The Complete Guide To Best & Worst-Run Cities In America

Personal-finance website WalletHub analyzed the 150 most-populated U.S. cities to determine the best and worst-run municipalities. They assigned each metro area a "Quality of Services" score comprised of 38 metrics grouped into six service categories (including financial stability, education, health, safety, economy, infrastructure, and pollution) - which was compared against each's per-capita budget.

The study, titled 2020's Best- & Worst-Run Cities in America, determined the effectiveness of local leadership in crisis and non-crisis periods.

City leaders have been fighting the COVID-19 pandemic for months, and now many are tasked with keeping the peace while respecting people's rights to demonstrate as protests against police brutality surge across the nation. People in local positions of power will undoubtedly feel extra pressure to please the public this year, as the November election will determine whether many of them keep their seats.

Even when the U.S. isn't in a time of crisis, running a city is a tall order. The larger the city, the more complex it becomes to manage. In addition to representing the residents, local leaders must balance the public's diverse interests with the city's limited resources. That often means not everyone's needs can or will be met. Leaders must carefully consider which services are most essential, which agencies' budgets to cut or boost and whether and how much to raise taxes, among other decisions. -WalletHub

"How do we measure the effectiveness of local leadership?" WalletHub said. "One way is by determining a city's operating efficiency. In other words, we can learn how well city officials manage and spend public funds by comparing the quality of services residents receive against the city's total budget."

The findings revealed Washington D.C. was the worst-run city, the second was San Francisco, and third Gulfport, Mississippi.

Bottom 10 cities nationally:

1 Washington, DC

2 San Francisco, CA

3 Gulfport, MS

4 Chattanooga, TN

5 New York, NY

6 Hartford, CT

7 Oakland, CA

8 Detroit, MI

9 Chicago, IL

10 Flint, MI

The study determined the three best-run cities were in Idaho and Utah.

Top 10 cities nationally:

1 Nampa, ID

2 Boise, ID

3 Provo, UT

4 Las Cruces, NM

5 Durham, NC

6 Lexington-Fayette, KY

7 Missoula, MT

8 Fort Wayne, IN

9 Virginia Beach, VA

10 Nashua, NH

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/complete-guide-best-worst-run-cities-america Nashua, NH

Trump Denounced as 'America's №1 Traitor' as #BenedictDonald Trends Worldwide

In a new online frenzy inspired by an video advert by VoteVets(SOROS), netizens equate US President Donald Trump to Benedict Arnold - a controversial 18th century US general, whose name has long been associated with treason, as he defected from the Continental army to the British side during America's War of Independence.

In the wake of Independence Day, US President Donald Trump has been labeled "America's №1 Traitor" in an video advertisement made by political action committee VoteVets.org, as twitterati merged the president's name with that of notorious Revolutionary War traitor Benedict Arnold, creating a hashtag #BenedictDonald, that quickly went viral.

The ad, starting with the story of Arnold, who is slammed for "selling out our troops during our fight for freedom", says that "no one has betrayed those in uniform like Donald Trump".

Trump is accused of "consorting" with a foreign enemy that "puts bounties on the head of US troops", in yert another move referring to groundless allegations sparked by media reports that Russia offered reward money to Taliban members for the killing of US soldiers.

The video ends with the statement: "Benedict Arnold can step aside" and introduces "Benedict Donald" as Donald Trump, "America's №1 Traitor".

https://sputniknews.com/viral/202007031079789981-trump-denounced-as-americas-1-traitor-as-benedictdonald-trends-worldwide/

Surgeon General Adams on Fourth of July Celebrations: Wear a Mask if You Want ‘Independence,’ ‘Freedom’

Heading into the Fourth of July weekend, Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams on Friday urged Americans to wear a mask if they want “more independence and more freedom.”

Adams, during NBC’s “Today,” advised people to make their decisions to attend a gathering amid the coronavirus pandemic based on their own health, emphasizing the importance of wearing a face covering and social distancing to prevent the spread.

