is enough for everyone and there will still be rich people but no one I mean no one should be cold and hungry.

Germany Began Seeking Peace by October 1918

Even with the once-impenetrable Hindenburg Line breached, the Germans largely held their ground in the fighting that continued across the Western Front. Nevertheless, the string of Allied victories, combined with deteriorating conditions at home, prompted the German high command to reach out to U.S. President Woodrow Wilson for a peaceful resolution in early October. The following month, Germany agreed to the strict terms that enabled the armistice to take hold at 11 a.m. on November 11, 1918.

All told, the celebrated Hundred Days Offensive lasted about 95 days. Yet it’s no exaggeration to say that its successful strategy and execution were crucial in bringing the First World War to a long-awaited end.

For many people, the enduring image of World War I is that of infantry troops bunkered down in a trench somewhere along the hazy battlefield of the war’s Western Front. Indeed, while stagnant trench warfare was the norm for a large chunk of the conflict in Europe, it was the transition to a mobile phase of the war in 1918 that brought about its fairly sudden conclusion, with the success of a rapidly moving offensive across late summer and early autumn that year. Here’s a look at how the Hundred Days Offensive ensured victory for the Allied forces.

The German Spring Offensive Failed To End the War

Following Russia’s exit from the war in late 1917, German General Erich Ludendorff funneled troops to the Western Front for what became known as the Spring Offensives. Beginning with Operation Michael on March 21, 1918, the German army launched four major attacks by mid-June that brought it within 55 miles of Paris but failed to deliver a knockout blow.

The Germans struck again near the French city of Reims on July 15, commencing the Second Battle of the Marne. However, they were unable to split the French army as intended, and instead were driven back when the Allies launched a counterattack three days later.

At a conference of Allied leaders on July 24, Supreme Allied Commander Ferdinand Foch outlined plans for a rapid-fire series of strikes against the exhausted and stretched-out German army. These attacks formed what later became known as the Hundred Days Offensive.

The Tide Turned With the Battle of Amiens

The Allied surge began with a surprise attack at Amiens on the morning of August 8, 1918. Following a barrage of gunfire at 4:20 a.m., the combined French, British, Canadian, and Australian forces overwhelmed the outnumbered German defenses along the river Somme. Upon losing some 26,000 of his troops on that day alone, Ludendorff referred to the disaster as “the black day of the German army.”

When their advance slowed by the third day of fighting, the Allies continued hitting the Germans along various points of the front. As part of what is sometimes called the Second Battle of the Somme, the combined British and Australian forces drove the Germans out of Albert, France, on August 22, and a New Zealand corps helped wrest control of the town of Bapaume a week later.

Having only recently entered the war, the U.S. First Army was given the task of eliminating the St. Mihiel salient (a protuberance of German territory along the line) in mid-September. It was an easy victory for the newcomers, as by that point the Germans had largely retreated to the Hindenburg Line, a nearly 100-mile-long series of heavily defended trenches, tunnels, and fortifications across northeastern France.

The Allies Broke Through the Hindenburg Line 

In late September 1918, the Allies pressed their advantage with the launch of a four-prongedattack. On September 26, a combined American and French force invaded the Meuse Valley to commence the Battles of the Meuse-Argonne, also known as the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. On September 27, the Canadian Corps led the charge across the Canal du Nord in the Battle of Cambrai. The following day, a Belgian force joined the British in an attack on the battle-scarred terrain outside Ypres in Flanders.

The main target of this offensive was the St. Quentin Canal, which formed part of the Hindenburg Line. Following a massive fusillade of shells from more than 1,600 guns, the Allies launched their ground assault on the morning of September 29. 

On one end, the American and Australian corps struggled to pass the German defenses at Bellicourt Tunnel. However, the British were well prepared to cross the canal to the south with their rafts and life preservers. Aided by the dense fog, they overtook enemy positions on the steep eastern bank and thwarted the detonation of the Riqueval Bridge. By the start of October, the St. Quentin Canal was effectively in Allied hands.

