Beltway Insider: Trump's SCOTUS Nominee Kavanaugh Faces Senate; Second Female Found; Cybersecurity; Wilmington; POW/MIA

President Donald Trump has embarked on a Cybersecure strategy that will bolster US internet defenses protecting America from cyber threats and securing critical infrastructure, power transmission grids, and GPS aircraft tracking against malicious targeted cyber terror threats.

According to Gallup, President Trump job approval, over the past week, decreased by two percentage points to 38% of those polled who approve of his effectiveness as President and those who disapprove of his effectiveness as President increased by two percentage points to 56%.

Trump/Kavanaugh Hearings Resume

The Kavanaugh/Ford battle is reminiscent for the Anita Hill bombshell during the Clarence Thomas hearings. While it was shocking, it did little to derail the hearings and clearly didn't produce the desired effects. Thomas went on the be confirmed, barely, by a four vote victory of 52 to 48.

The Kavanaugh/Ford accusations, especially in this #MeToo era, where we have seen the toppling of titans, and the revelations of those whom were invited into our living rooms, revered, and believed the proclamation of innocent until proven guilty.


Beltway Insider: 9/11 Terror Attacks Remembered; SCOTUS Nominee Kavanaugh; Iran; NY Primaries; Les Moonves


Unfortunately the barometer of guilty is so far beyond the scope of the word that now as we are faced with the possibility of another of the power elite (we've seen judiciary fall dramatically from historic and unprecedented positions) the plausibility of possibility is a little more believable.

So as the hearings are expected to resume, with details of teenage sexual conquest and this wouldn't be the first time in history we have heard of power and privilege clashing and the sons of a political family acting in a manner than was inappropriate and bordered on sexual assault and in other times those same unbridled sons went on the commit rape and murder.

So reigning in the possibility to these circumstances, will they do anything to derail Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh? Its doubtful. It will take more than one female, and for the sake of credibility lets hope she turned down the psyche meds or her statement and testimony is junk before it sees the light of day.

"In a story published Sunday evening byThe New Yorker, Deborah Ramirez says Kavanaugh exposed himself to her during a drunken party while both were first year students at Yale University. "It was kind of a joke," Ramirez told the magazine. "And now it's clear to me it wasn't a joke," NPR reported.

For her part, I applaud her tenacity and the courage to stand before many who openly loath her for having courage to  reignite a fight for the justice she believes she is due for an incident that has haunted her for decades.

Will it give her peace? No. It will give infuse her with more boldness as it should. We should not live in a society where 1 in 6 women will be victimized before the age of 18; where 5,000 victims of sexual assault, in each state, commit suicide every year and that is not those who die in the commission of the crime.

Sexual assault is a heinous, violent, rage driven evil and everyone, each person, who addresses this woman, from Judge Kavanaugh to those who want to derail and paint her as a liar, with memory lapse and loss, should consider the consequence of their accusations and actions and why the statistics for Sexual Violence continue to increase.

Members of a well-functioning society need to respect and support those who have the courage, bravery, audacity, fearlessness, determination, valor and heroism to deliver testimony that will bring long buried emotions to the surface and to relive in the face of a global audience deeply hurtful, shocking and cruel evil. It's not easy and those predators, especially in power, know it and bank on it.

Wilmington is Open For Business

Following the likes of Katrina, Harvey, Maria and Superstorm Sandy, Florence, which made landfall as a Category 1 Hurricane. will make the record books as one of the top ten costliest hurricanes with damage exceeding $38Billion.

The rainmaking storm which many likened to Hurricane Sandy, drove 18trillion gallons of water inland, forcing water into any river, estuary, creek bed, lagoon, swamp and when they overflowed Florence took over homes, farms, roads, highways and byways isolating major cities and country towns.

Making Landfall

Attacking the coast during the early morning hours on Friday, September 14, 2018, Florence made landfall just north of Wilmington, at Wrightsville Beach, and quickly flooded rivers, roads, streets, low lying areas, really anything under the second floor.

The slow moving storm, that quickly dissipated after landfall, stalled as weather prognosticators predicted dumping nearly three feet of rain, which was also predicted, on Wilmington, North Carolina, a coastal port city in the southeastern portion of the state. Nearly 40" of rain fell between Wrightsville Beach and New Bern, North Carolina.

The wind speed and the sheer volume of water snapped telephone poles, splintered trees, pulled shingles and partially destroyed roofs and homes, bringing down stoplights, sending moored sailboats into yards and along with the storm surge the coastal region was soon isolated.

Churning in a slow pattern, the now Category 1, with sustained wind speeds topping 96mph, along with the saturated ground toppled many of the old oaks and Carolina Pines, causing death and destruction.

Florence Turns Deadly

As the death toll continues to rise, to date 45 fatalities, with a three month old reported as the youngest victim, have been reported with 28 directly related to Florence and 17 indirectly related. The first reported deaths in Wilmington, a mother and infant were crushed when a oak tree fell on their home. The husband was also injured and survived. Emergency personal worked as quickly as possible, in the conditions, freeing the husband after nearly three hours.

Flooding and water related caused the deaths of 16 individuals as far south as New Smyrna Beach Florida with rip currents and impact injuries resulting in one death and two hospitalizations. Freshwater flooding killed eleven and a one year old baby died, after his mother drove around a barrier into a flooded road. She was rescued. A driver hydroplaned in wet road conditions, crashing, sheering his vehicle resulting in his death. Others passed away due to heart attacks, electrical shock, and others from delayed response time due to hazardous conditions. A three month died in his home from an impact injury after a tree fell.

