Early yesterday morning about 2 am we had a deluge. It very briefly awoken me,
before rapidly heading back asleep
The large amount of water prevented me from playing softball last night.
.
One other result, was that it knocked a lot of ripe black mulberries off of a large tree on the side of my house.
There also, I have sugar snap peas transplanted there adjacent to a trellis
and I wanted to see how their growth is progressing this morning.
When I got to that side of my house, I noticed that the whole area was a carpet of fallen mulberries.
Thousands of them. A natural bounty.
There's tons more on the ground and way more still up in the tree.
The squirrels and birds love them.
So, I picked up a generous handful off the ground, rinsed them off with the hose and plucked the small green stem off of each of them.
I had not prepared breakfast yet, so I went inside and prepared oatmeal with a mixture; 1/2 mulberries + 1/2 grapes. Yum !
If you have never eaten mulberries, their flavor is not as powerful as a blackberry, not even as much as a blueberry. It's a subtle somewhat similar flavor to a blackberry, not as sweet either.
From TIME;
In response to:
Robert Mueller Told Congress They Can Prosecute the President. Now It Gets Ugly
Alana Abramson
Time•April 18, 2019
More than two years after Robert Mueller began investigating whether President Donald Trump attempted to obstruct justice, the special counsel offered the American people a sobering conclusion in his final report, released Thursday: The most powerful law enforcement officials in the country are not in a position to prosecute their boss, the President.
But Congress, Mueller said, is.
Despite witness testimony that Trump tried to get underlings to derail Mueller’s probe and lie under oath, Mueller and his team determined not to make a “traditional prosecutorial judgment” about whether the president violated the law that criminalizes obstruction of justice. That doesn’t mean Trump can do whatever he wants, though. “Congress may apply the obstruction laws to the President’s corrupt exercise of the powers of office,” Mueller wrote. That conclusion, he said, “accords with our constitutional system of checks and balances and the principle that no person is above the law.”
That Solomonic decision left some unsatisfied. For Trump opponents hoping for his ouster, Mueller’s apparent referral to Congress seemed like a punt. For Trump’s backers, it was a source of outrage. But at a moment when Americans see threats of government overreach on the left and the right, Mueller’s restraint has its merits. Rather than reaching to bring down a democratically elected president, Mueller has deferred directly to voters’ popularly elected officials on Capitol Hill.
Which is where things are likely to get ugly.
Democrats have heard Mueller’s message loud and clear. “Mueller makes a very powerful argument that the President can be found guilty of obstructing justice and he essentially puts the ball in the court of Congress,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, who sits on the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees, told TIME. The six Democratic chairs of the committees with the broadest oversight jurisdiction are also preparing for battle. “We are profoundly troubled by the astonishing efforts by President Trump identified in the report to obstruct the investigation, including his attempts to remove the Special Counsel and encourage witnesses to lie and to destroy or conceal evidence,” they wrote in a joint statement Thursday evening. “It must fall to Congress to assess the President’s improper, corrupt and immoral conduct in an effort to obstruct the investigation.”
Republicans for their part, are preparing to counter a new round of Democratic investigations with attacks of their own. Trump supporters are claiming Mueller’s refusal to prosecute Trump is vindication. “It seems nothing will stop Democrats in Congress from trying to get the President at all costs,” tweeted GOP Congressman Jim Jordan. Some Republicans say they want to launch their own probes into the origins of Mueller’s investigation. “We must take a hard look at how we got here and at the relevant issues that the Mueller report did not address,” wrote Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley. “Were our premiere law enforcement and intelligence agencies co-opted by candidate Trump’s political opponents in an attempt to take him down? Did political bias or unverified claims taint decisions by senior agency officials?”
Just a few weeks ago, this renewed battle seemed unlikely. As Mueller’s probe wound to a close, and Attorney General William Barr declared the Special Counsel’s report had exonerated Trump, talk of taking Trump down was fading on Capitol Hill. Democrats were already inclined to dance around the issue of impeachment, taking pains to avoid moves that would be seen as overtly partisan. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had dismissed the avenue just a month ago, declaring Trump’s “not worth it.”
(Continued in my first comment below)
Yesterday in USA Today;
In response to:
Kamala Harris joins Elizabeth Warren in advocating for President Trump's impeachment
William Cummings, USA TODAY Published 8:16 a.m. ET April 23, 2019 | Updated 11:58 a.m. ET April 23, 2019
California Sen. Kamala Harris joined the call for President Donald Trump's impeachment on Monday in a prime-time town hall meeting.
