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Politics

Scrabble-like text depicting opioids on an American flag to underscore the opioid epidemic in the United States. (Photo: AdobeStock)

Scrabble-like text depicting opioids on an American flag to underscore the opioid epidemic in the United States. (Photo: AdobeStock)

The White House praised the bipartisan passage of the Opioid Response Act of 2018 (H.R. 6) in the U.S. Senate. The upper chamber voted Monday 99 to 1 to provide for opioid use disorder prevention, recovery, treatment and more.

“We commend the Senate for passing its Amendment to H.R. 6, the Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement. “This critical bipartisan legislation is a major step forward in the whole-of-government approach to combating drug demand and the opioid crisis.”

The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 6 back on June 22, 2018. The more Republican-dominated lower chamber has been more productive and fruitful than the upper chamber, which left 300-plus legislative items approved by the House on the table.

“This bill would help reduce the amount of illicit fentanyl entering the United States, improve treatment for infants suffering from neonatal abstinence syndrome, create job training programs for those in recovery, and reauthorize the Office of National Drug Control Policy to continue overseeing Federal drug control efforts, including public awareness initiatives targeted to individuals of all age groups,” Secretary Sanders added.

Ironically, despite the conservative origins of what ended up a bipartisan bill, the sole “No” vote came from Republican Utah Senator Mike Lee.

President Trump campaigned on combating the opioid crisis and, as commander-in-chief, has made the scourge of opioid abuse a central focus of his administration. Most recently, the administration released a set of advertisements promoting awareness to opioid addiction among young people.

“No one individual has done more to raise awareness of our country’s opioid crisis than President Trump,” Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar said at the time. “Raising awareness is a key piece of defeating the threat of opioid addiction, which too many Americans still do not fully understand.”

The passage of the Opioid Response Act of 2018 was the latest initial from the White House.

In April 2017, the Trump Administration announced it would provide grants to all 50 states to combat opioid addiction. The funding was the first of two rounds to be allocated under the 21st Century Cures Act.

In August 2017, President Trump officially declared the opioid crisis a national emergency. The Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis said that executive action would make the opioid crisis a top priority and allow the Cabinet to take “bold steps” against drug abuse.

In March 2018, the White House unveiled the Initiative to Stop Opioids Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand. The three-pronged strategy targets the factors the Commission and others identified as fueling the opioid crisis, including increased prosecution of those fueling the crisis.

The Justice Department (DOJ) recently announced on the 500th day of the Trump Administration that they have added 311 new Assistant U.S. Attorneys “to assist in priority areas” such as the opioid criss, immigration and violent crimes. It is the largest increase in AUSAs in decades.

Along with enforcement, awareness is a major part of President Trump’s three-pronged initiative, which calls on government to play a greater role in educating “Americans about the dangers of opioid and other drug use and seek to curb over-prescription.”

The National Institute of Drug Abuse finds nearly 80% of heroin users started with prescription opioids. From 1999 to 2016, overdose deaths as a result of heroin use increased 7x, and deaths from synthetic opioids such as fentanyl has risen by nearly 21x.

Every day, more than 115 Americans die from opioid overdoses.  That’s more than one person every 15 minutes.

“The President and his Administration continue to work toward and implement effective policies to address the opioid crisis and save lives,” she concluded. “The Administration looks forward to working with both chambers as the legislative process continues to get a bill to the President’s desk to mitigate this crisis next door.”

The White House praised the bipartisan passage

Economy

Roofers work on new homes at a residential construction site in the west side of the Las Vegas Valley in Las Vegas, Nevada April 5, 2013. (Photo: Reuters)

Roofers work on new homes at a residential construction site in the west side of the Las Vegas Valley in Las Vegas, Nevada April 5, 2013. (Photo: Reuters)

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) found builder confidence remained solid and unchanged at 67 in September. That’s a match for the 67 median economic forecast.

“Despite rising affordability concerns, builders continue to report firm demand for housing, especially as millennials and other newcomers enter the market,” said NAHB Chairman Randy Noel, a custom home builder from LaPlace, La. “The recent decline in lumber prices from record-high levels earlier this summer is also welcome relief, although builders still need to manage construction costs to keep homes competitively priced.”

Derived from a monthly survey that NAHB has been conducting for 30 years, the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next six months as “good,” “fair” or “poor.” The survey also asks builders to rate traffic of prospective buyers as “high to very high,” “average” or “low to very low.” Scores for each component are then used to calculate a seasonally adjusted index where any number over 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good than poor.

“A growing economy and rising incomes combined with increasing household formations should boost demand for new single-family homes moving forward,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “However, housing affordability is becoming a challenge, as builders face overly burdensome regulations and rising material costs exacerbated by an escalating trade skirmish. Interest rates are also forecasted to keep rising.”