The two deputies that allowed two female psychiatric patients in a locked van, to be swept away and drowned have been placed on administrative leave and the deaths are under investigation.

Per state death were reported in four states, Florida, and Virginia both lost two as a direct result of the hurricane. In South Carolina, four died as a direct result and five indirectly and the greatest impact in North Carolina 20 died as a direct result and 12 indirectly.

Up and Running

Within a week it became evident that Wilmington was facing unprecedented recovery conditions. Close to one million people within the region evacuated. The population of Wilmington at 120,000 in addition to beach towns and barrier islands, resulted in one million people wanting to return to assess the damage and determine the next steps.

With normalcy still a long way off, FEMA and other government agencies moved quickly, learning from Katrina, Superstorm Sandy and other natural disasters.

Electricity

Duke Energy Corporation has restored electricity nearly all the 1.8million outages reported in North Carolina and South Carolina and according to sources they expect all residents and businesses to be fully restored within the next week. Residents are warned if flood waters covered any electrical outlets exercise caution in using any electrical sources which may have come in contact with water.

Duke Energy did address the shut down the 625-megawatt natural gas plant explaining the "Cape Fear River flooding conditions at the company's L.V. Sutton plant in Wilmington, N.C. have caused breaches in the cooling lake dam surrounding the cooling lake and caused the company to shut down the 625-megawatt natural gas plant."

Meter Boxes

Estimated power restoration times apply to customers who did not experience flooding or other damage to their meter box or electrical wiring, both customer-owned, which might prevent electric service restoration due to safety reasons.

If the meter box was flooded Duke Energy will disconnect the service or remove the meter box, homeowners and building owners are responsible for repairs. Once repairs are complete, an inspection by local officials is required. Duke Energy will reinstall a meter once the property passes the local inspection passes.

Environmental and Toxic Spillage

Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services have submitted preliminary totals of 3.4 million chickens and turkeys and 5,500 pigs killed in the raging waters with many farms still inaccessible animals are starving and the possibility of additional poultry death could exceed 20million head.

Sanderson Farms, one of the state's largest poultry producers issued a statement regarding the devastating effects Florence and the residual rains and flooding has had on its facilities and production, "The Company estimates that approximately 1.7 million head of broiler chickens out of an average live inventory of approximately 20 million head, ranging in age from six days to sixty-two days, were destroyed as a result of flooding." 

Many high agricultural producing farms located throughout the state have manure lagoons which overflowed into neighboring rivers, creeks, estuaries resulting in contamination of every major water thruway.

The Cape Fear River, in Fayetteville, N.C., which crested at a record 61.4 feet, flows south through Wilmington and into the Atlantic, faced the severest contamination as toxic coal ash containing lead, arsenic and mercury, manure lagoons from the states large hog industry, and after a local powerplant lost power, partially treated human waste and sewage, all pouring into the river.

North Carolina Department of Transportation

North Carolina Department of Transportation has notified the public of three opened routes to reach Wilmington, North Carolina. I-40 and 1-95 remain closed. Police and sheriff deputies guide all vehicles through the detours. The drive from Raleigh-Durham, usually a 2.5 hour drive will take nearly four hours and possibly longer depending on traffic. Gasoline is in short supply as Wilmington has been cut off from everyone and no consumer goods have made it into the coastal city.

Consumer Goods in Short Supply

In this driving city, gasoline is in short supply with many pumps still dry. Residents returning are encouraged to fill up as long lines and potentially dry pumps, especially as normalcy and evacuated residents return. The influx of those evacuated will cause an additional strain on the consumer goods infrastructure which is slowly progressing under the current need level.

Rations and serving stations for those who have not had food or a hot meal are popping up around the city and local news have made residents aware of where they can receive necessities.

The aftermath for many includes forced unemployment. For those citizens who have lost their jobs or are facing any break in employment are encouraged to file with the Disaster Unemployment Compensation.

New Hanover county has already been approved and residents have until October 17, 2018 to file for federally approved disaster unemployment. This federally funded and approved program is separate from regular Unemployment Insurance and focuses on individuals who would not necessarily be eligible for standard North Carolina Unemployment Insurance.

POW/MIA Receive Long Overdue Honor

The United States military veterans have long faced bitter backlash from fellow citizens and government over participation in wars and conflicts which have left them psychologically and physically wounded, maimed and many suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders.

Over the last six months Americans have understood the importance of repatriating missing servicemen long declared dead whose remains were held by foreign governments to be used for leverage in greater political arenas.


Op/Ed: Adding My Voice and Story to the Many Who Were Once Silenced by Violence


President Trump's recent talks with North Korea leader, Kim Jong-Un produced if nothing else the homecoming of 55 Korean War Veterans, missing in action since the 1950's. An additional 7,700 servicemen from multiple nations are still reported as MIA.

"On September 21, 2018, the stark black and white banner symbolizing America's Missing in Action and Prisoners of War will again be flown over the White House; and all federal buildings across the country. We do this, each year, to recognize those who have suffered the horrors of enemy captivity, those who have still not returned from war, and the families who have yet to lay their loved ones to rest with the honor and dignity they deserve," the President said.

For more information on President Donald Trump: www.whitehouse.gov

Sources: Whitehouse.gov, Wikipedia.com

Haute Tease