Academic-Capital

A new piece of legislation was introduced called the Think Tank Transparency Act and seeks to require disclosure of foreign monies to U.S. think tanks that desire to influence U.S. Policy. You can read about the act as brought forward by our local UP representative  Congressional Representative Jack Berman (R). Basically it says that we don't have a good handle on how many think tanks are being funded by foreign entities nor their influence. It hopes to remedy that lack of knowledge by requiring disclosures like you might find in  FARA . Yes, for the most part I see why it would be doing and hoping to accomplish. In this case we had a retired Marine General lobbying on behalf of a foreign entity and then lied about it. Likewise, we have/had lots of other countries like Russia trying to influence our elections. Thus, the timing of such an act seems to make sense if it fits within a general movement/trend to protect American assets ( I'm just trying to understand when legislati

We are in a world that is interconnected and we all are saddened when conflict breaks out. The Pope came out to encourage Putin to end the spiral of violence. It may be beneficial for Imams and Rabbis to come out with similar appeals now that nuclear risks have risen. All of these religions share the respect for human life and the need for peace.  He mentioned the rights of minorities and how we should protect them. Something we sometimes forget in our own nations. Our nation was started on this need and the rights of religion and speech. We should watch the horrors in Ukraine and how differences can be exploited for personal and political gain.  As we have seen in annexation of Ukraine one can use the law to justify anything but can't change the moral underpinnings of those choices. As a conservative I focus on the real deeper meanings of religion and their essential core meanings ( Rino-Dino doesn't factor into it .) Let us continue to help Ukraine and learn from conflicts in

Hate is powerful tool especially if it is normalized and become part of local institutions. As some of my readers know my family and I have been targeted by hate (... they told us why they were targeting us because of religion. These officers eventually did the right thing and realized they were being played with. The other department connected to that social group continued forward in support of their ethnic, racial, and/or social group. ) and that included a group of 100+ mediocre ex sports players/bullies, what appears to be 3-5 officers, a local college HR ( They said I was more than qualified for an adjunct labor law course but then rejected me when they found out I was the "Muslim guy" their friends didn't like and whom they were targeting.   Another hint of ethnic/religious cleansing based on trying to restrict jobs and opportunities. Usually an EEOC violation where such laws applied appropriately .), and what appears to be a local judge ( I can't believe they

The war is ongoing so it isn't going to mean much to NATO. However, inside Russia it is a ploy to help shore up support. Most historians are likely to say it wasn't legitimate. They will however likely bring in certain aspects of a broader historical timeline into their discussion. Usually, they explain current events through association with past events. In the short run annexation means nothing, in objective history it will mean nothing, but depending on how it turns out it could mean something in Russia.  It is a false justification of self-defense which likely gives Putin some additional powers to lock down the decision making of the nation. During "war time" or in "defense of the homeland" one is likely to get more powers to lock down on the Russian population to fight off internal descent, more control over resources and create a level of perceptual support for his actions.  Putin is a sly fox so he is all about justification and leverage. "Defend

 We are still one nation but we do run risks in the future as Far Right extremists call for Civil War and local corruption violates peoples rights. I'm the type of person that fights for togetherness and I encourage people to work out their differences. There are so many people trying to "pull the wool" over each other's eyes seeking some advantage for their particular cause.  Because of people's agendas the right thing doesn't always come through. When you do and say the most reasonable thing and it falls flat on its face your realize something is not right.  This crowd of "super cools" put me and my family at risk, lied about a great many things to defame, had financial incentives for engaging in these behaviors, and could have really hurt someone ( ...my son being one of them . Who gave them the right to make choices over others? I didn't give it to them and I'm going to do my best to ensure the courts don't give it to them. ) They wer

If you have been targeted by a couple of local police officers, your underage children pulled over multiple times in an unmarked car, a police car parked outside your home, your children targeted for manipulation, a large group of people pick fights and spread rumors to damage you, lost opportunity that the local college said you were "more than qualified" for, there would be a serious break in the legal structure if such behaviors were given a free pass. Looks like a local prosecutor was muted in their investigation of this group ( I cant say that 100% but there is some indication they left the area for that reason. Even if not true it detracts nothing from what I have seen. ) Worse, as this group was trying to set you up by staging undercover police ( These police figured out what they were being manipulated and stopped. They are the good police. ) they came to you and said, "We are doing this to you because your family is Muslim" we have what would normally be co