

Politics
City of Phoenix Gave Employees Lead Poisoning, Democratic Leaders Won’t do Anything About it
The City of Phoenix is run by Democrats; the mayor has been a Democrat for years and the city council is dominated by them. They refuse to help former city employees who contracted health problems — and some died — working around buildings with high levels of lead in the paint, in part because the statute of limitations to bring claims has ended. Well, these employees didn’t realize all their health problems were caused by it until years later, when they’d spoken with each other and realized how many of them had developed similar serious health issues.
Ruben Lara was employed by the City of Phoenix Parks Department for 33 years. Between 1992 and 2003, he worked at a senior citizens’ community center called South Mountain Community Center. He and 13 employees, including one named Leonard Parker, were responsible for painting the buildings using an industrial oil-based paint known as Enduragloss that contained lead called wickersham. They used it on metal, including metal doors, door jams, and window frames.
During a meeting in 1992, the main painter at the facility warned Lara’s supervisor that using the paint was going to get Lara and others sick — including the public — and possibly lead to death. The supervisor disregarded the warning.
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The paint was never reported to the EPA’s office in San Francisco. The supervisor wasn’t certified to use the paint, nor were the employees. There were supposed to be hazard signs placed near the painting operations, in order to keep the public away, which wasn’t done. According to Lara, the paint remains in the buildings to this day.
On Jan. 25, 1996, Lara was rushed to the hospital because he couldn’t breathe, and put in the ICU on a ventilator for five days in critical condition. Doctors told him that he almost died from the fumes.
The paint was also used in several parks in South Phoenix, on playground equipment like merry-go-rounds, monkey bars, as well as picnic tables. When lead paint becomes old, it chips and peels, creating a chalky dust that can be inhaled. California settled lawsuits against paint manufacturers for $305 million in 2019 over lead poisoning caused to children.
While working at Phoenix’s Nueve Park in 2001, Lara was again rushed to the hospital unable to breathe. He was forced to stop working in 2003. Never a smoker, he now has lung problems including COPD, and must take steroids, which cause bone loss. Parker developed kidney problems and is on dialysis. Lead paint is known for causing damage to vital organs such as the kidneys.
Another former city employee named Nettie Nelson worked in a tiny front office at the South Mountain gatehouse entrance, which people drive by in order to access South Mountain Park. When Lara and Leonard painted that office, she complained about the bad smell making her sick and vomit.
Nelson was later transferred to the South Mountain Community Center — around more lead paint. One day when Lara was at that site, he noticed the restrooms were covered in plastic, closed due to asbestos. Nelson’s daughter Kelly participated in a city program there. Now both mother and daughter have various ailments including nerve problems, heart problems and respiratory illnesses, and Nettie is in a wheelchair.
Finally, Phoenix banned the paint. But not until at least 13 or more people that he knows developed severe health problems. Three died from cancer. Others developed various ailments including tumors and nerve damage which causes pain.
The former employees went to a meeting of the Phoenix City Council to ask for help, but Democrat Greg Stanton, who was the mayor at the time and is now in Congress representing much of South Phoenix, asked an assistant to throw them all out of the meeting instead of listening to their story. Lara went to the Industrial Commission of Arizona next, hoping to bring it to the attention of the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, but found his repeated attempts stonewalled, he believes due to corruption.
He asked for help from a long list of agencies and Arizona officials, mostly Democrats, and got nowhere. These included the late Sen. John McCain, Rep. Ruben Gallego, Rep. Raul Grijalva, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, Sen. Mark Kelly, former Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, the Department of Justice, the FBI, the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Labor, Chicanos por la Causa and Friendly House.
He’s collected their responses. The FTC wrote back, “While the FTC is not able to intervene in individual disputes, the information you have provided has been recorded in our secure online database.” The US. Consumer Products Safety commission merely told him they sent his report to the manufacturer. The EPA said they assist in situations involving residences or children only. When he asked for help from his Democratic State Senator Rebecca Rios, she accused him of merely complaining about COVID-19 symptoms.
He also collected copies of City of Phoenix invoices listing the wickersham. A material safety data sheet from 1999 for Enduragloss lists many of their physical ailments as a risk.
