Women-only ‘full nudity’ spa’s ‘no male genitals’ rule ignites transgender debate

Women-only ‘full nudity’ spa’s ‘no male genitals’ rule ignites transgender debate:
"TORONTO — Controversy over a female-only spa’s “no male genitals” policy has reignited debate over the rights of transgender people to access traditionally gender-exclusive spaces, even as the federal government pushes stronger protections prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity and gender expression.
The uproar over Toronto’s Body Blitz Spa prompted a flurry of complaints on social media, with longtime regular Shelley Marshall among those vowing to boycott the luxurious retreat.
Marshall says she tried to bring her transgender friend to the spa last year but was told she would only be welcome at the bathing suit-optional facility if she had undergone sex reassignment surgery.
...Toronto-based LGBTQ author Jia Qing Wilson-Yang tweeted last week that she was told not to visit the spa because they “won’t allow male genitalia.”
That followed a Facebook post by Weronika Jane who says the spa’s manager called a friend one hour before their booking “to say that they couldn’t come because they had a ‘no male genital rule.”‘...

AM Fruitcake

History for June 17

History for June 17 - On-This-Day.com:
John Wesley 1703 - Cleric, Christian theologian, James Weldon Johnson 1871 - Author, politician, diplomat, critic, John Hersey (John Richard Hersey) 1914 - Writer, journalist


Newt Gingrich (Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich) 1943 - Politician, historian, author, Barry Manilow 1946 - Musician, Venus Williams 1980 - Tennis player


1579 - Sir Francis Drake claimed San Francisco Bay for England. (California)


1775 - The British took Bunker Hill outside of Boston.


1837 - Charles Goodyear received his first patent. The patent was for a process that made rubber easier to work with.


1856 - The Republican Party opened its first national convention in Philadelphia.


1876 - General George Crook’s command was attacked and defeated on the Rosebud River by 1,500 Sioux and Cheyenne under the leadership of Crazy Horse.


1928 - Amelia Earhart began the flight that made her the first woman to successfully fly across the Atlantic Ocean.


1930 - The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Bill became law. It placed the highest tariff on imports to the U.S.


1950 - Dr. Richard H. Lawler performed the first kidney transplant in a 45-minute operation in Chicago, IL.

FBI declines to release Comey memos, citing use in possible 'law enforcement proceeding' - Washington Times

FBI declines to release Comey memos, citing use in possible 'law enforcement proceeding' - Washington Times:

"The FBI on Friday refused to hand over to The Washington Times unclassified memos that former Director James Comey wrote describing his meetings with President Trump because they are part of a pending or prospective law enforcement proceeding.
The denial of the documents, whose existence was made known and whose release was encouraged by Mr. Comey himself, was a response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by The Times. "

Loretta Lynch must testify - Washington Times

Loretta Lynch must testify - Washington Times:

"Remember, former FBI Director James Comey’s testimony last week before the Senate Intelligence Committee raised many unanswered questions about Ms. Lynch when Mr. Comey told the committee that she had asked him to refer to the FBI’s criminal investigation into Mrs. Clinton as a “matter” instead of an “investigation.” The term “matter” was the same term being used at the time by the Clinton campaign.
Lorretta Lynch must testify!"

The way we were-----It's Crazy How Little Time These Gunners Had To Learn All This - World War Wings

It's Crazy How Little Time These Gunners Had To Learn All This - World War Wings
Looking At That Footage, You Realize How Young These Guys Really Were.

This U.S. Air Force video was designed to turn new recruits into highly skilled gunners aboard many of our bombers. 

To say it must have been an intense time for these young lads would be and understatement..."

Could Illinois be the first state to file for bankruptcy? - CBS News

Could Illinois be the first state to file for bankruptcy? - CBS News:
"Illinois residents may feel some solidarity with the likes of Puerto Rico and Detroit.
A financial crunch is spiraling into a serious problem for Illinois lawmakers, prompting some observers to wonder if the state might make history by becoming the first to go bankrupt.
At the moment, it's impossible for a state to file for bankruptcy protection, which is only afforded to counties and municipalities like Detroit.
Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection could be extended to states if Congress took up the issue, although Stanford Law School professor Michael McConnell noted in an article last year that he believed the precedents are iffy for extending the option to states.
Nevertheless, Illinois is in a serious financial pickle, which is why radical options such as bankruptcy are being floated as potential solutions.
..."We're like a banana republic. We can't manage our money," Gov. Bruce Rauner said after the Illinois Legislature failed to produce a full 2017 budget earlier this month.
...Like Puerto Rico, Illinois has a massive pension crisis.
Its unfunded pension liability for the state's five major plans grew 25 percent alone in one year, reaching $251 billion, according to Moody's.
On a per-household basis, the state's pension debt burden stands at $27,000, according to the conservative-leaning Illinois Policy Institute..."