WASHINGTON – Sen. Kamala Harris joined the ranks of 2020 Democratic presidential candidates advocating for the impeachment of President Donald Trump before they get the chance to unseat him at the ballot box.
The California Democrat said she supports impeachment proceedings during a CNN town hall event on Monday.
"I believe that we need to get rid of this president. That's why I'm running to become president of the United States," Harris said in response to an audience member who asked if she thought special counsel Robert Mueller's report was damning enough to warrant Trump's impeachment.
But while she would be happy to defeat him at the ballot box, Harris said the evidence from the report "tells us that this president and his administration engaged in obstruction of justice."
"I believe Congress should take the steps towards impeachment."
Harris cautioned that the process "doesn't end there," however. She said the Democratic majority in the House would likely be able to impeach Trump, but she did not think that enough Republicans would join Democrats to secure the two-thirds majority needed in the Senate that would remove Trump from office.
"I've not seen any evidence to suggest that they will weigh on the facts instead of on partisan adherence to being protective of this president," Harris said. "So we have to be realistic about what might be the end result, but that doesn't mean the process should not take hold."
Other 2020 Democrats who have called for impeachment proceedings against Trump include Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Miramar, Florida, Mayor Wayne Messam.
Warren called for impeachment in a tweet last week after the release of the redacted Mueller report.
"The severity of this misconduct demands that elected officials in both parties set aside political considerations and do their constitutional duty. That means the House should initiate impeachment proceedings against the President of the United States," she said.
Warren repeated that call Monday during a CNN town hall.
"If any other human being in this country had done what's documented in the Mueller report, they would be arrested and put in jail," she said.
During his own CNN town hall on Monday. Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders called for Congress to "do a hard investigation" to "get to the truth" and determine whether or not Trump obstructed justice.
But Sanders cautioned that if Congress focused on impeachment and not about "issues that concern ordinary Americans" then he fears "that works to Trump's advantage."
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar also called for further hearings on Mueller's findings in the House and Senate during a town hall on Monday. She said Mueller's report included "very disturbing things that would lead you to believe there's obstruction of justice" but "impeachment proceedings are up to the House."
She said that if the House votes to impeach Trump, as a member of the Senate she would become a juror, "so I am not going to predispose things."
During his CNN town hall, South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg said it is "pretty clear that he deserves impeachment," when asked if would support moving forward with proceedings against Trump. But he said he is "going to leave it to the House and Senate to figure that out."
(Continued in my first comment below)
Reports are coming in that archeologists have found the remains of Gandalf the wizard, but, before the story could be verified, men in black suits and dark glasses descended on the scene and removed all traces of the evidence. Now it looks like we will have to turn to Youtube to get to the truth of the matter. Meanwhile, some scholars are scouring the Bible to find something to offend the common sense of the rationally minded with; while others are claiming that the Lord of the Rings was dictated to Tolkien by a hologram left behind by an ancient race of extraterrestrials who once dominated our planet.
Yep, starting this Tuesday.
Gyms are allowed to open back up here in New Jersey.
One has to wear a mask while in the gym and both the machines & the people have to be at least 6 feet apart.
I guess one might say, I'm fairly.... pumped.... about that.
I not only miss the many exercise machines, but some of the gym members too.
Some are quite...... motivational.
Since I joined in the winter, I never did get to use their large pool.
While it's still summer, I plan to do so, especially on hotter days.
Americans celebrate their Independence Day on July 4th. It's a legal holiday. The internet will be open, but most businesses will be closed. This year, the 4th falls on a Tuesday and many people are extending their holiday to include Monday, making this a (well deserved) 4-day weekend.
As I drive around the area, many billboards are advertising sales of fireworks. I'm sure there are restrictions in Florida to the type of legal fireworks being sold... that doesn't stop people getting fireworks deemed illegal in Florida while traveling to other states with relaxed laws... or slipping the store owner $20 to pull out a private stash in the back storeroom.
Typically, every city or municipality will do free fireworks displays in open areas and have proper safety equipment in the event of a mishap. The best displays I've seen are on the beach, where they have a barge about a half-mile offshore so people are in perfect viewing distance and far enough for safety should there be a misfire or explosion.