The HMI index measuring current sales conditions rose one point to 74 and the component gauging expectations in the next six months increased two points to 74. Meanwhile, the metric charting buyer traffic held steady at 49.

Looking at the three-month moving averages for regional HMI scores, the Northeast rose one point to 54 and the South remained unchanged at 70. The West edged down a single point to 73 and the Midwest fell three points to 59.

Methodology

The HMI is a weighted average of separate diffusion indices for these three key single-family series. The first two series are rated on a scale of Good, Fair and Poor and the last is rated on a scale of High/Very High, Average, and Low/Very Low. A diffusion index is calculated for each series by applying the formula “(Good-Poor+100)/2” to the present and future sales series and “(High/Very High – Low/Very Low + 100)/2” to the traffic series. Each resulting index is then seasonally adjusted and weighted to produce the HMI.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo

Video

An in-depth discussion today about how a city falls into disrepair and why the people keep voting in leaders that perpetuate it. A few words on Brett Kavanaugh and the accusations leveled at him as well.

*Kavanaugh Woes
*People Versus Infrastructure
*Urban Redevelopment
*Public Redistribution
*Chicken or the Egg

Today’s Bumpers:

Slip Slidin Away- Paul Simon
Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard- Paul Simon
Radio GaGa- Queen
Keep On Lovin You- REO Speedwagon
You’ve Lost that Lovin Feeling- The Righteous Brothers
Cool Change- Little River Band

Closing Theme-

Batman Dark Knight Rises 2012 House Remix feat. Hans Zimmer

It can be found at
http://www.hulkshare.com/praktikos/dark-nights-rise

More at:

http://www.hulkshare.com/praktikos

The money pledged thru Patreon.com will go toward show costs such as advertising, server time, and broadcasting equipment. If we can get enough listeners, we will expand the show to two hours and hire additional staff

All bumper music and sound clips are not owned by the show, are either under Creative Commons Attribution Licensing, is for commentary and educational purposes, of de minimus effect, and not for monetary gain.

No copyright is claimed in any use of such materials and to the extent that material may appear to be infringed, I assert that such alleged infringement is permissible under fair use principles in U.S. copyright laws. If you believe material has been used in an unauthorized manner, please contact the poster.

An in-depth discussion about how a city

US

Trafficking Graphic (Source: Arada Photography via AdobeStock Photo)

Trafficking Graphic (Source: Arada Photography via AdobeStock Photo)

A fourth defendant pleaded guilty in connection with a labor trafficking scheme forcing illegal Guatemalan minors to work at egg farms in central Ohio. Pablo Duran Ramirez, 50, took the deal on Monday in the U.S. District Court in Cleveland, Ohio.

Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said he encouraged the illegal entry of Guatemalan nationals, including unaccompanied minors, into the U.S. for financial gain.

“Motivated by greed, the defendant violated the immigration laws and contributed to the exploitation of vulnerable children who lacked immigration status,” said Acting Assisting Attorney General Gore. “The Department of Justice will use its resources to prosecute individuals who unlawfully victimize others for their own monetary profit.”

Haba Corporate Services, contracted to provide labor to Trillium Farms, knowing that the workers were unlawfully present in the United States. He further admitted to knowing that some of the workers were unaccompanied minors who had been coerced or threatened to enter the United States and then housed in an isolated trailer park in Marion, Ohio. In 2013 and 2014, Trillim Farms paid the defendant’s company approximately $6 million for its labor services.

“This defendant profited off the desperation of children and their parents and other relatives,” said U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman for the Northern District of Ohio. “He knew some of the workers he delivered to Trillium Farms were underage, in the country illegally and were threatened or coerced. We will continue to work to eliminate human trafficking in all its forms.”

Duran Ramirez faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. His sentencing date has been set for Jan. 7, 2019.

“This defendant, in conspiracy with three other previously convicted individuals, coerced and assisted individuals to enter the United States illegally, many of them children, forcing them to live in deplorable conditions and work for little to no wages,” said Special Agent in Charge Stephen D. Anthony of the FBI’s Cleveland Division. “These reprehensible actions are unacceptable and rest assured the FBI will continue to work with our partners to bring to justice those who engage in human trafficking.”

From the press release:

Three other defendants—Aroldo Castillo-Serrano, of Guatemala, Ana Angelica Pedro-Juan, of Guatemala, and Conrado Salgado-Soto, of Mexico—previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the same labor trafficking scheme. Castillo-Serrano, the lead smuggler and primary enforcer, was sentenced to 188 months in prison; Pedro-Juan, who oversaw the victims in Ohio, was sentenced to 120 months; and Salgado-Soto, a subcontractor hired by Duran Ramirez, was sentenced to 51 months.

