• Chart: 2017 Was The Safest Year In The History Of Air Travel | Statista

• Chart: 2017 Was The Safest Year In The History Of Air Travel | Statista: 
"...2017 was the safest year in the history of commercial air travel. 
Data released by The Aviation Safety Network reveals that there were no crashes involving commercial airliners anywhere in the world last year, despite the volume of air traffic reaching a historic high. 
When acts of suicide, sabotage and hijacking are excluded, the year saw 14 air accidents with 59 deaths. 
That represents an improvement on 2016 when there were 17 accidents and 258 fatalities..."
Read on!

Lunch video-----JFK: Tax Cuts Help All Americans

Noon-toon

Mainstream media, Twitter slammed for promoting Iran's hardline leaders as 'moderates' - Washington Times

Mainstream media, Twitter slammed for promoting Iran's hardline leaders as 'moderates' - Washington Times:

"Twitter restricted the account of a prominent London-based dissident who has been sending a steady stream of video images of protests across Iran.

The blocking of some viewership for Potkin Azarmehr comes as U.S. conservatives charge that the New York Times and other Western media are siding with the hardline Islamic rule in Tehran.  U.S. main media regularly refers to Iranian rulers as “moderates.”"

Study: Young male migrants fuel rise in violence in Germany

Study: Young male migrants fuel rise in violence in Germany:
"BERLIN (AP) — The recent influx of mostly young, male migrants into Germany has led to an increase in violent crime in the country, according to a government-funded study published Wednesday.
The study used figures from the northern state of Lower Saxony to examine the impact of refugee arrivals on crime in 2015 and 2016, a period when the number of violent crimes reported increased by 10.4 percent.
The authors concluded that 92 percent of the additional crimes recorded could be attributed to the increase in refugee numbers..."

Something is very wrong with the US Navy

Something is very wrong with the US Navy:
"Recently, a sailor on the cruiser Shiloh started to behave erratically.  
He claimed he had the ability to shoot fireballs from his hands and that he had traveled into outer space.  
Despite his obvious insanity, no action was taken.  
The sailor, named Peter Mims, then hid aboard his ship, and no one was able to find him for a week.

Peter Mims was a troubled sailor who wanted out of the Navy.

He had financial problems, his marriage had fallen apart[,] and his chain of command was riding him about qualifications.  He'd sought mental health counseling, but was not treated when he needed it most.

Or discharged from the Navy when he needed to be.

Before he disappeared from the cruiser Shiloh on June 8, Mims was known for making crazy[] yet[] sincere claims.  Shipmates recalled him saying he had been to space, and that he could shoot fireballs out of his hands.

Mims ... told the ship's command master chief that he believed another sailor "had a poisoning scheme against him that involved injecting him with a needle," the investigation states.

Why wasn't he relieved of duty and locked up?

He had gone missing during watch as recently as June 5, a few days before he went hiding.  [Captain] Aycock and the command master chief ... thought Mims was tired "but not a danger to himself or others," according to the investigation.

Incredible.

The command counseled him in 2015 for being late on qualifications.  Yet that same year, he was listed as "must promote" in his annual evaluation.

"His enthusiasm and motivation are contagious!" a supervisor wrote on his eval.  "A rock-solid performer with unlimited potential!"

How could an evaluation miss his obvious mental illness?..."
Read on!

#1 This day 1966-----We Can Work It Out - The Beatles (#1 Song Jan 1966)

Taxes creating buttlegging!-----NY’s futile fight against illegal cigarettes | New York Post

NY’s futile fight against illegal cigarettes | New York Post:
"State authorities set a record in 2017 by seizing $6.6 million worth of illegal tobacco products, a $1 million jump over 2016.
The 2016 seizures, in turn, marked a increase from the year before. Indeed, for each of the past three years, the state has steadily boosted inspections — and wound up grabbing more illegal products.
Included in the 2017 haul were 47,000 cartons of illegal cigarettes, 1.5 million cigars, 134,000 counterfeit tax stamps and $445,000 in cash. Investigators also arrested 85 alleged tobacco smugglers.
That’s impressive.
But it raises a few questions: Are the ever-larger seizures putting any dent in tobacco smuggling — or do they merely reflect a growth in illegal activity? 
How many illegal cigarettes make it to the market anyway?
In November, a Tax Foundation study suggested answers: Since 2006, “buttlegging” here has climbed 60 percent, it found.
Illegal cigs today actually outnumber legal ones, making up 57 percent of the market..."

