TRUMP'S 2018 STATE OF THE UNION SPEECH - 9pm EST (LIVE VIDEO); MILESTONES FOR THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

TRUMP'S 2018 STATE OF THE UNION SPEECH - 9pm EST:

EXPECTED TOPICS -

MILESTONES FOR THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

HOW TO UNIFY OUR NATION

MORE TRAINING FOR U.S. TROOPS

UPDATES ON IMMIGRATION REFORM

GOP TAX PLAN

MORE FUNDING FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

WALL STREET & THE STOCK MARKET

AFFORDABLE EDUCATION & HEALTH CARE

SANCTIONS ON NORTH KOREA & RUSSIA

SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE

ETC.,


Sources: NY Times, Youtube


******* State of the Union: Trump to Declare a ‘New American Moment’


• President Trump will deliver his first State of the Union address tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern, and The New York Times will be streaming it live on our website and on our app. Follow our coverage for the latest updates and analysis.

• The White House has released excerpts from the speech.

• The president will arrive at the Capitol amid remarkable tumult: Anger that he has declined to impose sanctions on Russia and worry over a Republican memo on the origins of the Russia investigation.

White House releases excerpts — “the New American Moment.”
The White House released excerpts from the State of the Union address, a tradition that gives the president a few hours’ head start to highlight what he wants the audience to focus on.

Here are a few, as prepared for delivery:

“We want every American to know the dignity of a hard day’s work; we want every child to be safe in their home at night, and we want every citizen to be proud of this land that we love.”

“Since we passed tax cuts, roughly 3 million workers have already gotten tax cut bonuses — many of them thousands of dollars per worker.”

“This is our New American Moment. There has never been a better time to start living the American dream.”

“For the last year we have sought to restore the bonds of trust between our citizens and their government.”

“In our drive to make Washington accountable, we have eliminated more regulations in our first year than any administration in history.”

“America has also finally turned the page on decades of unfair trade deals that sacrificed our prosperity and shipped away our companies, our jobs and our nation’s wealth.”

“America is a nation of builders. We built the Empire State Building in just one year — isn’t it a disgrace that it can now take ten years just to get a permit approved for a simple road?”

“I am asking both parties to come together to give us the safe, fast, reliable, and modern infrastructure our economy needs and our people deserve.”

“Struggling communities, especially immigrant communities, will also be helped by immigration policies that focus on the best interests of American workers and American families.”

“As we rebuild America’s strength and confidence at home, we are also restoring our strength and standing abroad.”

“Last year I pledged that we would work with our allies to extinguish ISIS from the face of the earth. One year later, I’m proud to report that the coalition to defeat ISIS has liberated almost 100 percent of the territory once held by these killers in Iraq and Syria. But there is much more work to be done. We will continue our fight until ISIS is defeated.”

Sonny Perdue, agriculture secretary, designated survivor.
Yeah, there’s the first lady’s clothes or which big wig will fall asleep this year. But the State of the Union proceedings also have this bit of intrigue: Which cabinet official will earn the distinction of designated survivor?

The mystery this time was solved two hours before Mr. Trump was due to give his address on Tuesday, when the White House said that the honor would go to Mr. Perdue, the former governor of Georgia and the president’s agriculture secretary.

Glamorous in title but, thankfully, not so far in practice, the designated survivor does not attend the president’s address, and is poised to take over the commander-in-chief’s responsibilities in the event that catastrophe strikes the Capitol and wipes out most of the government. If tradition holds, Mr. Perdue will be watching from a distant and secure location while Mr. Trump speaks.

The short tenure of the designated survivor has an oversize presence in the public imagination: There is a TV series by the same title, about a low-profile cabinet member who suddenly assumes the presidency after a terror attack.

How might he measure up in the Oval Office? Mr. Perdue, a conservative Republican, shares something in common with Mr. Trump: As governor of Georgia, he faced ethical criticisms for not appearing to fully separate himself from his business interests. He once ran a grain and fertilizer business.

— Katie Rogers

“You’ve gotta have heart.”
Hours before his first State of the Union address, President Trump told a group of news anchors at a lunch in the White House that his first year in office has taught him that the biggest difference between excelling in business and performing his current job is that governing takes compassion.

“I’ve really learned a lot,” Mr. Trump told the reporters, according to a partial transcript of an off-the-record lunch released publicly by the White House. “In doing what I’m doing now, a lot of it is heart, a lot of it is compassion, a lot of it is far beyond money — such as immigration.”

Mr. Trump, who is expected to use Tuesday night’s speech to call for a bipartisan compromise that pairs legal status for a group of undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children with funding for a border wall, tougher enforcement and new restrictions on legal immigration, recently said he was hoping to sign a “bill of love.”

That tone is sharply at odds with the president’s approach on immigration thus far, which has included a travel ban against visitors from six countries, slashing refugee resettlement and revoking temporary protected status for people from El Salvador and Haiti. He has been more publicly conflicted about his decision last fall to rescind DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the Obama-era program that has given legal status to certain people brought illegally to the United States as children.

“I’m telling you, the immigration is so easy to solve if it was purely a business matter, but it’s not,” Mr. Trump said. “And I think that’s something that I’ve learned maybe more than anything else: You have to — you govern with all of the instincts of a businessperson, but you have to add much more heart and soul into your decisions than you would ever have even thought of before.”

Dreamers head to the Capitol — despite the risk.
Democratic lawmakers have decided to put a face on the difficult negotiations happening in Congress over the fate of young, undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children. They are bringing scores of such “Dreamers” to the Capitol for Tuesday night’s State of the Union address.

Representative Nancy Pelosi’s guest, Melody Klingenfuss, is just one of them. Born in Guatemala, she was brought to Los Angeles when she was 9, earned a degree in communications and political science from California State University, Los Angeles, a master’s degree from the University of Southern California, then won protection under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in 2015.

“Tonight, when President Trump looks into the gallery during his State of the Union, he will see the dignity, courage and patriotism of dozens of Dreamers,” said Ms. Pelosi, the House Democratic leader.

But there is a flip side. Representative Paul Gosar, Republican of Arizona, has called the cops.

So much for the warm welcome.

Mr. Gosar’s fellow Arizona Republican, Senator Jeff Flake, didn’t take kindly to his colleague’s citizen’s arrest.

Are we facing a “Constitutional crisis”?
The Trump administration’s announcement on Monday that it would not impose sanctions on countries that buy Russian military equipment sparked an angry response in Congress, where the Senate and House overwhelmingly approved the sanctions to punish Russia for interfering in the 2016 election.

Senator Claire McCaskill, Democrat of Missouri who faces a difficult re-election campaign this year, set the tone with a blast on Twitter.

That concern is bipartisan, at least in some quarters of the Republican Party. Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, was flummoxed by the administration’s decision:

“That bill passed with only two dissenting votes in the Senate. It was not partisan in the least,” she said on CNN. “The one thing we know for sure already is the Russians did attempt to meddle in our elections, and not only should there be a price to pay in terms of sanctions, but also we need to put safeguards in place right now for the elections for this year, because we know that the Russians have not given up on their disinformation campaign and their attempt to sow discord in this country and also to undermine faith in democratic institutions.”