“As we go into this Fourth of July weekend, it’s important that everyone remembers my surgeon general’s prescription for staying safe from coronavirus,” Adams told NBC’s Craig Melvin. “Number one, know your risk. We know that people who are older and people who have chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure are at higher risk for coronavirus. If you’re at higher risk, you should consider staying at home. Number two, understand your circumstances. Are you in a community where spread is going up or going down? Are you going to a place where you can social distance or not? Are you going to a place that’s outside or inside? Because we know outside is lower risk than inside for coronavirus.”

As we talk about Fourth of July and independence, it’s important to understand that if we all wear these, we will actually have more independence and more freedom because more places will be able to stay open. We’ll have less spread of the disease,”

https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2020/07/03/surgeon-general-adams-on-fourth-of-july-celebrations-wear-a-mask-if-you-want-freedom-independence/

Cough….Wear a mask so we can count the sheep

Supertanker Rates Collapse: "The Dam Has Burst"

Some sayings pop up again and again in shipping circles: “The way to make a small fortune in shipping is to start with a big one.” “Moving cargo is what you do between buying and selling ships.” “If analysts say the market can only get worse, buy.”

There’s also one that goes: “If there are 98 ships and 101 cargoes, boom, 98 cargoes and 101 tankers, bust.”

Alas, there are now a lot more tankers than cargoes. Rates are sliding, owners are capitulating, and charterers have the upper hand.

Rates for very large crude carriers (VLCCs; tankers that carry 2 million barrels of crude) from the Middle East Gulf (MEG) to Asia were down to $20,000 per day on Wednesday, with the global average assessed at $26,537 per day by brokerage Howe Robinson.

“The dam has burst, and VLCC rates have taken an overdue nosedive,” said the brokerage Fearnleys in a new report.

“Daily earnings are still in the $20,000s [per day], but with increased bunker prices and further downward potential, OPEX [operating expense] levels could come under threat moving forward,” Fearnleys warned. “By all accounts it’s going to be a hot, long summer of discontent.”

Current rates are less than a tenth of the record $250,000-per-day-plus peak in March and below rates of $28,000 per day at this time last year.

Meanwhile, rates for Suezmaxes (tankers that carry 1 million barrels) are down to just $9,700 per day, while Aframaxes (750,000 barrels) are down to $8,200 per day, according to Clarksons Platou Securities. These rates are at or near multiyear lows and the outlook for all tanker classes remains negative.

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/supertanker-rates-nose-dive-the-dam-has-burst

Herschel Walker: ‘Why Are We Penalizing People for What Their Ancestors Did?’

NFL legend and Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker responded to the growing tensions across the country by appealing to the Bible, stressing the power of forgiveness and asking, “Why are we penalizing people for what their ancestors did?”

“I was reading the greatest book ever written, the Bible, and I read ‘But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your offenses.’ – Matthew 6:15,” the NFL great wrote, appealing to the words of Jesus.

“Why are we penalizing people for what their ancestors did?” he asked. “Forgiveness doesn’t mean you get something in return.”

I was reading the greatest book ever written, the Bible, and I read “But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your offenses.” – Matthew 6:15

Why are we penalizing people for what their ancestors did? Forgiveness doesn’t mean you get something in return.

— Herschel Walker (@HerschelWalker) July 3, 2020

On Friday, Walker said that he doesn’t want to defund the police. Nor, does he want to see the country’s history torn down. Instead, the former Heisman winner wants Americans to be “united.”

I don’t want to defund the police. I don’t want to tear down statues. What about my freedom of speech? I want to be united as Americans. Congress and Senators… Can you hear me? pic.twitter.com/2fdqP6GSwQ

— Herschel Walker (@HerschelWalker) July 3, 2020

Walker’s plea comes as protesters call for the removal of historic monuments, companies rebrand iconic items, and in some cases, activists demand individuals to admit their supposed “privilege” — all in the name of racial and social justice.

