(Washington, D.C., October 29, 2018) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue will swear in Dr. Scott Angle as the new Director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) TODAY, October 29th at the NIFA Waterfront Centre in Washington, D.C.
*NOTE: Media interested in attending must RSVP to press@oc.usda.gov by TODAY, October 26th at 12:00 p.m. ET.
WHAT: Secretary Perdue will swear in Dr. Scott Angle as Director of NIFA
WHEN: TODAY, October 29th at 2:00 pm ET
WHERE: NIFA Waterfront Centre, 800 9th Street SW, Washington, DC 20024
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Trump’s Kristallnacht
by Tom H. Hastings
560 words
We are now moving past “mere” voter suppression and voter intimidation. We have arrived at voter assassination.
It was almost exactly 80 years ago that the Nazis made their first serious move against their own citizens who happened to be Jewish. It was November 9 and 10, 1938.
The Sturmabteilung, that is, the paramilitary Brownshirts, sort of like the Proud Boys plus Robert Bowers plus Cesar Sayoc, ideological killers of Jews and other targets, pulled off the 1938 Kristallnacht, the attack on synagogues and Jewish businesses. They were far more prolific than Trump’s crew, destroying some 267 synagogues located in Sudetenland, Austria, and Germany. Estimates of murders of Jews were 91 at the time but that figure rose later, with more investigation.
Trump’s invective, identity attacks, slurs on his critics, and tolerance and even encouragement for physical violence against his opponents are one big permission slip to his more rabid supporters, Sayoc most obviously and Bowers (Tree of Life synagogue attacker) in all likelihood.
Cesar Sayoc’s van is plastered with pro-Trump posters and stickers, which is a more-or-less normal position of favor for a politician, but it’s his other signage, his hate posters for Hillary Clinton and Michael Moore and others—all with crosshairs over their faces—that really set him apart. The rage is palpable, visible, and sure enough, he acted on it, sending pipe bombs to that Jew, George Soros, and others.
Meanwhile, Trump equivocates, as usual, hinting with no respect for the truth that it’s all the fault of the media, and of Democrats. After the synagogue shooting he was even more outrageous, directly and insanely blaming reporters for the attack. That darn media keeps quoting him, reporting on his tweets, and playing actual recordings of the things he says. How biased! How uncivil! His handlers try to keep him on script and attempt to cage him into sounding momentarily presidential, but it’s buck naked obvious when he is reading someone else’s words—mostly because they are multisyllabic and sensible to a degree. When he’s off script again he’s wildly spouting hate and nonsense, back to his affinity for Alec Jones Infowars derangement.
Yes, deranged. That is uncivil but accurate. Who besides a seriously sick individual would claim that schoolchildren were not shot at Sandy Hook, and that the pipe bombs discovered addressed to Trump opponents are “fake”?
The only case for criticizing “the media” if we are interested in facts is to take much of what is coming out of Fox News with a block of salt. They routinely hint at the sort of disinformation that Trump more actively promulgates. While they are far more sophisticated than Alec Jones the thrust is pretty similar and, since they reach so many, actually much more dangerous to women, to Jews, to elected officials who prefer a social safety net, to Muslims, to patrons of nonviolent resistance, to Mexicans, Hondurans, and Guatemalans in flight from horrific violence, and so many others.
For many years many of us have been warning about the deadly potential for political violence when we have more than one gun for every American and political rhetoric in social media is unrestrained hatred and violent ideation. Now we see it.
Your vote for anyone who can help slow, stop, and reverse this decline in decency and erosion of democracy was never more important than right now.
—30—
Dr. Tom H. Hastings is PeaceVoiceDirector and on occasion an expert witness for the defense in court.
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Jose Hernandez wins 2018 “America’s Best Installer” Competition for Third Time
Maryland-based insulation installer from Cameron Group LLC wins $10,000 grand prize in 16th year of annual competition presented by Johns Manville and Insulate America
DENVER – Oct. 23, 2018 – Jose Hernandez, an insulation professional in Elkridge, Md. was awarded the title of “America’s Best Installer” on Saturday, Oct. 20 at the EXDO Events Center in Denver for the third time. Hernandez competed against 35 other professionals from across the country for the title and $10,000 first-place prize in the fast-paced competition that highlights the importance of energy efficiency. Hernandez won the competition back-to-back years in 2014 and 2015, becoming the first competitor to win the competition more than once. He is employed with Cameron Group LCC.
The competition was created in 2003 by Johns Manville (JM), a Denver-based building products manufacturer and Insulate America, the nation’s largest independent insulation contractor organization. The competition recognizes local competitors and highlights the positive impact that properly-installed insulation can have on heating and cooling bills, home energy efficiency and indoor comfort.
The competition consists of three stages structured to test the installer’s workmanship and the final outcome of their installation. Competitors were assigned with the task of installing JM formaldehyde-free insulation batts into the mock home structure and were then judged upon quality and speed. Hernandez outperformed the other competitors during the final stage, which involved two identical wooden mock home structures, complete with construction challenges including electrical outlets, pipes and a vaulted ceiling.
“We’re pleased to honor Jose for the third time for his superior performance this year and we applaud our talented group of competitors for another solid year of competition,” said Bob Wamboldt, president of Insulation Systems at Johns Manville. “We’re proud of our continued partnership with Insulate America, and we look forward to celebrating and recognizing insulation installers for their dedication to the industry for years to come.”
The competition also awarded second, third and fourth place. Pete Middleton of Turner Insulation in Sterling Heights, Minn. placed second and was awarded a $5,000 prize, Stan Tatara of Henges Interiors in Earth City, Mo. was recognized as third place and won a $3,500 prize, and due to a tie in the preliminary rounds, Jesus Cruz of Millers Insulation in Albuquerque, N.M. and Luis Perez of Arkansas Insulation (A G5 Company) in Bethel Heights, Ark. both placed fourth and were each awarded a $2,500 prize.
Additionally, the following competitors received cash prizes for their performance during the preliminary rounds of competition:
Jose Lopez of American Fork, Utah, Premier Building Supply; $1,000
Victor Lozano of Shawnee, Kan., Insulation Specialties Contractors, Inc.; $1,000
Efrain Magana of Fresno, Calif., California Building Products, Inc.; $1,000
Jorge Tinoco of Pleasant View, Utah, J&K Insulation; $1,000
Eden Longoria of Englewood, Colo., Rocky Mountain Insulation Corporation; $500
Michael Stephenson of Orchard Park, N.Y., Northwind Insulation; $500
Robert Williams of Chattanooga, Tenn., Therm-Con, LLC; $500
About Johns Manville
Johns Manville, a Berkshire Hathaway company (NYSE: BRK.A, BRK.B), is a leading manufacturer and marketer of premium-quality products for building insulation, mechanical insulation, commercial roofing and roof insulation, as well as fibers and nonwovens for commercial, industrial and residential applications. JM serves markets that include aerospace, automotive and transportation, air handling, appliance, HVAC, pipe and equipment, filtration, waterproofing, building, flooring, interiors and wind energy. In business since 1858, the Denver-based company has annual sales over $3 billion and holds leadership positions in all of the key markets that it serves. Johns Manville employs 7,600 people and operates 43 manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe and China. Additional information can be found at www.jm.com.
About Insulate America
Insulate America is the nation’s largest independent insulation contractor. With over 200 locations serving 46 states, Insulate America is committed to the highest quality workmanship and service. Training, education, sharing ideas, rigorous certifications and life-long learning separate Insulate America as professionals in the industry. Learn more at www.insulateamerica.com.
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