Testifying before a Senate panel on Tuesday morning, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said his department had followed instructions under the sanctions law and drawn up a list of Russian targets for sanctions. An imposition of sanctions could still follow.

Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee and one of the authors of the sanctions legislation, declined to criticize the administration’s actions. He did say, “I look forward” to the implementation of the sanctions.

Speaker Ryan weighs in on Russia memo.

Speaker Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin spent part of the morning before Mr. Trump’s speech tamping down expectations about a secretive Republican memo that some House members have claimed contains evidence that could undercut the Russia investigation.

In a closed-door meeting of House Republicans this morning, Mr. Ryan “implored” his fellow lawmakers not to overstate the facts of the memo, which the House Intelligence Committee voted to release Monday night. And he urged them not to tie the contentious document — which Democrats call dangerously misleading — to the work of the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, according to a person in the room.

Mr. Ryan reiterated some of those points during a public news conference an hour later, saying that he had faith in the F.B.I. and Justice Department’s broadly and that he thought Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, the man overseeing the Russia investigation, was “doing a fine job.” Still, Mr. Ryan defended the Republicans’ overall approach, saying that they were following proper processes and that only transparency would lead to accountability at the agencies.

That was not enough to quiet the most ardent proponents of the notion that federal law enforcement agents have conspired to bring down the Trump White House. Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida, called on the president to release the memo during the State of the Union.

GOP 2017 TAX BILL PROVES THEY STILL CONTROL THE MONEY IN POLITICS (BILL HIGHLIGHTS)

GOP 2017 TAX BILL PROVES REPUBLICAN PARTY STILL CONTROLS MOST OF THE MONEY IN POLITICS: (BILL HIGHLIGHTS)

WHAT CAN DEMOCRATS DO BEFORE 2020 TO PUT SOME OF THAT MONEY BACK INTO HANDS OF "AVERAGE, HARDWORKING JOE" VOTERS??

TRUMP CALLED FOR CHANGES TO THE HOUSE TAX BILL BEFORE IT PASSED.

13 HOUSE REPUBLICANS VOTED AGAINST THIS OMNIBUS "RICH GET RICHER" TAX BILL.


Sources: AP, Fox News, MSN, NY TIMES, Youtube


**** The House just passed its big tax bill. Here's what is in it.


President Trump and GOP House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (Wis.) won a major victory as the House passed the tax bill Thursday, the central piece of the Republican plan to boost the U.S. economy.

No Democrats voted for the bill. Ryan could lose 22 GOP votes, but in the end, he only lost 13.

The legislation would affect every American household and business owner.

The bill was first introduced Nov. 2 and was voted on just two weeks later, leaving little time for analysis or debate on the 440-page legislation.

The next step is for the Senate to pass its version and then for both chambers to reconcile their substantial differences.

The main goal of the House's “Tax Cut and Jobs Act” is to lower taxes on companies in an effort to make them more competitive and discourage them from moving abroad.

The bill reduces the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent and the rate for pass-through businesses down to 25 percent (with some restrictions).

Many families would also pay less, although Ryan has admitted that won't be the case for everyone. Here's a rundown of what is actually in the final version of the bill that passed.

It keeps the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate.

The House voted on a tax bill only.

The Senate bill includes a provision to scrap the legal requirement that almost all Americans buy health insurance or pay a penalty.

The House isn't touching that, which may lead to a showdown between the two chambers if they have to resolve their very different versions of the bill

Big businesses win.

The House bill cuts the top rate that large corporations pay from 35 percent to 20 percent, the biggest one-time drop in the big-business tax rate ever. It is a permanent change that does not expire.

On top of that, companies would get some new tax breaks to help lower their bills, such as the ability to deduct all the costs of purchasing new equipment for five years, as well as a special low rate on any money they bring back to the United States from low-tax countries such as Ireland.
Many businesses have been holding cash overseas to avoid 35 percent U.S. taxes.

Now they would get to bring the money home at a tax rate of 12 percent.

The entire business tax system would also change from a worldwide system, in which money anywhere around the globe is taxed, to a territorial system in which it's mostly money made in the United States that is taxed.

Businesses have long lobbied for this change.

Small businesses get a mini-win.

The National Federation of Independent Businesses, the largest small business lobby, initially was against the House bill, but Republicans made some changes and now the NFIB is giving its blessing.

95 percent of American businesses are organized as pass through companies (LLCs, S-Corps, partnerships), and they “pass through” the business income to the owner's individual tax rate.

The House plan lowers the top rate from 39.6 percent to 25 percent for small businesses (excluding “service companies” like consultants and lawyers) and requires a complex formula where the 25 percent rate only applies to about 30 percent of the business income.

But the reality is most small businesses — 85 percent — already pay taxes at rates of 25 percent or less.

To help out the small “mom and pops,” the final bill has a 9 percent rate on the first $75,000 in income for business owners making $150,000 or less.

But that tax break phases in, meaning it isn't fully available until 2022.

<<<<< The rich do very well. The wealthy get a lot of benefits in the bill.

The estate tax, which is paid only when property and other assets worth over $5.5 million are passed on to heirs, doubles to about $11 million in 2018 (around $22 million for couples), meaning a lot fewer people have to pay it.

And the estate tax goes away entirely in 2024.

The mega-wealthy also would get to keep charitable deductions, a popular way that lowers their tax bills, and they no longer would have to pay the alternative minimum tax (AMT), a safeguard against excessive tax dodging that's been in place since 1969.

Some wealthy business owners would be able to take advantage of the lower pass-through rate as well.

Overall, the Tax Policy Center found that half the benefits of the bill go to the top 1 percent by 2027.

Donald Trump would probably benefit a lot.

As The Washington Post explains, many parts of the bill help Trump.

One of the interesting ones is that the lower 25 percent pass-through rate would apply to all income for passive real estate investors like Trump, a much better deal than most active pass-through business owners get.

Most Americans pay the same — or lower — taxes until 2023. For the next five years, the vast majority of Americans (92 percent) would either pay less or see little change, according to the official estimates from the Joint Committee on Taxation.

But that shifts sharply after five years. In 2023, only 40 percent of Americans would pay less. Twenty-two percent would pay more (the rest see little change), JCT found

Taxes will get simpler for many. The House bill collapses the seven tax brackets the country has down to just four (12 percent, 25 percent, 35 percent and 39.6 percent).

The top rate becomes a “millionaire rate” applying to income of $1 million or more a year for couples (and of $500,000 or more for individuals).

In an effort to simplify, the House bill also does away with many of the credits and deductions and replaces them with a larger standard deduction, a slightly larger child tax credit ($1,600 per kid versus $1,000 now) and a new Family Flexibility Credit worth $300 a year for individuals and $600 for couples.

The larger standard deduction means the first $12,000 for individuals and $24,000 for couples is tax-free

Say goodbye to most deductions. Almost all itemized deductions are going away, except for three.

The final House bill keeps the deductions for charitable donations, property taxes up to $10,000 a year and the mortgage interest deduction.

The mortgage interest deduction would be capped at $500,000 for mortgages (down from $1 million now).

About 30 percent of filers itemize. Most of the people who itemize claim the state and local tax deduction (SALT) where they deduct their state and local sales, income and property taxes.

