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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 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.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 25, 2017 11 Comments
It is being reported that, despite the numerous attack on Christians in Egypt, the head of the Catholic Church has shunned using an armored vehicle when he tours the nation's capital during his upcoming trip.
...[Pope Francis] will fly from Rome to Cairo on Friday for a two-day visit intended to build on inter-faith dialogue with Muslim leaders and to show solidarity with beleaguered Christian communities in the Middle East. Despite his vulnerability as a potential terrorist target, the Pope will not travel through the streets of Cairo in an armoured vehicle, the Vatican said on Monday.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 24, 2017 23 Comments
With the mainstream media generating #FakeNews, ginning up anger at President Donald Trump, and indulging in climate change alarmism, thousands of Americans rallied at local "March For Science" events around the nation on Saturday.
Bill Nye, an engineer and educator known as “the science guy” through his appearances on television, spoke to thousands of enthusiastic marchers in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, declaring that science serves everyone and must be for all.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 23, 2017 3 Comments
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions made a stop in my hometown on Friday. During the visit, he urged cities and other government jurisdictions with sanctuary policies to reconsider and work with federal law enforcement to identify criminals who should be deported.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 23, 2017 10 Comments
When President Donald Trump and Egypt's President Abdel Fattah Sisi met earlier this month, one issue that must have been addressed during their productive discussions was the case of Egyptian-American charity worker Aya Hijazi, who had been jailed in Egypt for three years. According to White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, Trump had engaged directly on Hijazi's behalf "and made it clear to the Egyptian government how important it was to him that this American be released and returned." A few weeks later, Hijazi sat down with President Trump in the Oval Office to thank him for the diplomatic efforts.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 22, 2017 29 Comments
April 22 marks the 47th anniversary of Earth Day! The eco-holiday was inaugurated in 1970, and the organizers chose the third week in April because it was conveniently between the booze-filled festivities of Spring Break and the caffeine-fueled horror of final exams. Inspired by the anti-war movement, Earth Day was suppose to be an annual "teach in" about environmental protection. Here are some of the doom-filled climate predictions that long-ago era.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 20, 2017 10 Comments
California's Governor Jerry Brown's touts green energy and the local air pollution control regulators rule-make to excess. Despite all of this business-crushing environmental protection, the Golden State is covered in shame and smog. It turns out six of the ten most polluted American cities are in California!
California's smoggy reputation appears to be deserved: Six of the USA's 10 cities with the worst air pollution are in the Golden State, according to a new report.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 19, 2017 12 Comments
An African-American man went on a shooting spree in Fresno, California, and randomly targeted four white men, killing three, before he was taken into custody.
The 39-year-old suspect, identified as Kori Ali Muhammad, is also suspected in the fatal shooting of a security guard outside a Motel 6 on Blackstone Avenue in central Fresno Thursday. He is facing four counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder, Dyer said. He said Muhammad had expressed dislike of whites in Facebook posts; all of the victims were white. [Fresno Police Chief Jerry] Dyer called it a “random act of violence.”

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 18, 2017 19 Comments
I have a sad update for those Legal Insurrection fans who were hoping that California's move to secede from the union would be successful. Supporters of the #CalExit ballot measure officially ended their efforts this week.
The drive to make the nation's most populous state its own country, with what would be the world's sixth-largest economy, has drawn extra interest after last year's election of Republican Donald Trump as president.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 16, 2017 2 Comments
It appears that many Americans approve of how President Donald Trump is governing, and they are already backing his 2020 reelection efforts with some hard-earned cash.
President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign is off to a quick start, pulling in $13.2 million through a trio of committees in the first three months of the year, while paying an unusually large staff of about 20 employees, according to records filed Friday evening with the Federal Election Commission. Nearly 80 percent of the cash raised by the three committees — Donald J. Trump for President, Trump Victory, and Trump Make America Great Again Committee — came from small donors.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 16, 2017 16 Comments
Shortly after being elected President, Donald Trump expressed that he wanted to find ways to remove the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement and put a stop-payment on a $500 million check Obama wrote for the UN Climate fund days before Trump's inauguration. However, close to Trump's 100-day presidential milestone, it is now being reported that a showdown between Trump's advisors and cabinet members is set to occur next week over this inane international agreement.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 15, 2017 25 Comments
(Updates placed at the end of the post.) US military officials are reporting that North Korea attempt to launch a missile along its east coast, but it blew up almost immediately.
...It’s unclear why it failed. The missile was launched from Sinpo, on its east coast. The Yonhap news agency in South Korea first reported the failed launch, citing the South Korean military. “The North attempted to launch an unidentified missile from near the Sinpo region this morning but it is suspected to have failed,” the South’s Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 15, 2017 0 Comments
Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, will become the first non-citizen to light a torch during Israel’s main Independence Day ceremony this year.
Hier, who in January delivered a prayer during the inauguration of President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, is one of three individuals selected for the honor by the Ministry of Culture and Sport, the Calcalist financial supplement of the Yediot Acharonot daily reported Friday.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 15, 2017 12 Comments
Shortly after his inauguration, President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders, including one that led to a complete halt in the hiring of federal workers with few exceptions. There has been a slight melting in that freeze, as a more tailored approach is implemented.
Mick Mulvaney, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, described the new stay on hiring as a more "surgical" freeze than the first.
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