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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 August 13, 2016 11 Comments
About a year ago, a backhoe operator working for the EPA accidentally breached the plug holding 3 million gallons of toxic wastewater from the Gold King Mine, causing it to spill into Colorado’s Animas River and creating a true man-caused disaster. Since that time, an analysis of incident by the Interior Department and Bureau of Reclamation (supported by an official with the Army Corps of Engineers), held the EPA responsible for the multi-state environmental contamination. The scathing report clearly refuted the EPA's assertion that the spill was inevitable. Now, a criminal investigation into the incident has been confirmed.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 13, 2016 24 Comments
Before the Rio Olympics began, I noted that scientists found dangerous drug-resistant “super bacteria” off beaches in Rio de Janeiro and in a lagoon where rowing and canoe athletes will compete. This is in addition to bodies, sewage, and other detritus floating off the coast of Brazil. But Olymic officials said, "Let the Games begin". Now, Rio's contaminated waters have claimed their first victim.
A Belgian sailor who won a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics has become the first person to fall sick after racing on Rio's polluted Guanabara Bay.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 11, 2016 22 Comments
While the elite media, leftists activists, and Clinton's minions explored new human limits in hyperbole yesterday by connecting Donald Trump's Second Amendment comments to incitement to violence, the GOP presidential candidate's supporters experienced real attacks. Arguably, the most dramatic of these episodes involved a vividly colored sculpture by artist Scott LoBaido, whose work was displayed at the home of his friend, Sam Pirozollo. The artwork was torched over the weekend.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 10, 2016 10 Comments
#Brexit, the British vote to leave the European Union, continues to inspire citizen activism. In the US, there has been calls for #Calexit to remove the state of California. The Democrats are experiencing the travails of #Demexit after the disclosure that the DNC intentionally hurt the Bernie Sanders campaign to promote Hillary Clinton. Now, an international organization has formed with the goal of preventing the ratification of the costly and dangerous Paris global warming treaty that is being promoted by the elites within the EU and US.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 06, 2016 8 Comments
Some intriguing news has been reported that gives me hope that our bureaucrats are taking the public health threat related to the Zika virus seriously. As you may recall, the last time I reported on the Zika epidemic, 4 Floridians had developed locally-acquired infections (probably from mosquito bites). Now, there are 16 cases and stores in the impacted area of Miami are closing due to the viral spread.
Cafes and art galleries in Miami’s Wynwood Art District would normally be bustling this week, even during some of the hottest days of the year, but with Zika virus spreading in the area, businesses like Wynwood Yard and Gallery 212 are keeping their doors shut. There were 16 cases of mosquito-transmitted Zika reported in the mainland U.S. as of Friday, and health officials have traced most to a square-mile area north of downtown Miami. Empty streets there reminded Gallery 212 owner Michael Perez of when he had to temporarily close a store in New York in 2001, after the Sept. 11 attacks. “I’m just like living my life all over again, with this Zika thing,” he said in a telephone interview. “It’s crazy, the streets are bare right now.”
Florida is not only an important beacon of tourism for this nation; it is a critical swing state in this election. Therefore, it should surprise nobody that the normally slow-moving Food and Drug Administration just approved the releasing of mutant Zika-killing mosquitoes in the Sunshine State.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 03, 2016 47 Comments
As a Tea Party Democrat, I have routinely covered that party's events as a Legal Insurrection author. I have been closely following the #DemExit movement that is afoot, as evidenced by DNC convention-week demonstrations in which delegates and other progressives decried the #DNCLeak and Hillary Clinton’s rigged nomination and blatant displays of party unhappiness during her acceptance speech that the party's officials tried to hide. Following the convention, it has become transparently clear that the Democratic Party's sole mission is to destroy Donald Trump completely.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 02, 2016 37 Comments
While Americans are justifiably focused on the fascinating presidential campaign, there is a U.S. Senate primary in Arizona coming up on August 30th that could use a bit of attention. Republican Senate primary voters are currently split between several candidates. One of the better positioned hopefuls, Alex Meluskey, has just dropped out of the primary. The biggest beneficiary of this development is a vibrant challenger, Dr. Kelli Ward.