Under the House bill, only the property deduction would remain. This hurts people living in high-tax (and often blue) states like New Jersey, New York and California. Several GOP representatives from these states plan to vote no on the bill in protest.

The adoption credit stays. The 401(k) exemption stays.

But . . .

Say goodbye to the tax credits for plug-in motor vehicles. It gets repealed in 2018.

Say goodbye to the deduction for medical expenses. It goes away in 2018.

Say goodbye to being able to write off the costs of your tax preparer. That goes away in 2018.

Say goodbye to the deduction for moving expenses. It goes away in 2018, except for members of the military.

Say goodbye to most tax benefits for college.

At the moment, low and middle income Americans can deduct up to $2,500 a year in student loan interest.

That benefit would go away in 2018.

In addition, grad students who get tuition waivers because they teach or do research would now have to pay income tax on the waiver, a big change.

For students currently in school, the American Opportunity Tax Credit would remain, which allows a $2,000 credit for higher education expenses.

DACA DREAMERS TRUE NUMBERS HIDDEN BY MEDIA - NOT 800,000......BUT MILLIONS; WHAT ABOUT BACKGROUND CHECKS??

#DREAMERS


DACA DREAMERS TRUE NUMBERS HIDDEN BY MAINSTREAM MEDIA - NOT 800,000......BUT MILLIONS:

MORE THAN 11 MILLION ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ARE LIVING IN USA ON TAXPAYER DOLLARS (MOSTLY MEXICANS).

MANY COMPANIES HIRE THEM FOR LOW WAGES INSTEAD OF HIRING MORE SKILLED AMERICAN WORKERS.

MANY COMPANIES DON'T CONDUCT FULL BACKGROUND CHECKS ON IMMIGRANTS AND STILL HIRE THEM WHILE NOT HIRING US WORKERS WITH MINIMAL CRIMINAL RECORDS.

MANY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS DON'T HAVE WORK SKILLS AND MANY CAN'T SPEAK ENGLISH YET THEY ARE BEING HIRED TO WORK INSTEAD OF US WORKERS FOR LOW WAGES.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS NEED TO BECOME LEGAL CITIZENS, PAY TAXES, COMPLETE FULL BACKGROUND CHECKS, LEARN ENGLISH AND NOT BE HIRED OVER AMERICAN WORKERS IF THEY'RE NOT TRULY QUALIFIED.


Sources: US INC., NY Times




***** What’s the Real Number of Illegal Aliens in the Country?



According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s population clock, the current population of the United States is approaching 325 million people.

One presumes that it includes the “official” current estimate of illegal aliens of 11 million.

Of course, that number is ridiculously low if you calculate the U.S. Border Patrol’s apprehension for the last 30 years, from 1985-2015.


Over that thirty year period, the Border Patrol apprehended 31,373,128 illegal aliens along the southern border, alone.

That does not include those apprehended on the East Coast coming from Cuba, the Bahamas, Haiti, Jamaica or the other Caribbean Islands.

It doesn’t include numbers from the northern border with Canada and it doesn’t include those who overstayed their visas, thereby becoming illegal aliens. (“Visa overstays” are often, incorrectly, referred to as 40% of all illegal aliens.

Nobody really knows, because the U.S. still doesn’t keep track of those who have entered legally on a visa. But, that percentage isn’t close.)

For years, the Border Patrol (BP) officially used to report the “gotaway” rate, those who “got away” from apprehension.

For decades, it was felt that on a “good day,” the Border Patrol caught one in five illegal aliens, on a “bad day,” the number was one in seven.

That means that if every single day since 1985 was a “good day,” then for every one they caught, four “got away.”

4 x 31,373,128 = 125,492,512 illegal border crossings in the past 30 years.
And, that’s just across the southern border. But now, no more “gotaway rate.”

Retired Congressman Tom Tancredo, a good friend and ally in our fight to get our immigration laws enforced during the last two years of the Clinton Administration and all of the Bush Administration, had a good piece on Breitbart, August 6, titled, “Border Patrol to Illegals: Don’t Get Caught.”

He reports:

“… Obama’s Border Patrol has officially abandoned the use of the “Gotaway” number in weekly and quarterly reports of apprehensions. For decades, the Border Patrol routinely compiled and reported the Gotaway number as a supplement to the number of actual apprehensions.

Border Patrol agents knew and openly admitted that the number of illegal border crossers apprehended was only a fraction of the number of border jumpers.

Veterans and CBP retirees remember when that Gotaway number was three to four times the official apprehension number.

The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service recently calculated the Gotaway number to be at least 1.5.

Translated, that means the number of successful illegal entries is at least 150 percent above the number apprehended by the Border Patrol.”

Now, there is absolutely no reason to believe any number coming out of the federal government.

The Congressional Research Service number of 1.5 gotaways is laughable.

And, the number of illegal aliens in the country isn’t 125 million. There were multiple crossings by many people for years. I’ve heard of Border Patrol agents catching the same guy 6 or 8 times back in the 80s and 90s.

They didn’t finger print the illegals they caught for many years. They didn’t have computers back then, and when they finally did get computers, they weren’t linked together for several more years.

The various sectors couldn’t share the names, pictures and descriptions of those caught.

After about half a dozen arrests, followed by detention time, the illegal would just shift to another sector where the agents wouldn’t know him by sight. If he was coming through at El Paso, Texas, or El Centro, California, he would just move over a couple hundred miles and come across in the Tucson sector.

While the number of illegal aliens in the country isn’t 125 million, it isn’t the laughable 11 million number, either. That estimate is absolutely not credible.

Retired sector chiefs have opined that it could be 40 million, or higher. One recently said it could be as high as 50 million. But, he added, “they” (the federal government) don’t know, and they don’t want to know.

And if the 40-50 million estimate is close to the real number, that makes the population of the United States closer to 360-370 million, without even adding in the “visa overstays” or those sneaking in from Canada or the Caribbean.

At the current rate of legal and illegal immigration into the United States, we will have a population of half a billion people by mid-century, just 34 years from now.

Think of what that means for your children and grandchildren.

The Border Patrol was apprehending over 1 million illegals a year on average right up to 2009.

Print out the page on Border Patrol apprehensions.

You might find the numbers and estimates useful in any current, or near future discussions with friends and acquaintances, or co-workers about border security, amnesty, border walls, that sort of thing.

Now you will be ready when the topic of illegal immigration comes up in casual conversation.

UK CITIZENS QUIT EU VIA HISTORIC REFERENDUM VOTE 51%-48.1% (BREXIT)

#Brexit

UK CITIZENS QUIT EUROPEAN UNION VIA HISTORIC REFERENDUM VOTE:

COMMONERS vs ELITE - ONLY LONDON REMAINS.

"GOD SAVE THE QUEEN" UK ANTHEM MAY CHANGE.

GLOBAL MARKETS PLUNGE AFTER BREXIT VOTE.

DAVID CAMERON TO DELIVER SPEECH AFTER THE MARKETS OPEN.

 Sources:  BBC News, Bloomberg News, Young Turks,
The Guardian, Telegraph,  YouTube 

LEAVE EU:

Vote share

51.9%

VOTES17,410,742VOTES

REMAIN IN EU:

Vote share

48.1%

VOTES

16,141,241

VOTE

***** BREXIT: UK votes to leave EU in historic referendum

The UK has voted to leave the European Union after 43 years in a historic referendum.

