Want to Create Jobs in the Energy Sector? Just Stop Listening to Mr.Trump

by Nomad

Elimination of the Rules

Back in January, when Trump was fresh and full of spunk, he told Americans that he would be the "greatest job producer God has ever created." 
A couple of months later, when Trump was no longer so fresh and cared more about his golf time, he signed an executive decree calling on every federal agency to loosen the regulatory reins on fossil fuel industries.

Trump directed all departments to identify and target for elimination any rules that restrict U.S. production of energy, and he set guidance to make it more difficult to put future regulations in place on the coal, oil and natural gas industries.

Surrounded by burly coal miners, President Trump said.

"This is the start of a new era in American energy production and job creation. We will eliminate federal overreach, restore economic freedom and allow workers and companies to play on a level playing field for the first time in a long time, a long time."

In the name of making America great again, Trump has pulled out all stops domestically to handicap the growth of alternative energy and promoted the continuation of a carbon-dominated economy.

Trivia Quiz- The Last Week in July in History

by Nomad

As you all know, last week, I posted a quiz involving questions from the US naturalization application. I was happy- though not surprised- to hear about your high scores.

This week, I've decided to offer you something a bit more challenging- but certainly not impossible. The rules are simple. Make your best guess using your logic and intelligence, using the process of elimination, or using your memory.
Good luck!

Why One Veteran Journalist Warns about Comparing Watergate to Trump's Scandal

by Nomad

As we all grope blindly in the slimy darkness of the Trump scandal, it is perhaps natural that we attempt to make comparisons to the past, for some sort of precedent. And when the topic of a president in trouble arises, the first name that comes to mind is, of course, Nixon in the Watergate debacle.

However, one journalist who witnessed first-hand the presidential contortions and the political chess game back in the 1970s warns that comparisons are misleading for a variety of critical reasons.

Witness to Watergate

Politico's Susan Glasser interviewed veteran journalist Elizabeth Drew, a Washington correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly from 1967 to 1973. Drew was at ground zero when President Nixon's met his Waterloo and kept a real time record of the event. In 1975, she published her account of the Watergate scandal in her book, Washington Journal: The Events of 1973-74.

Her book was reprinted back in 2014 before Trump appeared as a serious presidential candidate. That book, for obvious reasons, is now selling like hotcakes.

Film Friday- "Made in Iowa"

by Nomad

When the main employer of Webster City, Iowa, (pop.8,070) closed down on March 31, 2011, nobody had much hope that the town would survive.

The Swedish appliance maker, Electrolux, like so many companies, had decided to shut its washer-dryer plant and move its production plant to Mexico.
By 2013, with the two-year the government-supported retraining program coming to an end, the news from Webster City was bleak, the future uncertain.

Can You Pass the US Naturalization Test?

by Nomad

Now for a quick diversion from the news.

As part of the process of naturalization for all foreign applicants, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officers are obliged to ask at least ten questions from 100 questions. The questions cover basic government civics and the fundamental outlines of US history.

One would think that these questions ought to be a breeze for all American citizens. Want to give it a shot?

Even though I expect perfect scores from my nomadic brigade, I admit that there were a couple I didn't know and a couple I got the answer to only by elimination.