Trump administration orders government to stop working on Y2K bug - CNET

Trump adminstration orders government to stop working on Y2K bug - CNET:
"The US government can at last stand down on the Y2K bug, some 17 years after the threat came and went.
The Trump administration said Thursday that it will eliminate reporting requirements related to providing updates to preparedness planning for potential IT disruption at the turn of the last century.  The move is intended to fulfill a promise President Donald Trump made on the campaign trail to reduce government regulation.
Of the more than 50 paperwork requirements eliminated Thursday, seven dealt with the Y2K bug, which was created by many computer programs being designed to enter years in only two digits -- the last two -- meaning 2000 might be mistaken for 1900.
In the end, years of planning meant there were no major crises and far fewer headaches than had been predicted.
"These policies are now obsolete and outdated, as the Federal government was successfully unaffected by any service interruptions," the Office of Management and Budget said in a memo (PDF). "As a result, OMB is rescinding these memoranda because the deadlines for implementation have passed."
Trump signed an executive order shortly after taking office that requires two regulations to be removed for every new regulation added. 
The order requires that federal agencies self-identify which regulations to cut based on their estimates of the cost."

Donald Trump's deregulation boosts manufacturing confidence - Washington Times

Donald Trump's deregulation boosts manufacturing confidence - Washington Times:

"The National Association of Manufacturers said the Trump administration’s deregulations have played a major role in boosting business confidence to a 20-year high.
“One of the biggest changes is the trajectory of regulatory burdens over the course of this presidency,” said Rosario Palmieri, the association’s vice president of labor, legal and regulatory policy.
He pointed to Mr. Trump’s executive order that required every new regulation to be accompanied by the elimination of two regulations, resulting in a net reduction in regulations for the first time in U.S. history.
“That’s the most significant change of direction in policy that we’ve ever seen,” he said. “It is already having an effect, but you’re likely to see more of an effect in future years as these deregulatory actions take place.”
Mr. Trump went after federal regulations as soon as he took office. It was one of the few areas where Democrats couldn’t block him. With the help of Republican majorities in both chambers, the rarely used Congressional Review Act allowed him to put the brakes on 14 rules adopted in the final days of the Obama administration."

Hero homeowner holds escaped Georgia inmates at gunpoint until arrests | Fox News

Hero homeowner holds escaped Georgia inmates at gunpoint until arrests | Fox News
"A Tennessee homeowner held two escaped inmates wanted in the killing of two prison guards at gunpoint Thursday until authorities arrived and made the arrests.
Tennessee Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Bill Miller said late Thursday that the homeowner caught Donnie Rowe and Ricky Dubose trying to steal his vehicle.
Miller says the escaped Georgia inmates had crashed a car while being chased by law enforcement and fled on foot into woods along Interstate 24 near the rural community of Christiana.
Miller says something alerted the homeowner that people were outside his home and he saw the men trying to steal his vehicle.
The trooper says the homeowner held the two at gunpoint with a neighbor he called until the Rutherford County Sheriff's Department could get there to arrest them..."
Read on!

Want to keep out opioids? Build the wall. - NetRight Daily

Want to keep out opioids? Build the wall. - NetRight Daily:
"The U.S. is in the middle of an opioid epidemic.
There were more than 50,000 drug overdose deaths in 2015. 
Over 32,000 of those deaths were related to opioid products, heroin and prescription medications. Congress is stalling on a border wall that would help ease this burden.
During the presidential campaign opioid addiction became a central theme.
Chris Christie and Donald Trump both addressed the issue early in their runs for the White House.
But how was it that stemming the flow of illegal narcotics that have caused so much harm become such a political issue?
...Drug cartels obey the basic laws of economics. 
They saw the demand for heroin and counterfeit prescription painkillers, and decided to fill the supply side of the equation..."
Read on!

Noon-toon-----While You Were DISTRACTED 256 U.S. Mayors Conspired Against Americans

Noon-toon

FLASHBACK: Obama's Attorney General Called for Blood in the Streets to Stop Pres. Trump and Republicans

FLASHBACK: Obama's Attorney General Called for Blood in the Streets to Stop Pres. Trump and Republicans:

"The Obama administration’s former Attorney General Loretta Lynch has made an impassioned video plea for more “blood” and “death” on the streets – a video that was later posted on the Facebook page of Senate Democrats as “words of inspiration.”

The video is less than a minute long and begins by stating that people are experiencing “great fear and uncertainty,” with the unstated implication it is due to Donald Trump’s takeover of the White House. "

We Are Getting Very Close To An Inverted Yield Curve – And If That Happens A Recession Is Essentially Guaranteed

We Are Getting Very Close To An Inverted Yield Curve – And If That Happens A Recession Is Essentially Guaranteed:
"So why is an inverted yield curve

such a big event?  
Here is how CNBC
recently explained it…

An inverted yield curve, which has correctly predicted the last seven recessions going back to the late 1960’s, occurs when short-term interest rates yield more than longer-term rates. 
Why is an inverted yield curve so crucial in determining the direction of markets and the economy? 