Leave won by 52% to 48% with England and Wales voting strongly for Brexit, while London, Scotland and Northern Ireland backed staying in the EU.

UKIP leader Nigel Farage hailed it as the UK's "independence day" but the Remain camp called it a "catastrophe". 

The pound fell to its lowest level against the dollar since 1985 as the markets reacted to the results.

The referendum turnout was 71.8% - with more than 30 million people voting - the highest turnout at a UK election since 1992.

Wales and the majority of England outside London voted in large numbers for Brexit.

Labour's Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the Bank of England may have to intervene to shore up the pound, which lost 3% within moments of the first result showing a strong result for Leave in Sunderland and fell as much as 6.5% against the euro.

'Independence day'

UKIP leader Nigel Farage - who has campaigned for the past 20 years for Britain to leave the EU - told cheering supporters "this will be a victory for ordinary people, for decent people".

Mr Farage - who predicted a Remain win at the start of the night after polls suggested that would happen - said Thursday 23 June would "go down in history as our independence day".

He called on Prime Minister David Cameron, who called the referendum but campaigned passionately for a Remain vote, to quit "immediately".

A Labour source said: "If we vote to leave, Cameron should seriously consider his position."

But pro-Leave Conservatives including Boris Johnson and Michael Gove have signed a letter to Mr Cameron urging him to stay on whatever the result.

Labour former Europe Minister Keith Vaz told the BBC the British people had voted with their "emotions" and rejected the advice of experts who had warned about the economic impact of leaving the EU.

He said the EU should call an emergency summit to deal with the aftermath of the vote, which he described as "catastrophic for our country, for the rest of Europe and for the rest of the world".

Germany's foreign minister Frank Walter Steinmeier described the referendum result as as "a sad day for Europe and Great Britain".

But Leave supporting Tory MP Liam Fox said voters had shown great "courage" by deciding to "change the course of history" for the UK and, he hoped, the rest of Europe.

And he called for a "period of calm, a period of reflection, to let it all sink in and to work through what the actual technicalities are," insisting that Mr Cameron must stay on as PM.

Exit process

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said that the EU vote "makes clear that the people of Scotland see their future as part of the European Union" after all 32 local authority areas returned majorities for Remain.

London has voted to stay in the EU by around 60% to 40%. 

However, no other region of England has voted in favour of remaining. 

The referendum has underlined the social and cultural gap between London and provincial England. 

Remain's defeat seems to have been primarily the product of the decisions made by voters living north of the M4. 

Throughout the Midlands and the North of England the level of support for Remain was well below what was required for it to win at least 50% of the vote across the UK as a whole. 

---

Britain would be the first country to leave the EU since its formation - but a leave vote will not immediately mean Britain ceases to be a member of the 28-nation bloc.

That process could take a minimum of two years, with Leave campaigners suggesting during the referendum campaign that it should not be completed until 2020 - the date of the next scheduled general election.

The prime minister will have to decide when to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which would give the UK two years to negotiate its withdrawal.

Once Article 50 has been triggered a country can not rejoin without the consent of all member states.

Mr Cameron has previously said he would trigger Article 50 as soon as possible after a leave vote but Boris Johnson and Michael Gove who led the campaign to get Britain out of the EU have said he should not rush into it.

But they also said they want to make immediate changes before the UK actually leaves the EU, such as curbing the power of EU judges and limiting the free movement of workers, potentially in breach the UK's treaty obligations. 

The government will also have to negotiate its future trading relationship with the EU and fix trade deals with non-EU countries. 

In Whitehall and Westminster, there will now begin the massive task of unstitching the UK from more than 40 years of EU law, deciding which directives and regulations to keep, amend or ditch.

The Leave campaign argued during a bitter four-month referendum campaign that the only way Britain could "take back control" of its own affairs would be to leave the EU.

Leave dismissed warnings from economists and international bodies about the economic impact of Brexit as "scaremongering" by a self-serving elite.

GLADYS KNIGHT'S RESTAURANT SHUT DOWN; ATLANTA NEEDS A WHITE MAYOR

GLADYS KNIGHT'S RESTAURANT SHUT DOWN; ATLANTA NEEDS A WHITE MAYOR

GLADYS KNIGHT'S FAMOUS ATLANTA BASED CHICKEN & WAFFLES FRANCHISE OWES MORE THAN $1 MILLION IN TAXES.

Sources: AJC,  Page Six, NY Daily News, 

The Root, YouTube

Another BLACK-owned Atlanta business bites the dust due to substandard business practices.

This time it's the famous Gladys Knight Chicken & Waffles restaurant, which has long been a staple for Tourists.

Apparently the family-owned franchise was recently shut down because it owes the state of GEORGIA more than $1 Million dollars in back TAXES.

As I mentioned in previous videos about Atlanta, it's high time for this Hub of the Southeast to elect a WHITE Mayor and to attract more WHITE residents.

****** Gladys Knight’s restaurants shut down amid tax evasion allegations

Georgia authorities raided chicken-and-waffle restaurants owned by Gladys Knight‘s son, who is accused of tax evasion.

State Department of Revenue agents served search warrants on Tuesday on the three Atlanta-area locations of Gladys Knight’s Chicken & Waffles, in an unsuccessful bid to arrest Shanga Hankerson.

State agents said Hankerson stole more than $650,000 in sales and withholding taxes for his own use. With penalties and interest, the total would be more than $1 million, officials said.

By lunchtime on Wednesday, all three restaurants were closed.

“It is never The Department of Revenue’s primary goal to shut down a business,” said Josh Waites, investigations chief for the Department of Revenue. “We are working with Mr. Hankerson’s attorney to have the business up and running again as soon as possible.”

State officials hope to strike a deal with Hankerson to put the restaurants into receivership so it can open again.

Gladys Knight — best known for her hit “Midnight Train to Georgia” – is not suspected of any wrongdoing.

HOUSTON GOP DEBATE HIGHLIGHTS & THEATRICS (VIDEOS)

HOUSTON GOP DEBATE HIGHLIGHTS & THEATRICS:

DID RUBIO & CRUZ HELP OR HURT HILLARY'S BID?

Source:  CNN

ONE WORLD ORDER CLIMATE CHANGE PACT APPROVED BY 200 NATIONS: (AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH)

#‎parisagreement‬

ONE WORLD ORDER CLIMATE CHANGE PACT APPROVED BY 200 NATIONS: (AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH)

"PARIS AGREEMENT" IS NOT REALLY ABOUT REDUCING CARBON EMISSIONS.

GOOD-BYE FOREVER TO THE MIDDLE CLASS.

~ Climate change pact adopted by delegates of nearly 200 nations

LE BOURGET, France -

Nearly 200 nations adopted the first global pact to fight climate change on Saturday, calling on the world to collectively cut and then eliminate greenhouse gas pollution but imposing no sanctions on countries that don't.

The "Paris agreement" aims to keep global temperatures from rising another degree Celsius (1.8 Fahrenheit) between now and 2100, a key demand of poor countries ravaged by rising sea levels and other effects of climate change.