Lara filed a pro se lawsuit against Phoenix on June 22, 2020, which the city ignored. The judge threw out the case with no reason. Lara is now appealing, but it’s an immense amount of work in a very complex area of law. He’s been unable to find an attorney willing to represent them since no one dares to sue the City of Phoenix.
Lara just wants compensation for the misery he and others have experienced, including the families of those who have died. The City of Phoenix could do the right thing and make them whole. If they have money for massive graft, with Ponzi schemes funneling money to favorite employees and relatives, they surely can afford to improve the health-impaired lives of a few of their own who they wronged. Democrats are famous for spending money, so why don’t they care about spending money on something both Republicans and Democrats can agree on?
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Thanksgiving: that joyous time of the year when families get together, have a wonderful dinner, catch up on what everyone other is doing, give thanks for all that they have, and perhaps watch some football.
Up for the Challenge?
This Thanksgiving might prove to be a challenge for many people. For one, the cost of the turkey, the bird traditionally served, in some locals cost between 50% to 80% more than last year, and turkey was already expensive.
Among your relatives a few might be vegans or vegetarians. If you have a vegan enforcer in the family, this person will rail on and on against eating meat, and about how turkeys have lives just like we do.
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One of your vegan or vegetarian relatives might offer a discourse on how cranberries should be harvested a different way, the dangers of turkey stuffing, and the problem with vegetables that you might be serving, the risk of having too many starches – potatoes or rice – and the evils of wine, beer, and other alcoholic drinks.
Topics Worth Avoiding
The politics to consider abound. Since roughly half of the country votes Democrat and half votes Republican, the odds are overwhelming that you’re going to have somebody with opposing politics at the table. During Trump’s years as president, many families had to navigate around the topic of the presidency, prevailing policies. and so on.
Today, while there’s no question that Joe Biden is completely inane as leader, the same delicate navigation needs to occur. As miraculous as this might seem, some on the left actually approve of what Biden has been doing. Note: don’t be concerned about the Bidens going hungry. With all those under-the-table payment from Ukraine and China, they can EASILY afford a huge, expensive turkey with all of the trimmings.
If you can avoid discussing the eight million invaders illegally crossing our borders, rampant inflation, the U.S. Afghanistan withdrawal, the crisis in Israel and potential for World War III, drag time story hour for children, transgenderism, the bogus lawsuits against Donald Trump, the unending crimes of Hunter Biden, the payola to Joe Biden, FBI corruption, the historic unpopularity and ineptness of Kamala Harris, and about 30 or so other topics, your dinner should go smoothly. Enjoy!
A huge current wrinkle on the political scene is that recent surveys reveal at least one-quarter of Democrats actually approve of Hamas, atrocities and all, and side with Palestine on all issues large and small. They believe that Israel is an apartheid state and that Jews are today’s Nazis. Apparently they’ve never visited Israel and have no Jewish friends.
Depending on how many Democrats attend your Thanksgiving gathering, if it’s four or more, mathematically speaking you have a decent chance that one is a pro-Hamas Democrat. Wooo… Now, you really have to stay clear of current issues or your dinner table might be as inflamed verbally as the Middle East is with armaments.
Insufferable Stuffing
After everyone is stuffed with turkey, vegeburgers, or whatever the people who like rabbit food eat, you might sit in the den and turn on a football game. Quickly, you’ll have a stark reminder of how far political correctness has infected society.
If the Washington Commanders are playing, it’s hard to forget that they used to be called the Washington Redskins until the wokesters among us demanded that the name must be changed. Not so ironically, 90% of native Americans actually want the name Washington Redskins reinstalled, and currently are petitioning for it.
In baseball, the Cleveland Indians “had” to be renamed to the Cleveland Guardians. Potentially, there’s no end of this malarkey. Should the Minnesota Vikings change their name? After all, people from Scandinavia might object to the term “Vikings.” While we’re at it, consider college basketball. The Wake Forest University Demon Deacons are due for a name change, if you’re on the Left. So, too, the Duke University Blue Devils, the Arizona University Aztecs, and on and on.
Landmines to Side Step
With all these potential land mines to side step, and all the ways that otherwise pleasant conversations on a pleasant day could occur, you have to be on guard.
