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Author: Leslie Eastman

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Leslie Eastman

I am an Environmental Health and Safety Professional, as well as a science/technical writer for a variety of news and professional publications. I have been a citizen activist since 2009, and am one of the co-founders of the San Diego-based group, Southern California Tax Revolt Coalition.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 11, 2017 22 Comments
President Trump has scored significant successes undoing the toxic eco-activist legacy of his predecessor, including the executive orders moving the signing of Keystone and Dakota Access Pipelines forward. However, it seems that he cannot rely on certain establishment Republicans to continue his efforts. Before reading this piece further, pause for a moment and ask yourself which 3 GOP Senators would, when given a chance to vote to repeal Obama's drilling rules, would just say "NO".

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 10, 2017 9 Comments
Hanford Nuclear Reservation made plutonium for nuclear weapons for decades and is now the largest depository of radioactive defense waste that must be cleaned. There was an emergency situation at this site in Washington state after a tunnel full of highly contaminated materials collapsed.
Officials say a collapsed patch of ground above the tunnel was larger than first believed. The U.S. Department of Energy said the collapse covered about 400 square feet (37.1 square meters) instead of the 16 square feet (1.4 square meters) first reported.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 10, 2017 21 Comments
It is being reported that President Donald Trump is delaying a decision on withdrawing from the landmark Paris climate accord until after the conclusion of a key international meeting.
"Trump had originally aimed to announce his intentions before traveling to the summit, held in Sicily at the end of this month. Instead, he will wait until after the G7 to make a decision, according to White House press secretary Sean Spicer. I think it's simply a sign that the President wants to continue to meet with his team," Spicer told reporters at the White House.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 09, 2017 17 Comments
I always suspected that the junior Senator from California would make a very memorable addition to that august body. Little did I realize she would adopt an edgy, late-night comedy approach to political analysis upon assuming Barbara Boxer's former seat.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) dropped the “f-bomb” while discussing the GOP's ObamaCare repeal and replacement plan at a public event in San Francisco over the weekend.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 09, 2017 25 Comments
Life at the current Environmental Protection Agency now resembles an episode of "The Apprentice", the iconic reality show once hosted by President Donald Trump. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt once battled the agency he now leads and argued its scientists often failed to properly assess the fiscal impact relative to actual risk related to implementing new regulations on businesses. As a result of his leadership, half of the Science Advisory Board has been dismissed.
Deborah L. Swackhamer, chairwoman of the Board of Scientific Counselors, confirmed Monday that nine of the 18 outside experts on her panel will not serve a second three-year term. The affected board members' terms expired April 30.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 07, 2017 13 Comments
It appears as if the proprietors of one Mexican hotel are about to experience a legal case for trademark infringement.
It's not located on a dark desert highway, and guests are presumably allowed to leave, but the Eagles still feel that a real-life Hotel California is ripping off their biggest hit. The band filed a lawsuit against the Mexican hotel this week, accusing the owners of encouraging guests to believe that it's associated with the band, Reuters reports.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 07, 2017 14 Comments
Environmental Protection Agency's head, Scott Pruitt, indicates that President Trump will soon make a decision on whether to pull out of the global Paris Climate Agreement, using business terminology famously used by his boss.
In an interview on the FOX Business Network’s Varney & Co., the EPA administrator called the Paris Agreement “a bad deal for this country.”

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 06, 2017 15 Comments
President Donald Trump plans to pursue public-private partnerships for develop the space industry, which is likely to increase the development and profitability of these firms. The State of California obviously foresees this possibility as well. Never having seen a tax that it will not try and collect, the state's Franchise Tax Board is seeking public comment on its proposal for computing taxes on commercial space transportation companies (hat-tip, Legal Insurrection reader Robert).

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 05, 2017 7 Comments
Move over, North Korea! Californians who were awake early Wednesday morning were treated to the site of a test launch by the US Air Force of an unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile.
Air Force Global Strike Command spokesman Joe Thomas told AFP from California that the test was routine and not meant to be a show of force in the standoff with North Korea over its nuclear and ballistic missile program. The Minuteman III missile blasted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 0702 GMT, the strike command said in a statement.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 03, 2017 17 Comments
The last time we check in on Bill Nye, the "Science Guy", he was addressing a large crowd at the nation's capital as part of the nationwide #MarchForScience. It's a good thing that his being old, white, and male did not prevent him from leading the anti-Trump, climate alarmism hysterics! Interestingly, some of his once-stated scientific theories, discussed during his long-running program for kids that made him a science icon, have undergone a political climate change!
Last week The Federalist reported on an illuminating segment from a mid-1990s episode of “Bill Nye the Science Guy” that clashes directly with modern transgender ideology. It appears that someone cut this segment from a re-release of the episode.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 02, 2017 16 Comments
Progressive activists certainly had a busy day Monday. First, they staged "A Day Without Immigrants", which went unnoticed by most hard-working, tax-paying Americans. Afterwards, they staged "peaceful" demonstrations in support of the workers who would be hurt by illegal immigrants. Unfortunately, a few of those events turned violent.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 01, 2017 8 Comments
I predicted that the shenanigans used to lift-up the weak primary campaign of Hillary Clinton against her grassroots challenger, Bernie Sanders, would impact the Democratic Party for some time to come. Those chickens are now coming home to roost!

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 30, 2017 11 Comments
Last weekend, I covered the #MarchForScience, an organized series of nationwide demonstrations supposedly in support of funding all science by the American government...but more an excuse for railing against the policies of President Donald Trump. This weekend, there was the "People's Climate March", supposedly in support of funding climate science by the American government...but more an excuse for railing against the policies of President Donald Trump.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 29, 2017 2 Comments
A couple of days ago, a fire was set in the women's restroom on the pool deck of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas and an second fire was dealt with in the hallway of its 17th floor. The hotel's toasters were used to set the blaze.
Upon investigating, officials discovered four toasters—two on each floor— that were allegedly placed there to ignite fires.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 29, 2017 21 Comments
A measles outbreak in Minnesota is widening as the state's public health and emergency preparedness officials scramble to stop the spread.
As of Thursday afternoon, April 27, the Minnesota Department of Health had confirmed 28 cases in Hennepin County and one in Stearns County. All were among children under age 5, most of them unvaccinated. "Measles is very contagious and can spread very quickly," said Denise Kragenbring, public health supervisor with Kandiyohi County Public Health.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 28, 2017 27 Comments
There has much chatter about the recently released book, "Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton's Doomed Campaign". My colleague Mary Chastain penned a superb summary of all the campaign low points in her analysis, and fellow author Neo-Neocon did a exceptionally detailed dissection of the book's main premise that poor messaging was the reason for Hillary's election failure. This post will focus on an actual review, addressing whether or not you should spend the $10-$20 dollars to purchase the book to add to your political library.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 26, 2017 34 Comments
In honor of the recent "March for Science", I have decided to review a scientific assertion that is completely settled. Salt is bad for you because it raises blood pressure. A sample of this consensus is on the website for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, focused on salt safety:
Most Americans Should Consume Less Sodium Most of the sodium we consume is in the form of salt, and the vast majority of sodium we consume is in processed and restaurant foods. Your body needs a small amount of sodium to work properly, but too much sodium is bad for your health. Excess sodium can increase your blood pressure and your risk for a heart disease and stroke. Together, heart disease and stroke kill more Americans each year than any other cause.
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