The countries pledge to limit the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by human activity to the same levels that trees, soil and oceans can absorb naturally, beginning at some point between 2050 and 2100.

Achieving such a reduction in emissions would involve a complete transformation of how people get energy, and many activists worry that despite the pledges, countries are not ready to make such profound and costly changes.

The deal now needs to be ratified by individual governments - at least 55 countries representing at least 55 percent of global emissions - before taking effect.

The White House is calling the Paris accord "the most ambitious climate change agreement in history" and says it establishes "a long-term, durable global framework" to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is praising the new accord on global warming as a deal that will save the world for generations to come, saying "it's a victory for all of the planet and for future generations."

Kerry told fellow negotiators Saturday in Paris that "it will help the world prepare for the impacts of climate change that are already here and also for those that we already know are on our way inevitably." He added the pact would "prevent the worst most devastating consequences of climate change from ever happening."

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore says "years from now, our grandchildren will reflect on humanity's moral courage to solve the climate crisis. And they will look to December 12, 2015, as the day when the community of nations finally made the decision to act."

Nicaragua's U.S.-born climate envoy, Paul Oquist, told climate negotiators that his country is "not able to support the consensus." He said the agreement does not go far enough and leads to twice as much global warming as the stated goals.

South African environment minister Edna Molewa calls the pact "the best we can get at this historic moment."

She says it "can map a turning point to a better and safer world" but she added that developed countries still have to cut emissions more and help poorer nations to counter the effects of global warming.

Post Sources: AP, WTHR, PBS, YouTube

FEDERAL CHILD SUPPORT SPIES ARE LOCAL MAIL CARRIERS IN CHARLOTTE, ATLANTA & CHICAGO

#‎Atlanta‬

FEDERAL CHILD SUPPORT SPIES ARE LOCAL MAIL CARRIERS:

IN CHARLOTTE, ATLANTA & CHICAGO.

* Discussion Highlights:

~ U.S. Mail Carriers have in fact teamed up with the Federal Govt to Spy on citizens.
Including Men who are working to catch up their Child Support payments.

~ US Mail Carriers working as SPIES is a growing problem in cities with a high BLACK Male UNEMPLOYMENT Rate such as CHARLOTTE, ATLANTA and CHICAGO.

~ Low Delinquent Child Support actual balances are being trumped to extremely high balances via State & County Fees which could be considered a CHILD SUPPORT TAX.

~ In 2015 Pres OBAMA and UN Officials spearheaded a Global Child Support Treaty.

However most of the Child Money collected does not go to Mothers. Instead it goes to State Coffers.

~ Due to low Child Support balances being trumped up to extremely high Child Support balances via State & County Fees, and high UNEMPLOYMENT Rates, many Fathers can NEVER really get caught up, thus many Fathers end up in JAIL or PRISON.

When these Men are Incarcerated, the States then receive FEDERAL FUNDING.

~ Snail mail spy: U.S. Postal Service active partner with feds for surveillance

The U.S. Postal Service has two key programs with the federal government aimed at rooting out terrorism that track and record data on all mail that travels through its offices.

The New York Times reported on a U.S. Postal Service “mail cover” program that’s been in place for decades. That program allows postal workers the ability to record — by hand — all the information on the front and back of letters that are mailed to residences, at the request of law enforcement.

But another program, called “Mail Isolation Control and Tracking,” is much more high-tech.

It started in 2001, after anthrax attacks hit at Capitol Hill and at various spots around the nation, and gives U.S. Postal Service workers the ability to photograph the exterior of each piece of mail that passes through the office.

The data is then recorded in case it’s needed in a future investigation.

An ex-Justice Department worker said, Newser reported:

“In the past, mail covers were used when you had a reason to suspect someone of a crime.

Now it seems to be, ‘Let’s record everyone’s mail so in the future we might go back and see who you were communicating with.’ Essentially, you’ve added mail covers on millions of Americans.”

Post Sources: Washington Times, NY Times, Marshall Project, YouTube

CLIMATE CHANGE LAWS WILL DESTROY MIDDLE CLASS ON PLANET EARTH (MORE INCONVENIENT TAXES & REGULATIONS)

Global CLIMATE CHANGE Laws (new TAXES) being pushed by Pres OBAMA and other Elite world leaders will not "Save the Planet", nor "Protect the Future of our Children".

So what is the real "INCONVENIENT TRUTH" about CLIMATE CHANGE??

Is it only about reducing CARBON EMISSIONS?

These new set of Global CLIMATE CHANGE Taxes and Regulations being pushed by the Wealthy Elite, will in fact help to reconfigure Mankind on planet Earth via destroying the current Middle Class and eliminating people stuck in Poverty.

It is really all about making the Super RICH more Wealthy by creating only two Economic groups:

~ The Elite, Super Wealthy & Big Banks - LEADERS

~ A New Lower Class - WORKING SERVANTS

~ NO MORE MIDDLE CLASS



~ Climate Change Laws Hurt The Poor And Benefit No One: Why Are Political Elites Pushing So Hard?

August 21, 2015 by Bob Loewen
Bob Loewen is the chairman of the California Policy Center.

I was eighteen years old in 1966 when my plane circled the tiny airport in Ontario, California. I was traveling from the Bay Area to Claremont to begin my freshman year in college. Looking down from my window seat, the overcast cloud cover prevented me from seeing the freeways and buildings on the ground. When we landed, however, I looked up and saw a hazy blue sky. Then I realized that I was looking up through the cloud cover that I had observed from above. To my horror, what I had seen below me from the sky was not cloud cover at all; it was thick, brown smog, and I was breathing it.

That was the day I became an environmentalist. Although I have a libertarian’s skepticism of government, many times I have supported government programs to clean up the air, water, forests and beaches. In this way, I am like other Californians. Because all of us love and defend the natural resources of our state, the brand “environmentalist” is almost as popular as Santa Claus.

George Orwell warned, however, “political language . . . is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable.” [1] California’s climate change laws have nothing to do with removing smog or keeping California’s beaches clean. They hurt the poor and benefit no one. Yet a political elite has managed to impose its will on the California economy without having to explain why it has chosen to hurt the poor for no benefit to the public largely because they use the label “environmentalist”. It is time to hold them accountable.

Orwell’s warning also applies to the substance of the climate change conversation. The climate change elites do not discuss climate change issues in the manner of scientists; they collapse multiple distinct issues into demonizing rhetoric: “The science is settled,” they say in response to every argument that is made; this means that the opponent is a “science denier”. Seldom is this rhetoric even arguably responsive.

While science is one of the principal subjects of the discussion about predicting earth’s climate future through scientific computer modeling, it is no more than political rhetoric to argue that one scientist is so completely wrong in his opinion, and the other so clearly correct, that the first is “denying” the very principles of science. And this is not even the main point of this essay…

Opponents who have other reasons for their opposition to climate change laws usually do not challenge the science. Assuming the climate change outcomes have been predicted accurately by proponents, for example, opponents nevertheless contend that enforcement of climate change laws will not eliminate or delay the predicted harmful effects of climate change because reductions in GHG emissions required by California (or EPA) are more than offset by increased emissions from new power generation plants in China and India.

Opponents who make this point do not deny the science; they embrace it.