Nevertheless, I wish you and yours a happy Thanksgiving. May you survive the day, fully intact, and ready to have a decent Black Friday.
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Politics
Guinness World Record for U.S. Presidential Lies
Lies are sometimes necessary, but some are gross manipulations of reality
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In its non-stop attempt to portray Donald Trump as the most despicable person ever, the Left slanders him daily in ways unprecedented in American history. If Trump makes an exaggeration, which he is prone to do, he’s called a liar. In office, when Trump achieved anything of note, the Left cherry-picked minor aspects that could be criticized and elevated beyond their stature.
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Those on the Right recognize the deeper, universal truths that Trump espouses. Hence, they attend his rallies by the tens of thousands. Hardly anyone is eager to attend a Joe Biden rally. Why?
All Built on Lies
Joe Biden, beyond his word salad bumbling, is an incredible liar, covering for Barack Obama, his master. Virtually everything that Biden and his press secretary say is a lie. Unsurprisingly, public confidence in the presidency and today’s sycophant journalism is at an all-time low.
His agency heads consistently lie: Merrick Garland, Alejandro Mayorkas, Christopher Wray, Pete Buttigieg, and Antony Blinken, among many others. Take your pick.
The precedent for the Biden Administration’s lies is the administration of Barack Obama, for whom Biden served as vice president. Obama taught Biden the best of lying techniques.
To Lie and To Swerve
Lies are sometimes necessary, but some are gross manipulations of reality. A brief look at presidential lies since 1968 puts Obama’s lies in context.
LBJ said that none of our boys would die in foreign soil, and 54,000 Americans died in Vietnam. Nixon made many statements, most memorably, “I’m not a crook,” yet he sought to steal the private records of enemies and was exposed by the Watergate scandal.
George Bush senior said, “Read my lips, no new taxes.” Then in office, he raised taxes which, rolling over in his grave, he likely regrets. Bill Clinton told so many lies, you’d need a book to catalog them all. Among his most famous is “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.”
George W. Bush, faultily advised, made concerning statements about Iraq. Barack Obama, Joe Biden’s handler, said he’d have the most transparent administration in history. Alas, his was the most secretive: spying on enemies, journalists, political opponents, and everyday American citizens.
The Grand Wizard of Big Lies
Obama touted that he’d restore trust in government. Instead, he opened the doors to the opposite. Obama said the stimulus will fund shovel-ready jobs. It did not. He said, “I am focused like a laser on creating jobs.” The jobs he created were low-wage and low-level. Obama told hardworking entrepreneurs, “You didn’t build that,” which offended business owners everywhere.
Obama weaponized federal agencies to persecute and prosecute Conservatives, so it was hardly a transparent administration. He insisted the IRS was not targeting anyone, but under his henchwoman, Lois Learner, the IRS targeted the Tea Party and Conservatives in general. Lerner’s department harassed, intimidated, and fined them, and diminished their impact on voters in the 2012 election.
Obama proclaimed that a spontaneous riot based on a movie sparked the attack on the Benghazi consulate, which he knew was completely untrue. The attack was well coordinated and planned in advance.
No Stopping Him
Obama announced that the public will have five days to review every bill which lands on his desk. Then, he hustled through some of the most expensive boondoggles in U.S. history. With the introduction of Obamacare, Obama said that you can keep your family doctor and that premiums will be lowered by $2,500. This was utterly false.
Obama stated that whistleblowers would be protected in his administration. Then, he offered no protection. Obama said we’ll get back every dime we use to rescue the banks and auto companies, with interest. This did not happen.
He emphasized that, if elected, he would end the war in Iraq and Afghanistan within nine months. He did not. He claimed he would close Guantanamo within six months. It did not happen. He claimed ignorance about the “fast and furious” gun-running scheme to arm Mexican drug cartels. He knew. Obama proclaimed that he would bridge the gap between black and white Americans. Actually, he increased it in ways that set racial relations back 50 years.
The Biggest Lie of All
The biggest lie that Obama ever uttered occurred on January 20th, 2009, when he said, “I, Barack Hussein Obama, pledge to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States of America.” Twelve years later, Biden did the same.
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