...What is truly alarming is that the Federal Reserve can see what is happening to the yield curve, and they can see all of the other  indications that the economy is slowing down, but they decided to raise rates anyway.

Raising rates in a slowing economy is a recipe for disaster, but the Fed has gone beyond that and has declared that it intends to start unwinding the 4.5 trillion dollars of assets that have accumulated on the Fed’s balance sheet.

Janet Yellen is trying to tell us that this will be a smooth process, but many analysts are far from convinced.  
For instance, just consider what Peter Boockvar recently told CNBC…

...I hope that there are no political motivations behind the Fed’s moves.  

During the Obama era, interest rates were pushed all the way to the floor and the financial system was flooded with new money by the Fed.  
But now the Fed is completely reversing the process now that Donald Trump is in office.

When the inevitablestock market crash comes, Trump will get most of the blame, but it will actually be the FederalReserve’s fault.  
If the Fed had not injected trillions of dollars into the system, stocks would not have ever gotten this high.  
And now that they are reversing the process that created the bubble, a whole lot of innocent people out there are going to get really hurt as stock prices come crashing down.

And if you thought that the last recession was bad for average American families, wait until you see what happens this time around.  
As Kevin Muir has noted, it is utter madness for the Fed to hit the breaks in a rapidly slowing economy…

We lose 93 million Americans a day to gun violence

We lose 93 million Americans a day to gun violence:

"An extraordinary claim today was made by an extraordinarily squeaky-clean Governor named Terry McAuliffe. 
Did you know we are losing 93,000 million Americans a day due to gun violence? 
This is Trumps fault, probably, right? 
Because of this sensational uptick in violence, according to the Governor, we should all be dead by then end of the week. 
Please, say your prayers, and tell your loved one how much they mean to you. 
Terry McAuliffe has an impeccable reputation. 
I wouldn't question his figures.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Here is a typical American shooting 49 people in just under one and half minutes. 
On average that adds up to 93 million a day.

"Charles Bronson Murders Everyone!"

Terrorism in Europe in 2016 | Statista

• Chart: Terrorism in Europe in 2016 | Statista:
"According to the latest Europol report. there were 1,002 arrests made for terrorist offences in the EU last year. 
Of these, 718 were related to jihadist terrorism - making three consecutive years of increases. Nevertheless, the majority of the 142 attacks completed, foiled or failed were related to ethno-nationalism and separatism (99). 
Of these attacks, 47 were classed as 'completed'. 
Terrorism claimed the lives of 142 people in the EU in 2016, with an additional 379 people suffering injuries. 
Nearly all of these fatalities and most of the casualties occurred as a result of jihadist attacks. 
The exceptions were six victims of paramilitary violence in Northern Ireland and the murder of the UK Member of Parliament Jo Cox.

This chart shows the number of completed, failed and foiled terrorist attacks and number of arrests in the EU in 2016.

You ought to know!

Limbaugh Not Surprised By CNN's Lack Of Reporting On Alleged GOP Shooter's Political Leanings

Limbaugh Not Surprised By CNN's Lack Of Reporting On Alleged GOP Shooter's Political Leanings:

"But Limbaugh said that if today’s situation were reversed, and a Republican supporter shot at Democratic congressmen, the coverage would be completely different.

“You know, you look at it the other way around. I don’t even want to allude to the possibility. I don’t even want to put it out there. But if you did a 180 on this and everything happened the opposite of the way it did, the only thing you’d be seeing on CNN is a never-ending profile of the shooter as negative and penetrating as they could make it,” Limbaugh said."

Florida Woman Steals Nearly $100,000 From City to Help Finance Butt Lift | Heat Street

Florida Woman Steals Nearly $100,000 From City to Help Finance Butt Lift | Heat Street
"What would you do for the booty?

A Florida woman has been charged with felony larceny and felony scheme to defraud after she stole more than $93,000 from the city of Gainesville, according to the Gainesville Sun.

Natwaina Clark, 33, used her city credit card 136 times for unauthorized charges totaling roughly $61,000, her bosses’ cards for $31,000, and stole her coworker’s card for nearly $900. 

...and get a Brazilian butt lift totaling $8,500, among other miscellaneous purchases.

The city first noticed the charges after its parks, recreation and cultural affairs department overspent its budget. 

Until then, the department failed to properly review its expense reports.  

The human-resources department also failed to alert others about Clark’s criminal history, which included arrests for similar charges in a separate Florida county where she still had an outstanding warrant..."

AM Fruitcake