Enjoy, be safe and if you eat watermelon at a barbecue, be sure to spit the seeds into the grass and make Loh_key happy. If you happen to eat watermelon indoors, spit the seeds anyway!
I recently read about the 15 most extravagant last meal requests of death row prisoners. Here are the 5 most interesting ones to me:
1. In 1985, Gerald Lee Mitchell met his 20-year-old victim, Charles Marino, and the victim’s 15-year-old brother-in-law, Kenneth Flemming, in a Houston neighborhood park, offering to sell the pair some marijuana, but he robbed them of their cash and car keys before shooting them both. Fleming survived with a hip injury.
Mitchell was later arrested while driving Marino’s car. That same day, he had murdered another man when the latter refused to hand over a necklace he wanted. Mitchell was ultimately sentenced to death for both murders. For his last meal, he requested a bag of Jolly Rancher candy in assorted flavors. Mitchell was clearly a candy lover to the very end.
2. Dobie Gillis Williams was on a five-day furlough from Camp Beauregard when he broke into the rural home of Hebert and Sonja Knippers in 1984. After breaking into their home through the couple’s bathroom window, he attempted to r*pe Sonja before stabbing her. Williams left the house the same way he came in, and later, a fatally-injured Sonja passed away.
Williams was eventually arrested, charged with first-degree murder, and sentenced to death. For his last meal, he requested twelve candy bars and some ice cream, showing that he was a major chocolate addict. Talk about a sugar rush.
3. After Victor Feguer arrived in Dubuque, Iowa in the summer of 1960 and rented a room at a rundown boarding house, he began calling physicians out of the local Yellow Pages, eventually coming across Dr. Edward Bartels. He called Bartels up and when Bartels stopped by, Feguer kidnapped and killed him. He was arrested a few days later while attempting to sell the doctor’s car.
Feguer was convicted of murder and sentenced to death by President John F. Kennedy himself since, at that time, only the former president could commute a death sentence. For his last meal, Feguer requested a single olive with the pit still in it. But he didn’t eat it. The olive was found in his suit pocket and was reportedly buried with him.
4. Lawrence Russell Brewer requested more food than anyone could realistically eat. Brewer was a white supremacist who, along with two other white supremacists, murdered a 49-year-old African-American man in Jasper, Texas in 1998 by dragging him to death behind a pickup truck and was sentenced to death.
For his last meal, he requested two chicken fried steaks and sliced onions dripping in gravy; a triple-meat bacon cheeseburger with everything on the side; one cheese omelet with ground beef, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, and jalapeños; a big bowl of fried okra with ketchup; one pound of barbecued meat and half a loaf of white bread; three fajitas with all the toppings; a Pizza Hut Meat Lovers pizza; a pint of Blue Bell vanilla ice cream; a slab of peanut butter fudge with crushed peanuts on top; and three root beers. When the food came, Brewer declined to eat anything, saying he wasn’t hungry.
5. Debra René Wilson was counting money from the cash drawer when retail merchant James Edward Smith entered the office and pointed a gun at her, demanding money. After Harris collected the money from an insurance executive, he fired a bullet into the executive’s heart, killing him, then fled the scene on foot. However, he was caught in a nearby parking lot by an office worker, a work crew, and a businessman. Harris was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death.
For his last meal, he requested rhaeakunda dirt, which is frequently associated with voodoo rituals, so he could perform a voodoo ritual. His mother said her son was a kind and caring child until he started practicing black magic, voodooism, and witchcraft. But dirt wasn’t on the list of approved foods for last meals, so the prison gave him what they probably considered the closest thing—yogurt.
Don't you get it?!!! If Biden wins the Democrats will
PACK THE SUPREME COURT, will create at least two and possibly
THREE NEW STATES, will
ELIMINATE THE FILIBUSTER, and will change the rules of congress and redistrict
SO THAT IT ENSURES AMERICA WILL BE PERMANENTLY RUN BY ONLY ONE PARTY.YES ONE PARTY... Just like
CHINA, Just like
RUSSIA, Just like
IRAN, Just like
NORTH KOREA just like
CUBA.
Don't you get it? We are talking about permanent STRUCTURAL CHANGES.
DON'T YOU GET that the reason Biden is completely silent and won't answer any questions about these things it BECAUSE THIS IS THEIR PLAN AND
THEY DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW IT.
WAKE UP BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!
I don't think I need elaborate on that.