Those defendants admitted to recruiting workers from Guatemala, some as young as 14 or 15 years old, falsely promising them good jobs and a chance to attend school in the United States. The defendants then smuggled and transported the workers to a trailer park in Marion, Ohio, where they ordered them to live in dilapidated trailers and work at physically demanding jobs at Trillium Farms for up to 12 hours a day. The work included cleaning chicken coops, loading and unloading crates of chickens, de-beaking chickens and vaccinating chickens. During their sentencing, Senior United States District Judge James G. Carr found that they had threatened workers with physical harm and withheld their paychecks in order to compel them to work. Eight minors and two adults were identified as victims of the scheme.

Three additional defendants, including Duran Ramirez’s son, pleaded guilty for their roles in encouraging the workers’ illegal entry into the United States.

This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Cleveland Office, Mansfield Resident Agency and the Department of Homeland Security. The case is being jointly prosecuted by Trial Attorney Dana Mulhauser of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chelsea Rice.

A fourth defendant pleaded guilty in connection

Politics

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh looks on during his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing September 4, 2018.

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh looks on during his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing September 4, 2018. (Photo: Reuters)

Several Republican senators are calling for Judge Brett Kavanaugh and his accuser to publicly testify before a vote is held. The once-unstoppable nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court could be derailed by a last-minute, previously-withheld accusation of sexual misconduct.

Christine Blasey Ford alleges the then-prep-school student “pinned her to a bed on her back and groped her over her clothes, grinding his body against hers and clumsily attempting to pull off her one-piece bathing suit and the clothing she wore over it.”

“When she tried to scream, she said, he put his hand over her mouth,” she told The Washington Post. Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee who finds herself under reelection siege from her own party, was aware of the allegations back in July.

Yet, she did not tell members of the committee and did not take the information public until after the hearings had been complete, a tactic Democrats have used before despite the veracity of the allegations.

Senator Susan Collins, R-Me., a swing Republican moderate targeted by Democrats, appeared first to criticize the Democratic tactics. She said it was “puzzling” Democrats kept the information for “more than six weeks,” and “unfair” to both.

“If they believed Professor Ford, why didn’t they surface this information earlier so that he could be questioned about it?” she asked. “And if they didn’t believe her and chose to withhold the information, why did they decide at the 11th hour to release it? It is really not fair to either of them the way it is was handled.”

Professor Ford is a professor of clinical psychology in California, and also happens to be a registered Democrat. Now, Senator Collins took to Twitter to tweet another tune.

“Professor Ford and Judge Kavanaugh should both testify under oath before the Judiciary Committee,” Senator Collins tweeted on Monday.

Senator Collins joins Senators Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., both of whom are no longer accountable to voters. Mr. Corker and Mr. Flake didn’t have the stomach to face the voters in November given the certainty of experiencing the embarrassment of defeat at the hands of primary challengers.

Following the accusations, a bipartisan group of 65 women wrote a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Ia., on behalf of Judge Kavanaugh. All of the women who signed the letter have known Brett Kavanaugh for more than 35 years and knew him while he attended high school between 1979 and 1983.

“Through the more than 35 years we have known him, Brett has stood out for his friendship, character, and integrity,” the women stated in the letter. “In particular, he has always treated women with decency and respect. That was true when he was in high school, and it has remained true to this day.”

Chairman Grassley issued a statement moments ago:

Grassley Statement Kavanaugh Hearings Accusations

Judge Kavanaugh, 53, serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He, along with President Trump’s first nominee — Justice Neil Gorsuch — both clerked for Justice Anthony Kennedy, who retired effective July 31.

Several Republican senators are calling for Judge

Video

Today we get into the subject of ‘male toxicity’ and how when we do so, it leads to the increase of violence and a breakdown of civility- -and the mistreatment of the very people the left is saying they protect.

*Boston Explosions
*Degradation of Standards
*The Rhett Butler Model
*Of Peasents and People
*The Violent End

Todayís Bumpers:

Kentucky Rain- Elvis Presley
Hound Dog- Elivis Presley
A Cowboy’s Work Is Never Done- Sonny and Cher
Ooby Dooby- Roy Orbison
The Only One- Roy Orbison
California Girls- The Beach Boys

Closing Theme-

Batman Dark Knight Rises 2012 House Remix feat. Hanz Zimmer

It can be found at
http://www.hulkshare.com/praktikos/dark-nights-rise

More at:

http://www.hulkshare.com/praktikos

The money pledged thru Patreon.com will go toward show costs such as advertising, server time, and broadcasting equipment. If we can get enough listeners we will expand the show to two hours and hire additional staff

All bumper music and sound clips are not owned by the show, are either under Creative Commons Attribution Licensing, is for commentary and educational purposes, of de minimus effect, and not for monetary gain.