The climate change elites do not respond to this point as a distinct argument for which they are accountable; at most, they pretend that the issue does not exist, a slick move worthy of Orwell’s admonition about “political speech”.

California has the most aggressive climate change laws of any state in the nation and is the only state imposing a cap and trade protocol on emitters. It requires that GHG emissions be reduced to 1990 levels no later than 2020.

This year, new laws have been proposed to tighten that standard, requiring that 2020 emissions be reduced to 80% below 1990 levels. Other restrictions include specific requirements that specified minimum levels of wind and solar power be included in the mix of power sources.

All of this makes power in California the most expensive in the nation.

According to the Manhattan Institute, “California’s renewable energy mandates and climate change policies . . . are having a disproportionate economic impact on the poor.” [2] The report found that “in 2012, about 1 million California households were living in energy poverty, a term that applies to households that spend 10 percent, or more, of their income on household energy costs.”

There is a considerable disparity between wealthy areas, such as Mill Valley in Marin County, whose monthly energy costs were only $200 per home because of mild weather conditions, and middle-income areas, such as the town of Hanford in the San Joaquin Valley, where harsher average weather leads to average monthly energy costs of about $500 per home.

The climate change elite is leaving the poor and middle class behind in other ways too.

The Manhattan Institute study found that because of the high cost of compliance (estimated $115 billion to meet renewable requirements alone), California’s climate change laws are forcing businesses out of the state, resulting in job losses. There are also collateral effects from the general hostility of climate change elites to any business involved with fossil fuels. Take fracking, for example. Two years ago, Californians were excited about the potential for thousands of jobs when we learned that California’s shale formations are even richer than those in boom states like North Dakota. [3] A USC study predicted that fossil fuels from shale would provide “up to 2.8 million jobs, increasing the state’s total economic output by up to 14.3 percent . . . boosting personal income by up to 10 percent.” [4] Due to actions in Sacramento, nothing has happened. Why not? A public official who wants to help the poor and middle class close the economic gap has enough information to allow fracking to proceed, but for now, the political elites prefer to keep fossil fuels right where they are, embedded deep in California’s shale.

Most troubling is that the goals of climate change laws are not achieved even when they are strictly enforced. For example, the EPA is pressuring American utilities to stop using coal because it generates more GHGs than other fuel sources. India and China, however, both build coal-fired power plants faster than the United States can remove its own. [5] Eric Roston, writing for Bloomberg Business, observes “’The U.S. is dropping coal plants at an unprecedented rate, but still nowhere as quickly as India is adding them,” and “By 2020 India may have built about 2.5 times as much capacity [in coal] as the U.S. is about to lose.” [6]

China, “the world’s biggest coal addict by far,” has a plan to build hundreds of coal plants, which negates the efficacy of emissions limits imposed by political elites in this country. Eric Lawson of Princeton University, known for his strong stance in favor of the science of climate change, is quoted by Stephen Moore in Investors Business Daily: “From 2010 through 2013, (China) added half the coal generation of the entire U.S. At the peak, from 2005 through 2011, China added roughly two 600-megawatt coal plants a week for seven straight years. [7] And according to U.S. government projections, China will add yet another U.S. worth of coal plants over the next 10 years, or the equivalent of a new 600-megawatt plant every 10 days for 10 years.”

California’s climate change laws are particularly vulnerable to the criticism that they will not change the predicted outcome of man-made warming because, according to the Manhattan Institute study, all of California’s emissions are only 1% of GHG emissions worldwide and 6% of total U.S. emissions. There are no climate models that support the idea that reduction of some or all of those amounts will affect global climate change given increases of emissions in China and India.
Instead of responding directly to these criticisms, some have argued that China and India will change; if the U.S. sticks with its stringent emission reduction policies, they contend, our example will encourage them to reverse the increases in emissions that represent their recent history and turn those into reductions in emissions.

This is pure Utopian fantasy.

About 900 coal plants are currently planned in China and India.

Where is the evidence that India or China have made any plans to change these to lower-emission energy plants? What plans have been made to tear down the existing coal plants and replace them? Absent concrete plans, the follow-my-lead theory is far-fetched.

There is no precedent to suggest that follow-my-lead will succeed. There is, however, precedent suggesting it will not succeed. In California, proponents of AB32 sold the most aggressive state law on climate change in America partly on the follow-my-lead theory. They told Californians that when AB32 was enacted, other states would follow California’s example by adopting statutes similar to AB32.

This effort failed; not one state has adopted a climate change law like California’s. Since it should have been easier to convince another state, like Oregon, to join California on climate change law than to convince a sovereign nation like China, California’s experience disproves the follow-my-lead theory.

Proponents of climate change laws point to the “Joint Announcement” on climate change dated November 12, 2014 signed during President Obama’s visit to China as supposed proof that China is willing to reconsider its policy of increasing emissions.

The Joint Agreement, however, confirms that China will continue to increase its emissions through at least 2030. Much false information has been implied about this nonbinding statement. But it is available on line, and its meaning is pretty clear.

[8] China does not commit anywhere in the document to reduce its emissions; it only states, without agreeing, that it might reach a peak in its increases by 2030. By signing the Joint Agreement, President Obama effectively acknowledges that current conditions will not change before 2030 at the earliest. This means that the heavy burdens created by California’s emissions limits cannot achieve the intended benefits until sometime after that date.

These critical problems with climate change laws have been known for a long time.

Yet climate change elites do not respond to them, making it clear that they have no response that makes sense. This does not mean that nothing should be done about climate change.

But it does mean we need to change the laws that are hurting the poor and middle class, examine what is possible in the area of adaptation, and hold the political elites accountable. The future of California depends on it.

FOOTNOTES

(1) “Politics and the English Language,” George Orwell, 1946
(2) “Renewable Energy Mandates Same As A Tax On The Poor,” by Robert Bryce, Manhattan Institute, 7/26/2015
(3) “Fixing California: Will Fracking Bonanza Be Allowed?,” Chris Reed, CPC Prosperity Forum, 9/30/2013
(4) “The Monterey Shale & California’s Economic Future,” USC Price School of Public Policy, March 2013
(5) “World Falls In Love With Coal That Obama Is Waging War On,” Stephen Moore Investor’s Business Daily, 8/7/2015
(6) “The Grim Promise of India’s Coal-Powered Future,” Eric Roston, Bloomberg Business, 5/21/2015
(7) “World Falls In Love With Coal That Obama Is Waging War On,” Stephen Moore Investor’s Business Daily, 8/7/2015
(8) U.S.-China Joint Announcement on Climate Change, 11/12/2014


Sources: California Policy Center, Manhattan Institute, Fox News, YouTube, CPC Prosperity, USC Price School of Public Policy

COLORADO Becomes Marijuana Capital Of America!......State Expects Millions Each Year In Sales Tax Revenue!

#ColoradoPOT


RECREATIONAL POT IS NOW LEGAL IN COLORADO

Effective Immediately!

It is now LEGAL to buy Recreational Marijuana in COLORADO.

The State is expected to generate Millions each year from LEGAL Sales of POT.

The Lines Wednesday morning were Outrageous!

Of course due to COLORADO State Regulations, only RICH people can actually Afford to become LEGAL POT DEALERS but........

