The Banana BoatSong - Now We Know Irving Burgie - The 95-Year-Old Who Wrote The Lyrics for The Calypso Song

Irving Burgie, Songwriter Who Helped Bring Calypso To America, Dies At 95

November 30, 20195:48 PM ET

Heard on All Things Considered

JON KALISH

___________________________________________

U.S.Bureau of Economic Analysis To Release First Estimates for County GDP Stats + Upcoming Releases For 2019

First Official County GDP Stats Coming Dec. 12

How America fails its whistleblowers

Published on Nov 27, 2019

Whistleblowers who work with classified information have a few options. All of them are bad.

Become a Video Lab member! http://bit.ly/video-lab

“Whistleblowing” is when someone exposes a secret in their organization. And in the US, it’s often hailed as a heroic act. But within the government, whistleblowing is often perilous—especially when it involves classified information.

If a whistleblower goes to the media with classified information, that’s illegal. And since the Obama administration, it’s become common for the government to prosecute people who do it by charging them under a law from 1917 that was originally intended to prosecute spies for helping foreign governments. If a whistleblower files a complaint through internal channels instead, the complaint has to go through the head of the intelligence community before it can see the light of day—and after that, there are few protections against disclosing the whistleblower’s identity, and only weak recourses against retaliation.

In August 2019, a CIA officer filed a complaint about an alleged quid pro quo between President Trump and the President of Ukraine. The complaint made it to Congress, and kicked off impeachment proceedings. But the existing laws don’t guarantee that this whistleblower will be protected, either.

Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out http://www.vox.com.

21st Century 'Noblesse Oblige' - or A New Age for An Emerging "Benevolent Aristocracy' ?????

Why it matters: By Mike Allen 

This Axios AM Deep Dive, ahead of Giving Tuesday, looks at America's homegrown and idiosyncratic system of philanthropy.

Politicians are accountable to the electorate. 

Charitable foundations and the billionaires who fund them, on the other hand, are accountable to no one.

• Rob Reich, Stanford political scientist and author of "Just Giving," tells Axios: "Foundations are an unaccountable, nontransparent, perpetual, and lavishly tax-advantaged exercise of power."

The bottom line: 

Insofar as philanthropy has a positive effect, it does so via deeply undemocratic means.

Axios AM Deep Dive

By Mike Allen ·Nov 30, 2019

This Axios AM Deep Dive, ahead of Giving Tuesday, looks at America's homegrown and idiosyncratic system of philanthropy. Smart Brevity count: 1,492 words — a 5½-minute read.

HERE WE GO Loop-de-Loop!! Catching-Up on Mesa City Council Meetings 18 November 2019

When so few citizens, taxpayers, and members of the public are not involved or un-engaged in the activities or processes in A REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY of their own elected government or even take the time TO EXERCISE THE RIGHT-TO-KNOW, both those who get elected and those who get paid salaries/benefits paid by taxpayers, have the tendency to listen to other special interests who can control them. 
The public has a right (and an obligation) not to stay silent, but first you need to find out what's going on and see what you can from what is provided for you - in fact it is required in THE PUBLIC INTEREST. 

Did you ever wonder to yourself who pulls Mayor John Giles's strings?
Take the time to watch some of the opening minutes in one or both of these public meetings from two weeks ago.
First impressions? Nervousness and body language?
Hizzoner John Giles presides over these public hearings in any way he wants to. . . Watch Johnny-on-the-Spot looking to the left for cues, and getting up jumping-out-of-his-sweat for a new City Magistrate announcement.
Is that OK with you? DOES GILES ASK TO HAVE THE MEETING AGENDA READ-OUT at the start? Public Comments? He says 'blue cards' . . .
Amazing that so few people ever see these streaming videos of their elected government (and salaried city officials) at work - some are part-time and some are full-time.
Any idea what's on the agendas for these two meetings that start in the late afternoon.?
_______________________________________________________________________________
STUDY SESSION IN THE LOWER CHAMBERS
Where have we seen this "consultant" before - and what's with _____??

_______________________________________________________________________________
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING IN THE UPPER CHAMBERS

< Public Information Officer Kevin Christopher reads the Consent Agenda - he's been doing that for years in a bland baritone voice and making more than $145,000 annually.
There's an earlier post on this blog when someone outside of Mesa happened to notice this procedure that appears to be unique to Mesa.
Randy Policar did one fill-in in an earlier public meeting, but KC was back on two weeks ago

WALK THE MOON - Shut Up and Dance (Official Video)

Geomagnetic Quakes, Field Reversals, Galactic Trigger | S0 News Nov.30.2019