No copyright is claimed in any use of such materials and to the extent that material may appear to be infringed, I assert that such alleged infringement is permissible under fair use principles in U.S. copyright laws. If you believe material has been used in an unauthorized manner, please contact the poster.

Tom talks "male toxicity," and how when

Economy

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey fell 7 points in September, but regional factory growth in September remained robust. The general business conditions index came in at 19.0, down from 25.6 last month.

Forty percent (40%) of respondents reported that conditions had improved over the month, while 21% said conditions had worsened. The new orders index was little changed at 16.5, and the shipments index fell 11 points to 14.3.

The index for number of employees held steady at 13.3 and the average workweek index was 11.5, indicating a modest increase in both employment levels and hours worked.

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey fell 7

Economy

Key with business words and rig equipment graphic icons relative to the oil and gas industry. (Photo: PPD/AdobeStock/JEGAS RA)

Key with business words and rig equipment graphic icons relative to the oil and gas industry. (Photo: PPD/AdobeStock/JEGAS RA)

The Baker Hughes North American Rig Count is up 29 rigs to 1,281 for the week ending September 14.

The U.S. rig count is up 7 from last week to a total 1,055 rigs. That’s up 119 rigs from the same time last year. Rigs in the U.S. classified as drilling for oil were up 7 to a total 867, while those classified as gas were flat at 186.

Miscellaneous rigs were unchanged at 2.

The Canadian was up 22 from last week to a total 226 rigs. That’s up 12 rigs from last time this year. The Canadian count has weighted down the North American Rig Count gain from 2017, particularly among rigs classified as drilling for oil.

But not this week.

Rigs in the Canadian count classified as drilling for oil were up 15 to a total 148 and gas rigs were up 7 to a total 78.

Meanwhile, the separate count for the Gulf of Mexico was up 1 to a total 18, also up 1 from last year.

The Baker Hughes North American Rig Count

Economy

Gross domestic product (GDP) graphic concept with yellow square pixels on a black matrix background. (Photo: AdobeStock)

Gross domestic product (GDP) graphic concept with yellow square pixels on a black matrix background. (Photo: AdobeStock)

The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow model revised its third-quarter 2018 gross domestic product (GDP) forecast to 4.4% on September 14. That’s up from 3.8% on September 11.

The revision reflects stronger personal consumption expenditures, also known as consumer spending, and industrial production. It does not factor in the very strong build in business inventories that also came out Friday.

While the advance estimate of U.S. retails sales for the month of August was slightly weaker than expected, upward revisions to an already-strong July was a big score.

Adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, retail sales were $509.0 billion. That’s 6.6% (±0.5%) above the levels in August 2017.

The GDPNow forecasting model provides a “nowcast” of the official estimate prior to its release by estimating GDP growth using a methodology similar to the one used by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors said industrial production in August was also solid and matched the forecast. The 12-month has now gained 4.9%.

U.S. GDP 2018 Picture

BEA revised Q1 2018 GDP higher to +2.2%. First quarters post-Great Recession under the previous administration generally were negative.

The Q1 2018 strength pushed the annualized GDP rate for +3.1% from the trailing 4 quarters after Q2 2018 was released. That’s reinforced by growth consistently above +2% in every quarter for the first time in more than 10 years.

GDP for Q2 2018 was revised slightly higher at the end of last month to 4.2%, beating the consensus. The third and final reading for the Q2 2018 will be released on September 27.

The advance estimate for Q3 2018, which gets us back to the GDPNow forecasting model, will be released on October 26 at 8:30 AP EST.

The Atlanta Fed's GDPNow model revised its

Economy

Employees have short meeting in the warehouse to check business inventory levels of goods. First in first out. (Photo: AdobeStock)

Employees have short meeting in the warehouse to check business inventory levels of goods. First in first out. (Photo: AdobeStock)

Business inventories started the third quarter (Q3) with a large 0.6% build in July, a big positive for gross domestic product (GDP). That tops the 0.5% median forecast and indicates businesses are trying to keep pace with sales.

Sales

The combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments for July, adjusted for seasonal and trading-day differences but not for price changes, was estimated at $1,454.1 billion. That’s an increase of 0.2% (±0.1%) from June 2018 and 8.1% (±1.2%) higher than July 2017.

Inventories

Manufacturers’ and trade inventories, adjusted for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were estimated at an end-of-month level of $1,950.0 billion. Again, that’s a gain of 0.6% (±0.1%) from June 2018 and is 4.3% (±1.3%) higher than July 2017.

Inventories/Sales Ratio

The total business inventories/sales ratio based on seasonally adjusted data at the end of July was 1.34. The July 2017 ratio was 1.39.

Business inventories started the third quarter (Q3)

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