At least You won't be Arrested for Indulging.

"Colorado's Recreational Marijuana Stores Make History"


Iraq war veteran Sean Azzariti described his purchase of recreational marijuana -- legally -- as a historic moment Wednesday.

"It's huge," he said at a marijuana store along a light industrial corridor outside downtown Denver. "It hasn't even sunk in how big this is yet."

Indeed, before the 3D Cannabis Center opened at 8 a.m. MT, more than 100 people were waiting in snowfall and cold under gray skies to be the next buyers of recreational pot under a landmark law voters approved in 2012. The dispensary was one of a handful that opened to lines of waiting people on New Year's Day, with scores more expected statewide in coming months.

Azzariti was selected to be the first buyer at the 3D Cannabis Center because he was a Marine from 2000 to 2006 who now suffers post-traumatic stress disorder after two tours in Iraq. He can't obtain medical marijuana in Colorado because PTSD isn't a qualifying condition for that treatment, he said.

"This is what we worked so hard for the last few years," he said of the voter-approved constitutional amendment that led Colorado to become the first state in the nation to open recreational pot stores to anyone age 21 and older. "It's mind-blowing."

Azzariti, 32, bought an eighth of an ounce of pot, plus chocolate truffles laced with marijuana. Those treats are called "edibles" at the store.

The price: $59.50.

The marijuana alleviates the anxiety and stress that come from PTSD, he said, adding that he'll smoke the pot Wednesday evening.

At several recreational weed stores, buyers waited in line for three or four hours to be a part of opening-day history. Despite the hundreds of people queuing on public sidewalks, no significant problems emerged Wednesday, Denver officials said.

"I want to thank the businesses and consumers alike for acting responsibly and with great accountability today," Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock said in a statement. "Denver is a progressive city, a vibrant city, and it's incumbent on all of us to continue getting this right."

Long lines

Even three hours after the stores opened, one downtown Denver dispensary had a line of about 100 people outside the front door to the corner. The snow had stopped falling by then, and the gray skies were clearing to blue.

While patrons -- young and the old, men and women -- waited patiently in line, the demographic at the downtown dispensary tilted more toward 20- and 30-somethings.

When many buyers emerged from the store and nudged through the line, they raised their bags of newly purchased pot above their heads.

People waiting on the sidewalk cheered them.

Even though recreational weed is now legal, some purchasers declined to disclose their last names.

One woman, Dee, who didn't want to use her surname, said she waited in line for almost three hours to buy her cannabis. She and a male companion bought a small amount, she said, just to commemorate the occasion.

"We voted for it, and now it's here," Dee said of the recreational marijuana law. "We just went in and celebrated the new law. It's a new day."

She didn't mind the long wait at the LoDo's Dispensary. "Everybody is cool and mellow and nice. So it's all good," she said.

Some motorists passing the pot shop honked and cheered the queue of buyers, who whooped in return.

One motorist, however, shouted a disparaging remark about the "potheads," and the crowd muttered raspberries in response.

Buyers whiled away the hours in line by talking aloud about the benefits of marijuana as a remedy for hangovers, headaches, sleeplessness and low appetite.

Then a young woman in a passing SUV slowed and interrupted them by asking, "What's going on, guys?"

"Legal pot sale!" a man in line shouted.

"Oh, I need an eighth!" the young woman shouted back excitedly. The car drove on.

In fact, around 11:30 a.m. MT, Don Andrews, whose family owns and runs the dispensary, announced to the waiting people on the sidewalk that he was being forced to limit sales to an eighth of an ounce to each person, though under the new state law, a resident can buy up to an ounce.

The dispensary will close at 7 p.m. MT, but Andrews said he may have to start turning people away at 4 p.m. The line had gone out the front door, down the street and around the corner by 2 p.m. MT, when more than 400 people had made purchases.

In all, Andrews counted buyers from several states and countries. Buyers showed IDs from Vermont, Arizona, Georgia, Oregon, Wyoming, Louisiana -- and even Alaska and Hawaii. Other prospective weed buyers came from Canada, Australia and Italy, though the Italian man, 21, walked away because he had to catch a bus for his tour of America.

South of downtown, the Evergreen Apothecary was encountering the same phenomenon: 700 people in line took numbers, but employees said they might not be able to serve all of them by the close of business.

The atmosphere at the dispensaries was clearly celebratory and cheerful. For example, about 10 miles outside of downtown, one man said he had waited in the snow since 2:30 a.m. for the Medicine Man dispensary to open at 8 a.m.

When asked how he felt after making the first sale there, he responded: "I'll feel better in an hour."

Applauding, criticizing the new law

Even before the weed went on sale, enthusiasts were anticipating the end of an era.

"Prohibition is over," blared a flier for New Year's Eve festivities at Casselman's Bar in Denver. "Celebrate Cannabis freedom in style."

As many as 30 stores throughout Colorado will sell recreational weed. Of the estimated 30 stores, 18 are in Denver.

"With Washington state next to implement marijuana legalization and other states strongly considering enacting similar laws, we believe this marks the beginning of the end of the nation's decades-long war on marijuana and its harmful human and fiscal toll," Ezekiel Edwards, a director at the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a prepared statement.

But not everyone was applauding.

"Legalization -- with all of the American-style promotion that will accompany it -- is the last thing people in recovery, parents, communities -- and even our nation -- need right now," Smart Approaches to Marijuana said on its website.

A total of 136 stores received state licenses last week, but most apparently had not obtained approval yet from their local governments to open on January 1.

In 2012, Colorado voters approved the sale of recreational marijuana, as did voters in Washington state. But Colorado is the first to have the pot shops up and running under regulations recently established by state and local governments. Colorado voters' approval in effect amended the state's constitution to allow for the retail sale of recreational pot. The state already allows medical marijuana.

Limits to marijuana consumption

Not all of the state is participating in the new law. A community can decide not to allow the shops, and in fact, most of the state geographically hasn't, including communities such as Greeley and Colorado Springs.

Proponents of the new law were dealt a setback last week when Denver and state officials threatened to shut down a private party at a dance club scheduled for January 1 celebrating the end of the prohibition against cannabis -- an event billed as "Cannabition." The organizers canceled the party because officials said it would violate a Denver ordinance prohibiting the public consumption of marijuana.

Cannabis can only be smoked on private property with the owner's permission.

Under the new state law, residents are now able to buy marijuana like alcohol. The cannabis purchase is limited to an ounce, which is substantial enough to cost about $200 or more. People from out of state can buy up to a quarter-ounce.

In a vivid example of how recreational pot is a new reality for the state, Denver officials posted public signs in the tourist-populated corridor known as the 16th Street Mall. The street signs read, "Know the Law about Marijuana Use in Denver."

"You must be 21 or older to have or use retail marijuana," says one bulletin on the sign. But further below it, the sign warns readers that "it is illegal to use, display or transfer marijuana on the 16th Street Mall."

One of Colorado's main media outlets, The Denver Post, has even devoted a website to the history-making moment and its ongoing impact.

"The culture of cannabis, that's what we're here to talk about," says the newspaper's "The Cannabist" page. "As marijuana's coming-out continues, we'll report journalistically from our homebase in Denver, Colo. -- the site of recreational marijuana's first legal sale in the modern world on Jan. 1, 2014."

