Trying something new

I am playing with splitting the site into three parts.

If I get it right there will be the blog, a cybersecurity blog, and a store.

I may break the site at times as I learn new things.

 

Also on my list of things to work on is to adjust the horribly large ad block at top and bottom of the page. It is too large. I do intend on using ads, but modestly. It is how I plan on adding prizes for the Celebrity Death Pool.

Vaping with flavor

It only took a few days of reporting for my wife and I to determine where the deaths and illnesses were coming from with respect to vaping.

We called it out at that time as being bad juice as it was using an oil based additive. It is easy to understand that we do not put oils into our lungs. It coats the alvioli thus preventing the oxygen to carbon dioxide exchange.

The media jumped all over this and the pressure to ban flavors jumped to the forefront. The establishment saw the opportunity to ban something that they did not like citing bullshit theory during a “panic”. Those who view the world in an analytical manner sat back and put thought to the issue. NPR did a show covering the topic and I sent an email in hopes that they would at least be interested in a dissenting view. I got a nice form email back form them. It was clear that my experience with vaping for nearly eight years did not fit their narrative to whip up supporting a ban on vaping or flavored juices.

Now, the CDC has confirmed what Gigglez and I were saying in the first few days. Juice using vitamin E acetate is to blame for for the deaths and illnesses. What?!? It had nothing to do with flavors? What sorcery is this?

With the truth being determined and brought out into the open, do you think that the jurisdictions that enacted bans, putting people out of work, and making people go back to smoking their death sticks have reversed their actions? Nope, the scare served their purposes to control the masses. Why should they?

It is time to right the wrongs. Allow flavored e-juices to be sold again. The arguments made to ban them are just as ignorant as those about flavored cigarettes, and some alcohols.

Speaking of ignorance, vaping does not lead to smoking. It is however a viable option for smokers to reduce their health risks. Vaping is not perfect. Most people still take in nicotine, but the rest of the ingredients are food grade… so think about that for a moment. the same stuff that we take in on a daily, the powers that be want to block because they do not like the way that it looks.

When I started vaping, both my doctor and cardiologist were in support of eliminating the tars, and 3000+ chemicals going to my lungs. I have not had a single puff from an analog cigarette since I switched. I reduced my nicotine levels form 24 mg (at a high) to 8 mg. When my supply runs out, I will have the choice of either illegally making my own juice, having it shipped illegally, or going to smoking again… none of those options are appealing. Bring back the flavors.

Bald Eagles and the EPA

When I was a kid, the EPA was formed as our environment was going to hell.

Lake Erie had caught fire, the air over major cities like New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco etc were unhealthy not to mention looking like crap.

We started learning more and more about the effect of various chemicals on our bodies and the whole ecosystem.

Richard Nixon created the EPA in 1970 to address these problems and many more. The people knew that we had to do sometime or we would lose species after species.

Our national symbol was struggling due to pesticides thinning the shells of their eggs. After decades of hard work, sacrifice, and legal protection/action the bald eagles started to rebuild in numbers.

I did not see my first bald eagle in the wild until about fifteen years ago. I was taking my son out along a local river and there it was flying upstream. I was stunned at the sight and quite excited.

The other day as I was driving home over the Columbia River something caught my peripheral vision. I looked over and the was a bald eagle flying along beside me about 50 feet away from the bridge. It didn’t take long before it was joined by another eagle.  The feathers on the head and tail were gleaming white. They flew together in the winds making their way upstream.

I do not think that I would have had a chance to enjoy this sight if it were not for the concern and hard work of the multitudes of good people.

Here at this same time, there are efforts to dismantle the EPA. They want to delist many species. It seems to be in favor of corporate interests time and time again. Yes, all life on this planet only has so much time to exist. Why not make our time as wonderful as possible?

Keep an eye on what the government is up to. We have to do what is right for the animals, people, and the planet, not just business.

Impeachment is a Constitutional Requirement

Why is it so hard to understand the current situation with the impeachment inquiry? Do not expect it to be like a court of law, it isn’t. It is an investigation. It is not a difficult concept folks. If you want to liken it to the criminal justice system, then look at it as being in the grand jury phase. No charges have been leveled yet. The grand jury is secret, the suspect (remember that they are not a defendant yet) does not sit in, nor do they have representation. This is all part of an investigation.
Stop trying to impede the process. If the president did nothing wrong, then the evidence will prove it right?
When the investigation phase concludes, the committee(s) may bring forth articles of impeachment. If they do, then they would be debated and voted upon by the full house.
For the sake of argument, the house votes to refer the articles to the Senate for trial.
If we had a Senate that still cared about the American system, and the rule of law, then the trial in the Senate would review the evidence, question and cross examine witnesses and review evidence.
When the trial ran through the process, the senators would vote. If guilty, then they move to the penalty phase.
In the penalty phase it could be censure, removal, or removal with disqualification from holding federal office.
The GOP needs to let the House do its duty and flow through the process. We know that Moscow Mitch is not going to let anything to happen to Trump, no matter what Trump does. He is a spineless piece of shit.
Remember, patriots believe in the justice system. They believe in the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Impeachment is an accusation, not necessarily removal.