Officials in Columbus, Ohio, for example, recently removed the statue of famed explorer Christopher Columbus, which stood outside of the City Hall. Mayor Andrew J. Ginther (D) stated that the statue represented “patriarchy, oppression and divisiveness” for “many” people in the community.

“That does not represent our great city, and we will no longer live in the shadow of our ugly past,” Ginther added.

Several activists nationwide have taken matters into their own hands, vandalizing monuments and demanding reparations from individuals who played no part in slavery.

“Now is the time to go big,” Robert Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET), told CNBC’s Squawk Box during a June appearance, demanding over $14 trillion in reparations and urging Americans to view it as an “investment.”

“It is an atonement for 200-plus years of slavery, desegregation — I mean, segregation, Jim Crowism, and a denial of equal opportunity rights,” Johnson said during a June appearance on Fox News Channel’s Special Report.

“But the result of that payment would be to bring African-Americans equal to white Americans in terms of opportunity, wealth, and income,” he added.

The proposal has gained traction among far-left politicians and celebrities, with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) recently urging Congress to enact Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee’s (D-TX) legislation, which would form a commission to study proposals for issuing reparations.

Actress Lena Dunham has also demonstrated support for such measures, essentially apologizing for her white “privilege” and urging people to “shut up, unless it’s to advocate for change for Black people,” “give reparations widely,” and “defund the police.”

https://www.breitbart.com/sports/2020/07/03/herschel-walker-why-are-we-penalizing-people-for-what-their-ancestors-did/

House Committee Advances Bill to Rename Military Bases, Setting Up Fight with Senate, Trump

The House Armed Services Committee this week voted to pass a 2021 defense authorization bill that would require the Pentagon to strip Confederate names from military bases and other property within a year — setting the bill up for a fight in the Senate and with the White House.

The amendment responsible for the language was sponsored by Reps. Anthony Brown (D-MD) and Don Bacon (R-NE), and was adopted on party lines, with Rep. Paul Mitchell (R-MI) being the only other Republican to vote for it.

Brown has claimed that a “vast majority of Americans” support the renaming of military bases, but an ABC News-Ipsos poll released in mid-June showed that the majority of Americans opposed changing the name of military bases named after Confederate military leaders at 56 percent against 42 percent.

The Senate Armed Services Committee last month approved a bill with their own language sponsored by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) that would require the bases to be renamed within three years.

However, some Republican senators are proposing amendments to modify that language when the bill finally hits the Senate floor later this year.

Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) have introduced an amendment to the defense authorization bill that would create a commission to study Defense Department assets that are named after or commemorate the Confederacy or anyone associated with the Confederacy.

The commission would submit a list to Congress and the defense secretary, who would decide on how to move forward on possible renaming.

“Instead of mandating the renaming of military bases, including Fort Bragg, we need a thoughtful and constructive process that includes the input of our military communities. Our amendment accomplishes that goal,” said Tillis.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) has also introduced an amendment that would remove the language requiring the Defense Department to rename the bases, and instead direct a one-year commission to work with state and local stakeholders to nominate names referring to the Confederacy for removal from Defense Department installations.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/07/03/house-committee-advances-bill-to-rename-military-bases-setting-up-fight-with-senate-trump/

>>9844316

wtf is this shit?

This Israeli Tech Company Is Spying on the Upper Echelons of the US Government - Why?

In this clip, Jazz and James dig in to the revelation that Israeli spytech company NSO Group has been using American servers to spy on Americans- including keeping tabs on the upper echelons of government. Full episode: https://therightstuff.biz/2020/05/21/…

https://youtu.be/ifxL7EKDPXM

https://russia-insider.com/en/israeli-tech-company-spying-upper-echelons-us-government-why/ri30790

American Pravda: Jews and Nazis

Around 35 years ago, I was sitting in my college dorm-room closely reading the New York Times as I did each and every morning when I noticed an astonishing article about the controversial new Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzhak Shamir.