This week, Denver International Airport authorities banned all marijuana on the airport grounds. Medical marijuana had been legal to bring to the airport as long as it didn't go through security checkpoints, said airport spokeswoman Stacey Stegman.

But a total ban was implemented to avoid confusion as the recreational pot law rolls out, she said. Officials are concerned that a large influx of people may take marijuana to the airport and transport it across state lines.

So if a visitor brings marijuana to the airport and leaves it in the car to pick up a relative at the terminal, that visitor will be breaking the law and could face a fine of up to $999, Stegman said.

Colorado becomes the first place in the world where marijuana will be regulated from seed to sale. Pot is the third most popular recreational drug in America, after alcohol and tobacco, according to the marijuana reform group NORML.


Sources: AP, CNN

MILLIONAIRE TAX: France's Pres Francois Hollande Keeps His Campaign Promise ("FAIR SHARE")

#MillionaireTAX

MILLIONAIRE TAX: FRANCE MAKES RICH PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE

PRES HOLLANDE KEEPS HIS CAMPAIGN PROMISE (WHERE'S PRES OBAMA??)


"France's 75% Millionaire Tax To Become Law"

French President François Hollande had been pushing for a 75% tax on the super-rich since his 2012 presidential campaign.

France's controversial "millionaire tax" is set to become law, allowing the government to levy a 75% tax on companies that pay salaries in excess of €1 million.

The tax was approved by France's constitutional council on Sunday after an earlier version was deemed unconstitutional last year.

President François Hollande introduced the tax as a way to force the rich to help France shrink its massive budget deficit and support the sagging economy.

It had originally been created as a tax on individuals, but was eventually shifted to a tax on companies paying high annual salaries.

According to the constitutional council, employers must pay the levy on salaries exceeding €1 million ($1.4 million) a year.

The tax will apply for two years -- 2013 and 2014 -- and will not be allowed to surpass 5% of a company's annual revenue.

Hollande has said the new tax is "symbolic" and designed to make a political statement about economic fairness.

The tax is not ultimately expected to be a big money-maker, with the French government estimating the tax will affect roughly 470 companies.

"This tax was born in the heat of Hollande's [2012] presidential campaign," said James Shields, a professor of French politics at Aston University in the U.K. "It's only a tax for two years. It's temporary. So yes, this is highly symbolic."

The tax proposals prompted a severe backlash from high-profile business people, movie stars and soccer clubs.

Earlier this year, French soccer clubs had threatened to boycott a number of matches after learning they would not be exempt from the tax, though the boycotts were later called off.

The initial tax proposal also prompted famous French actor Gerard Depardieu to take up Russian citizenship to protest against the tax.

Source: CNN Money

PROJECT UPLIFT 2016: BLACK COMMUNITY WISHLIST FOR JOBS & SELF-SUFFICIENCY

New Politics Podcasts with Black Political Buzz on BlogTalkRadio

#ProjectUplift2016

PROJECT UPLIFT 2016: THE BLACK AMERICAN COMMUNITY WISHLIST:

21st Century BLACK American Communities need to offer BLACK Citizens more than just CHURCHES, CHICKEN JOINTS, CLUBS, & LIQUOR Stores.

BLACK Citizens are paying TAXES yet Our Communities often LACK Basic Programs.......Places.......and Resources necessary for everyday Survival.

We Need JOBS......EDUCATION......& SMALL BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES!

Welcome to PROJECT UPLIFT 2016!!

Since the BLACK Community remains the most Disadvantaged Community in America, here are 13 Programs & Places I would I like to see in every 21st Century BLACK American Community prior to the 2014 & 2016 General Elections.

FYI:
I have Currently Observed most of these SAME 13 Programs in WHITE Communities. Including many Low Income WHITE Communities!

These 13 Programs will UPLIFT BLACK American Communities by Encouraging a Mentality & Spirit of SELF-SUFFICIENCY, and by creating EMPLOYMENT Opportunities for BLACK Citizens:

13 PROJECT UPLIFT 2016 PROGRAMS:

*1) ACADEMIC After School Programs with a Focus on reaching HOMELESS Students & Underachieving; At-Risk Students..

There will be Quality Tutoring in these areas:
LITERACY..........MATH.........SCIENCE.........ART........WRITING.......... SOFTWARE CODING.......and FINANCIAL LITERACY.

(SOFTWARE CODING is a very lucrative Career which does not require a College Degree.)

I would also like to see these ACADEMIC After School Programs offer BOYS-ONLY MENTORING Programs with Classes on getting into College.

And................

Offer GIRLS-ONLY MENTORING Programs with Classes on getting into College.


* 2) Community Health Centers with a Focus on PREVENTIVE CARE instead of ABORTION Clinics posing as Community Health Centers.

* 3) Real PARKS and Real Walking Nature Trails for SAFE Exercise Options.

* 4) "OBAMACARE One-Stop Shop Education & Enrollment Centers" with Licensed Health Care Insurance Agents on-site.

In fact these "OBAMACARE One-Stop Shop Education & Enrollment Centers" could also offer Training Classes for Eligible Citizens to become Licensed Health Care Insurance Agents,

and...........Offer Training Classes for Eligible Citizens to become Certified Nursing Assistants.

* 5) Non-Partisan VOTING Centers with a Focus on VOTER REGISTRATION & VOTER EDUCATION.

* 6) SMALL BUSINESS Resource Centers with Classes on GRANT Writing & Cloud Funding,

and...........Affordable SMALL BUSINESS Hubs for New local START-UPS.

* 7) A Farmer's Market with Classes on Urban Farming & Healthy Cooking to Prevent DIABETES & High Blood Pressure.

* At least One NATURAL HAIR CARE Salon with a Focus on Growing & Retaining Healthy, Naturally Long BLACK Hair.

These Salons must also SELL NATURAL HAIR CARE Products.

And........Local Salons in BLACK Communities which offer COSMETOLOGY Training with a Focus on NATURAL HAIR CARE such as the AVEDA Institute.

The AVEDA Institute is #2 after PAUL MITCHELL.

* 9) LEGAL AID Program Centers with a Classes on Eviction.......Illegal Foreclosures.......Harassment from HOAs......Employment Discrimination......Hospital Double-Billing.

I would also like to see these LEGAL AID Program Centers offer Opportunities & Scholarships for Eligible Students who want to Attend LAW SCHOOL.

* 10) EMPLOYMENT Centers with a Focus on helping Unemployed Citizens to become Re-employed and receive JOB Training SKILLS.

* 11) Real LIBRARIES with Up-to-date Technology Labs for Citizens who lack Computers or the Internet in their Residences.

* 12) POLICE Precincts with a Focus on local POLICE forming Partnerships with BLACK American Citizens instead of Fighting against BLACK Citizens.

Eliminate "Stop & Frisk"!

Eliminate "Stand Your Ground!"

Eliminate "Walking while BLACK!"

Eliminate "Driving While BLACK!"

* 13) AFFORDABLE HOUSING…….Affordable Housing = CONSTRUCTION JOBS for Unemployed People!

Affordable Housing also = Community Revitalization!!


Source: Blog Talk Radio