Germany Began Seeking Peace by October 1918

Even with the once-impenetrable Hindenburg Line breached, the Germans largely held their ground in the fighting that continued across the Western Front. Nevertheless, the string of Allied victories, combined with deteriorating conditions at home, prompted the German high command to reach out to U.S. President Woodrow Wilson for a peaceful resolution in early October. The following month, Germany agreed to the strict terms that enabled the armistice to take hold at 11 a.m. on November 11, 1918.

All told, the celebrated Hundred Days Offensive lasted about 95 days. Yet it’s no exaggeration to say that its successful strategy and execution were crucial in bringing the First World War to a long-awaited end.

Lyle Northey (Silent/Boomer)

The remark keeps being made about what the democrats are going to do to stop Trump. As the house and senate are both heavy in favor of the republican party the real question is what are they going to do about it. Our democracy is not or should not be party specific. The idea that challenging the guy at the top may be greeat if you are working for someone that is paying your wages. Elected officials are being paid by the public and that is the boss that members of congress should be concerned with.
So what if Trump has a melt down over being challenged, even he and his rich friends can not control the career of every person that points out problems with what is happening. Doing the right thing should be the bench mark for reelection, not ass kissing the person in the oval office. Even bosses can be taught as power often seems to destroy civility and common sense. My personal experience with that on one occasion was having the head of the company curse me on the phone because I did not follow a verbal instruction that he had given to my assistant manager on my day off and I did not get the message. The cursing ended when I hung up on him. My direct supervisor called me and asked if it was true that I had humg up and I confirmed that is was and why. A few days later I had reason to be in the big bosses office and our conversation was very pleasant. Others in the office could not believe that I had not been fired or at least had my ass chewed.
The point is that doing your job should be the measure of your rating no matter what you may do career wise. With members of congress they should base their expectation of reelection on the opinion of the voting public not on the whims of the President and a few of his rich friends. A smart move would be to point out that the opposition coming from the top should be proof that you are doing your job and taking care of your constituants. So having a backbone is not just a problem for the party that is not in power, it is a requirement for all that were elected to serve the people.

Presidents James Madison and Zachary Taylor

The fourth President of the United States, James Madison, and the 12th President, Zachary Taylor, were second cousins. They share a great-grandfather, Colonel James Taylor of Virginia. The two politicians were alive at the same time and were known to correspond occasionally. Madison, one of the Founding Fathers, created the framework for the U.S. Constitution and also had a hand in initiating the War of 1812 against Great Britain. Taylor was a member of the Whig Party and died 16 months into office in 1850. He was a soldier in the Confederate Army during the Civil War and later became one of the top generals in the Mexican-American War. In 1849, while serving as President, Taylor held a funeral in Washington, D.C., to honor his late cousin’s wife, Dolley Madison.

The first case of US Presidential nepotism was John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams. To introduce students to Presidents John and John Quincy Adams, roll a large ball from the front to the back of the room, to suggest moving back in time.

Dwain Northey (Gen X)

The adage that needs of many out weigh the needs of the few has never been GOP policy but now more than ever it is obvious that protecting the fortunes of the wealthy is their priority.

The mega rich increase their fortunes in up or down markets , Donny’s tariff threats wreak havoc on the markets but that doesn’t hurt the wealthy only the 401k that can’t short sale the markets. The big question is when is enough, enough? How someone can be sitting on billions in wealth while they know others are starving and homeless is beyond me. How a group can stand up and decry that programs that help those that have the least are wasteful and irresponsible and through the other side of their mouth claim that those that have the most will be irreparably hurt if they were to be asked to pay taxes even equal the taxes paid by other that have less. The disconnect is that the super rich use more of the commons , i.e. roads, airports and many of the things taxes pay for but they don’t feel they should be paying for.

The proponents of a flat tax refuse to acknowledge that a flat tax hurts those with less as a percentage, they only look at the numbers. 20% flat tax leaves a family making $50k a year only bring home $40k, that $10k absolutely changes their life. A COE earning $1million a year with the same 20% flat tax would pay $200k in taxes, and yes that is a large sum of money but that still leaves $800k. I don’t know about you but I think I could make $800k a year work, small family only keeping $40k and working full time and possibly paying for childcare and rent is in todays world is tough.

Tax the rich, Billionaires should not exist, there is enough for everyone and should not be monopolized by a very few.