Back in those long-gone days, the Gray Lady was strictly a black-and-white print publication, lacking the large color photographs of rap stars and long stories about dieting techniques that fill so much of today’s news coverage, and it also seemed to have a far harder edge in its Middle East reporting. A year or so earlier, Shamir’s predecessor Menacham Begin had allowed his Defense Minister Ariel Sharon to talk him into invading Lebanon and besieging Beirut, and the subsequent massacre of Palestinian women and children in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps had outraged the world and angered America’s government. This eventually led to Begin’s resignation, with Shamir, his Foreign Minister, taking his place.

Prior to his surprising 1977 election victory, Begin had spent decades in the political wilderness as an unacceptable right-winger, and Shamir had an even more extreme background, with the American mainstream media freely reporting his long involvement in all sorts of high-profile assassinations and terrorist attacks during the 1940s, painting him as a very bad man indeed.

Given Shamir’s notorious activities, few revelations would have shocked me, but this one did. Apparently, during the late 1930s, Shamir and his small Zionist faction had become great admirers of the Italian Fascists and German Nazis, and after World War II broke out, they had made repeated attempts to contact Mussolini and the German leadership in 1940 and 1941, hoping to enlist in the Axis Powers as their Palestine affiliate, and undertake a campaign of attacks and espionage against the local British forces, then share in the political booty after Hitler’s inevitable triumph.

Now the Times clearly viewed Shamir in a very negative light, but it seemed extremely unlikely to me that they would have published such a remarkable story without being absolutely sure of their facts. Among other things, there were long excerpts from the official letters sent to Mussolini ferociously denouncing the “decadent” democratic systems of Britain and France that he was opposing, and assuring Il Duce that such ridiculous political notions would have no future place in the totalitarian Jewish client state they hoped to establish under his auspices in Palestine.

As it happens, both Germany and Italy were preoccupied with larger geopolitical issues at the time, and given the small size of Shamir’s Zionist faction, not much seems to have ever come of those efforts. But the idea of the sitting Prime Minister of the Jewish State having spent his early wartime years as an unrequited Nazi ally was certainly something that sticks in one’s mind, not quite conforming to the traditional narrative of that era which I had always accepted.

Most remarkably, the revelation of Shamir’s pro-Axis past seems to have had only a relatively minor impact upon his political standing within Israeli society. I would think that any American political figure found to have supported a military alliance with Nazi Germany during the Second World War would have had a very difficult time surviving the resulting political scandal, and the same would surely be true for politicians in Britain, France, or most other western nations. But although there was certainly some embarrassment in the Israeli press, especially after the shocking story reached the international headlines, apparently most Israelis took the whole matter in stride, and Shamir stayed in office for another year, then later served a second, much longer term as Prime Minister during 1986-1992. The Jews of Israel apparently regarded Nazi Germany quite differently than did most Americans, let alone most American Jews.

More

https://www.unz.com/runz/american-pravda-jews-and-nazis/

Despite their crimes Bill Gates and George Soros, Clintons, Bushes and Their Accompanying Lowlifes Are Still Walking Around Free men and Women.

Despite their crimes Bill Gates and George Soros, Clintons, Bushes and Their Accompanying Lowlifes Are Still Walking Around Free men and Women.

The rule of law must be imposed.

Otherwise there is no law.

White House press conferences need to be paused once again for obvious reasons.

Otherwise you’re surrendering the chicken coop to the foxes.

Media licences need to be suspended.

Polling places secured by the military, voting machines outlawed, criminals arrested and prosecuted.

Otherwise here is the scenario.

All major cities will burn.

Washington will become a laughing stock.

Unemployment will skyrocket.

No one will be safe in the streets.

Small businesses will be destroyed.

Black neighbourhoods will suffer the most because they are closer to the edge but not by much.

Israel will destroy Palestine.

China will destroy Hong Kong.

https://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/2020/07/despite-their-crimes-bill-gates-and-george-soros-clintons-bushes-and-their-accompanying-lowlifes-are-still-walking-around-free-men-and-women-3726736.html