Tuesday, February 04, 2025

We're back to checking the daily news defensively...

 


14 comments:

  1. As is typical, NH caves while VT remains sane

    Please summarize; the source does not want me to read the article without what seems to be spying on me.
    ----Alan

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    1. Can you explain what you mean about spying?
      Heck, it's just WCAX, Vermont's local news.

      LEBANON, Vt. (WCAX) - Lawmakers in New Hampshire are taking steps to end what are known as “sanctuary cities” in the Granite State. It comes as municipalities across the region are waiting to see if the Trump administration will single out communities that took steps to protect migrants during the president’s first term.

      The Welcoming Lebanon Ordinance prevents local law enforcement from targeting people based on immigration status and prohibits them from cooperating with federal immigration officers.

      But two new bills passed by New Hampshire lawmakers could change that. One would ban “sanctuary cities” and the other would specifically allow police departments to partner with federal authorities to track down undocumented immigrants.

      State Senator Sue Prentiss, D-District 5, was among Democrats in the Senate to vote against the bills. “I think that these bills target certain individuals rather than addressing the real issues that communities are facing when it has to do with public safety,” she said.

      “You commit a crime, you are held accountable, regardless of your immigration status,” Prentiss said.

      The police chief in Lebanon says his department’s priority will continue to be law enforcement at the local level.


      The lawmaker from Lebanon says local police over the past several years have only detained three people with questionable immigration status and she says first responders are already short-staffed. “So, if local law enforcement is tied up doing the job of the federal government, who is making sure that my daughter is safe walking to school?” Prentiss said.

      The town of Hartford, across the river in Vermont, has a similar welcoming ordinance, although Town Manager John Haverstock said local, state, and federal partnerships still exist. “We are happy to work with our federal partners when there are matters of underlying criminal activity,” he said.

      Hartford residents back in 2019 took to the street protesting the first Trump administration’s immigration policies. Vermont has a statewide Fair Policing Policy and Haverstock says no immediate changes are planned. “We don’t know of any actual situations in which the federal government has asked for the town’s assistance and it has been denied,” he said.

      The city manager in Lebanon told us that if state immigration laws change, the local ordinance could as well.

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  2. What the Musk is Happening? It’s a catastrophe, but what kind of catastrophe? [Click] “I 100% believe that the primary barrier to Elon Musk gaining control of the Treasury payments system is COBOL.”
    ——Alan

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    1. ^^^^^ Paul Krugman
      ------Alan

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    2. I hate to burst the author's bubble, but Musk's team of hackers were able to get into the system and have been altering the software!!!!!! They can actually stop payments now.

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  3. My right knee has been hurting me for some time now; the meniscus was inflamed and swollen, and getting worse, not better. Sometimes when I stood up there was an audible pop. I decided I didn't have to be a hero this time; once before (13 years ago) I was reduced to absolute dependence on crutches, and this time I called it quits at the point of having to use a cane, which had caused me to walk in a way that hurt other parts of my body. Visited my primary care provider this morning, who looked up my previous visit, gave me an injection in the knee to relieve pain and reduce swelling (same exact thing that worked so well for me the previous time), sent me for an X-ray (included in the five-dollar co-pay of the office visit) and prescribed a sort of super-aspirin which I decided not to use when I researched the potential side effects (another $4). By the time I walked down one floor from the doctor's office to the pharmacy I was already feeling quite a bit better-- not actually using my cane. We were planning to do some gardening (pruning) this afternoon, but the weatherperson cooperated by sending enough rain to give us an excuse to hang out inside. Can't complain a bit. I look forward to resuming my sort-of daily two-kilometer walk, which had been reduced to a very difficult one kilometer, or even 500 meters. Sorry to go on so about this, but I am so well pleased.
    -----Alan

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    1. I'm delighted to. hear you got such quick relief! And good for you not waiting any more! I hope Wil follows suit. He may have arthritis in the ball of one foot, such that he needs a cane after taking a walk. But he won't go to the doctor for it. Just gonna tough it out, when PT or a cortisone injectin might help. At least he did relent enough to purchase some orthotic sneakers, arriving soon.

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    2. I had athletic injuries to my knees (right worse than left) in my late twenties because I didn't exercise enough (I have always hated exercise for its own sake). The X-rays revealed moderate arthritis in both my knees, not to be wondered at given my age, but not enough to require treatment [IMO]. Some current upper--body muscle pain from pruning our fruit trees, but that will be temporary--- we are currently about 2/3 done. Our gardeners have a gasoline chain saw and are going to cut up a dead tree for us. (My electric chain saw isn't powerful enough.) Beautiful weather today-- just the PERFECT amount of snow to suit us!
      -----Alan

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    3. The same knee that I had treated yesterday also developed a Baker's cyst, which eventually ruptured about 30 years ago, and was effectively treated by benign neglect--- scary, though.
      -----Alan

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