A Public Policy Polling survey of the Republican Primary showed former State Senator Ward tied with McCain 41-41 head-to-head but trailing 39-26 when three other candidates were included in the poll. One of those three candidates, Scott McBean, failed to turn in enough signatures to make the ballot. With Meluskey’s campaign suspension, only perennial candidate Clair Van Steenwyk remains. Van Steenwyk polled last in the PPP survey with just 2 percent compared to Meluskey’s 4 percent and McBean’s 3 percent. Van Steenwyk isn’t expected to rise above low single digits.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 01, 2016 17 Comments
About a week ago, Aleister reported Secretary of State John Kerry's assertion that air conditioners and refrigerators pose as big a threat to “life on the planet” as terrorism. Americans, taking Kerry at his word, and are now petitioning the State Department to remove their air conditioning.
WHEREAS, Secretary of State John F. Kerry has suggested that air conditioners are as big a threat as ISIS, and

Posted by Leslie Eastman on July 30, 2016 4 Comments
San Diego may have joined Dallas and Baton Rouge as cities who have lost police officers in a deliberate attack.
San Diego police were trying to determine whether a shooting that killed a veteran officer and wounded another was a deliberate attack. Jonathan DeGuzman, a 16-year veteran of the force, died Thursday night when a gunfight erupted after he and his partner stopped someone on a street in a blue-collar area of town. Hours later, a trail of blood led to a wounded suspect who remained hospitalized in critical condition, while a second man described only as a potential suspect was captured after an hours-long SWAT standoff Friday.
San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman held a press conference, during which she described her work with the slain officer.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on July 30, 2016 10 Comments
I predicted earlier this year that our country would start seeing cases of "home-grown" Zika sometime this summer. Sure enough, Florida is reporting four cases of locally-contracted Zika.
Four individuals in Miami-Dade and Broward counties have been infected with the Zika virus by local mosquitoes, Florida health officials said Friday. These are the first known cases of the virus being transmitted by mosquitoes in the continental United States. "While no mosquitoes trapped tested positive for the Zika virus, the department believes these cases were likely transmitted through infected mosquitoes in this area," according to a statement from the Florida Department of Health. ...Officials believe the local transmission is confined to a small area north of downtown Miami within a single ZIP code. However, local, state and federal health officials are continuing their investigation, which includes going door-to-door to ask residents for urine samples and other information in an effort to determine how many people may be infected. Additional cases are anticipated.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on July 29, 2016 22 Comments
Yesterday, the real story of Day #3 of the Democratic Party convention was the organized, outside demonstrations in which delegates and other progressives decried the #DNCLeak and Hillary Clinton's rigged nomination. As I suspected, Bernie Sanders' delegates did have something special planned for Day #4 and Clinton's formal acceptance address. And so did Democratic Party operatives, who worked hard to prevent protests, disruptions and distractions.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on July 28, 2016 25 Comments
When Kemberlee noted that President Obama, Vice President Biden, and the Democratic VP pick Tim Kaine were featured speakers at the Democratic Party's third convention night, I knew the evening would be a long one. Not surprisingly, Obama's address featured more fear-mongering about Donald Trump than it did his own policy successes. Far more interesting was the story taking place off the stage: #DNCProtests were erupting throughout the evening. #NeverHillary and #DemExit activists were streaming continuous videos of protests against Hillary Clinton's rigged nomination through the speeches. I must say, their efforts were far more interesting and informative.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on July 27, 2016 19 Comments
Few liberals are as iconic as the pugnacious progressive pundit Piers Morgan. The British journalist and television personality, once host of CNN's Piers Morgan Live, is currently working as the US Editor-at-Large for Mail Online. In that capacity, he has published an op-ed in response to the beheading of Father Jacques Hamel at the hands of Islamic terrorists that occurred during a Mass in a Normandy church.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on July 26, 2016 13 Comments
Many Americans are closely watching the dumpster fire of the Democratic National Convention. However, a true wildfire is blazing near Santa Clarita, the third largest city in Los Angeles County.
The effort to control the raging Sand fire in the Santa Clarita Valley mountains has drawn firefighters and emergency crews in the hills toward Acton. So far, the fire has burned an estimated 33,172 acres and continues to threaten hundreds of homes. The blaze has prompted the evacuation of at least 10,000 homes and fire remains only 10% contained. At least 18 structures have been destroyed.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on July 24, 2016 7 Comments
As expected, the number of Zika cases in steadily rising in the United States, and now it appears that hundreds of pregnant women in this country have been infected with the virus that has been traced to severe birth defects.
More than 400 pregnant women now have Zika in the US - up from 364 last week. Another three babies have also been diagnosed with the virus, bringing the total number of infected infants to seven, according to new data from the CDC. It comes amid fears that American mosquitoes may now be infected with Zika after a woman in Miami contracted the virus without traveling abroad.
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