You ought to know!

Huma Abedin Used Yahoo, That Was Hacked | The Daily Caller

Huma Abedin Used Yahoo, That Was Hacked | The Daily Caller:

"Huma Abedin forwarded sensitive State Department emails, including passwords to government systems, to her personal Yahoo email account before every single Yahoo account was hacked, a Daily Caller News Foundation analysis of emails released as part of a lawsuit brought by Judicial Watch shows.

Abedin, the top aide to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, used her insecure personal email provider to conduct sensitive work. "

Trump to announce the 'winners' of his Fake News awards | Daily Mail Online

Trump to announce the 'winners' of his Fake News awards | Daily Mail Online:
Stay tuned! 
Trump to announce the 'winners' of his Fake News awards for 'dishonesty and bad reporting' on Monday

• President Trump kept busy Tuesday evening announcing an upcoming 'awards' for 'dishonest and corrupt media' happening Monday
• Shortly before president's 'awards' tweet he threatened Kim Jong-Un that he has a 'bigger nuclear button' than the North Korean leader
• It is unclear as to how the prestigious veneration will be handed out considering people from the outlets being given the award will likely not attend a show
• In an email sent out by the president's campaign they ask for people to vote on three stories from 2017 or submit their own ideas for the 'honor'
• Fake News, Faker News, Fakest News are the choices under the three stories being suggested in the email from Trump Make America Great Again Committee
• The three news stories suggested are from CNN, Time Magazine and ABC News 
• Trump could potentially dole out the dubious distinctions on Twitter

AM Fruitcake

History for January 4

History for January 4 - On-This-Day.com
Sir Isaac Newton 1643 (N.S.) - Physicist, mathematician, Jakob Grimm 1785, Louis Braille 1809 - Inventor of a reading system for the blind.
  

Don Shula 1940 - Football coach, Floyd Patterson 1935 - Heavyweight boxing champion, Patty Loveless 1957 - Country singer


1884 - The socialist Fabian Society was founded in London.


1935 - Bob Hope was heard for the first time on network radio as part of "The Intimate Revue."


1944 - The attack on Monte Cassino was launched by the British Fifth Army in Italy.


1951 - During the Korean conflict, North Korean and Communist Chinese forces captured the city of Seoul.


1953 - Tufted plastic carpeting was introduced by Barwick Mills.


1962 - New York City introduced a train that operated without conductors and motormen.


1965 - In his State of the Union address, U.S. President Johnson proclaimed the building of the "Great Society."


1999 - Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura was sworn in as Minnesota's 37th governor.

LIBERTY REVIEW

LIBERTY REVIEW:

https://libertyreview76.blogspot.com/2018/01/lifes-curve-balls-by-tammy-derouin-new.html

Life's Curve Balls

By Tammy Derouin

The new year is always rung in with the hope that the coming year will be better than the previous year. Even if you experienced a stellar year, there's hope that the coming year will be even better. There's nothing wrong with wanting life to go well. Does anybody wish for chaos and misery? We all know life isn't perfect. Life is full of challenges. Sometimes those challenges turn into battles. How we react and respond to life's curveballs can sometimes play a large factor in the outcome. Do you escalate the situation or try to minimize it by sorting through all the incorrect nonsense or unrealistic fears? The way we respond is certainly within our control.

I've had several discussions, over the years, with my girls about delivery and reaction. Most sibling arguments, or any argument for that matter, could have been avoided if more attention would have been paid to how a message was delivered. The delivery inspires a reaction. Will the reaction cause an emotional escalation or will it calm and redirect the situation? Those are some of life's lessons. It takes years and a lot of practice but the hope is that eventually everyone will learn how to better handle a bad delivery and avoid a bad reaction. Life is never boring and it's a continuous learning experience.

There is usually a difference between adults and children when it comes to their behavior. Adults, who are far from perfect and do not get everything right, have been through many more of life's experiences. At a certain point, you learn to handle the bumps in the road or the occasional nose dive into the ditch with a little more decorum than a two-year old who just had their favorite toy taken away from them.

As I looked back over the stories and events of this past year, the one reoccurring theme was bad behavior and getting away with bad or highly questionable behavior....... 

The way we were-----The Viscounts - Who Put The Bomp (In The Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)

Boob-tube-----Mr. Peepers First Episode

Clarice Feldman - Donald J. Trump ‏Verified account...

Clarice Feldman - Donald J. Trump ‏Verified account...:
"Donald J. Trump

‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump

It's not only Pakistan that we pay billions of dollars to for nothing, but also many other countries, and others. As an example, we pay the Palestinians HUNDRED OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect. They don’t even want to negotiate a long overdue...

...peace treaty with Israel. We have taken Jerusalem, the toughest part of the negotiation, off the table, but Israel, for that, would have had to pay more. But with the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?
Donald J. Trump
‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump
9m9 minutes ago

Imagine if this was done AGAINST Hillary!-----Obama Campaign Paid $972,000 To Law Firm That Paid Fusion GPS

Obama Campaign Paid $972,000 To Law Firm That Paid Fusion GPS

Since April of 2016, Obama's campaign organization has paid nearly a million dollars to the law firm that funneled money to Fusion GPS to compile a dossier of unverified allegations against Donald Trump.

Former president Barack Obama’s official campaign organization has directed nearly a million dollars to the same law firm that funneled money to Fusion GPS, the firm behind the infamous Steele dossier. 

Since April of 2016, Obama For America (OFA) has paid over $972,000 to Perkins Coie, records filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) show.

The Washington Post reported last week that Perkins Coie, an international law firm, was directed by both the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Hillary Clinton’s campaign to retain Fusion GPS in April of 2016 to dig up dirt on then-candidate Donald Trump. 

Fusion GPS then hired Christopher Steele, a former British spy, to compile a dossier of allegations that Trump and his campaign actively colluded with the Russian government during the 2016 election..."

Read on!

Drones fly drugs into U.S. with no Border Patrol detection technology - Washington Times

Drones fly drugs into U.S. with no Border Patrol detection technology - Washington Times:

"Border Patrol agents are increasingly worried about the threat from drug-cartel-flown drones, after agents spotted 13 drones suspected of carrying drugs across one section of the U.S.-Mexico border in just one four-day period in November.

Cartels are aware that the U.S. lacks the ability to detect the drones, much less to interdict them, making them a choice method for smuggling high-dollar hard drugs into the country, agents said."

Unlawful In Michigan To Work For Less Than $9.25/Hour [Michigan Capitol Confidential]

Unlawful In Michigan To Work For Less Than $9.25/Hour [Michigan Capitol Confidential]:
"The state of Michigan is one of a number of states that saw their minimum wage rise with the start of the new year.
As of Monday it became unlawful in this state to employ a worker for less than $9.25 an hour.
Michigan is one of 18 states that upped their mandated pay rate on Jan. 1, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Monday’s increase was the third since September 2014, when the minimum allowable pay rate was hiked to $8.15 an hour.
It was upped again to $8.50 an hour in January 2016, then to $8.90 in January 2017, according to a state website.
...Mackinac Center fiscal analyst Michael LaFaive sees the increases as bad news for lower-skilled individuals who are just entering the workforce.
"Young or inexperienced job-seekers who lack the skills needed to make it worth paying them that much are out of luck," he said.
“What these laws really do is cut away the bottom rungs from the ladder that leads to a lifetime of gainful employment.”
Read on!