Op-ed:

The Final Frontier vs. Budget Cuts

By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / Right Side Patriots / Right Side Patriots Radio

The article posted here is the authors opinion alone, and does not necessarily represent the views of blogspot.com or Google

...But the bottom line, in my opinion, is that when budget decisions regarding allocations and funding are being considered for certain highly specialized government agencies...with NASA being such an agency...NASA alone should be making their own budget decisions not pencil-pushing bureaucrats, politicians, or even our president. Why so...because few folks truly understand the science, logistics, and intricacies involved in NASA's past and future successes.

And know that NASA is more than just rockets and spacesuits for NASA not only helps to generate economic growth and its corresponding benefits, but NASA's space missions...whether they be robotic or manned missions...helps us to advance the collective of our scientific knowledge...knowledge needed to help make both the dream of Moon and Mars colonization not just a someday possibility, but a not so distant reality. And when you add in all the practical applications NASA's space technology has here on Earth you might find yourself agreeing with my belief that NASA's budget needs to be expanded not be cut back. Cutting “fluff” is always a good thing, cutting man's future is not, for our reaching for the stars that started with Neil Armstrong's but “one small step for a man”...must be allowed to continue on unabated in the name of all “mankind.”...Read entire article and see video here.

Op-ed:

The Final Frontier vs. Budget Cuts

By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / Right Side Patriots / Right Side Patriots Radio

The article posted here is the authors opinion alone, and does not necessarily represent the views of blogspot.com or Google

 

“Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before!”

- Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise NCC1701

Let me start this article by saying, I think Donald J. Trump might well go down in our nation's history as one of America's greatest presidents...never mind the fact that no president, to date, has had more obstacles thrown in their path to“Make America Great Again” then has this one man. And while I do not agree with every thing he’s done, as it’s hard to agree 100% of the time with anyone, for me there’s really only one issue I totally disagree with him on...as in his administration's putting NASA's 2026 operating budget on the chopping block with cuts here, there, and everywhere. Needless cuts...dangerous cuts with long lasting ramifications including possibly seeing China, not Russia, beating us back to the Moon. Our returning first to the Moon is of paramount importance. because he who controls the Moon controls the Earth...a saying with more truth than the average person really understands. And by the Trump administration cutting back NASA's budget to the degree that is now being proposed could well become a negative factor affecting all the good that Trump has accomplished to date.

“This is a budget that says America is done leading the world in space, that we are a nation turning inward.”

- Casey Dreier, the chief of space policy at the Planetary Society, a nonprofit organization...a think tank if you will...that advocates for space exploration...a statement I sadly must agree with.

Now as for the basics, let's start with the fact that NASA's budget for fiscal year 2026, sees its funding being cut by a whopping 24%...from $24.8 billion in 2025 down to $18.8 billion in 2026...which is the largest single-year cut to NASA in their history. And to break it down even further said proposal sees a two-thirds cut to NASA's astrophysics budget, a 50+% cut to Earth Sciences, a 30% cut to Planetary Sciences, along with cuts to what's called “legacy human exploration systems” which directly affects both our Moon and Mars manned missions. And not to be overlooked is the proposed 50% cut to the “Space Technology” part of the budget...the very program where space technological discoveries are adapted to help better life here on Earth.

Now as for missions specifically being cut, we find the all important robotic “Mars Sample Return Mission”...done in conjunction with the European Space Agency...being cut; the phasing out the SLS rocket and Orion crew capsule after the Artemis III Moon mission...the mission that is scheduled to land near the Moon's south pole; cutting out completely the much needed lunar orbiting space station “Gateway” project; scaling back the “International Space Station” (ISS) by having fewer American astronauts going onboard along with a slimmed-down research program; a cutting of what were deemed to be key “climate monitoring” and “weather forecasting” satellites; along with postponing indefinitely the what was scheduled to be launched in May 2027, as in the “Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (RST) ”...a wide field infrared space telescope that “would settle the essential questions in the areas of dark energy, exoplanets, and astrophysics.” Sort of the “Hubble Telescope” on steroids rightly named for the pioneering woman astronomer deemed to be the “Mother of Hubble.”

So to my fellow “space geeks” I say, let those numbers and mission cuts sink in a bit, along with the additional fact that the current proposed budget also sees cuts of more than $1 billion in regards to “mission support,” as in reducing employee head counts, maintenance, construction and “environmental compliance activities”...with maintenance and construction cuts leaving open the possibly of much needed safety measures coming into question.

Are you angry yet...I know I am...especially with said cuts now also including all important “grant monies”...monies involving NASA's “Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD)”...cutting said monies from $7.5 billion in FY2025 to $3.9 billion in FY2026. And know that STMD, is the very directorate which helps in the developing of new and “transformative space technologies” ...“technologies” that will enable future space missions, and whose “grantees” include some of America's youngest and brightest of astrophysicists, planetary scientists, geologists, biologists, chemists, and mathematicians. Simply, cutting back on “grant monies” would derail cutting-edge scientific advancements, while potentially impacting the training of the next generation of “STEM” scientists...an acronym that stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics...which could force the canceling of missions and research projects already in the developmental stage.

Simply put, stifling our nation's “brain pool” is never a good idea no matter the field involved, but when that field directly includes our all-important and much needed dominance in space it's not just a bad idea but is actually a dangerous idea.

So yes, I'm angry even though the current proposed budget does appear to...at least for now...allocate an actual $647 million increase in funding for “Human Space Exploration” along with a $1 billion in new investments for a Mars manned landing and ultimate colonization, thus making this allocation seem quite odd and almost redundant as the very programs needed to actually implement said exploration and colonization are some of the very programs now scheduled to be cut...sort of like “robbing Peter to pay Paul” if you will. 

“Spreading out into space...will completely change the future of the human race and maybe determine whether we have any future at all. It won’t solve any of our immediate problems on planet Earth, but it will give us a new perspective on them, and cause us to look outwards rather than inwards. Hopefully it would unite us to face a common challenge.”

- Dr. Stephen Hawking, theoretical physicist and cosmologist in an April 21, 2008 interview on NASA TV, entitled ,“Why We Should Go Into Space.”  

                                                                                                   

And so President Trump, the man who understands better than most how important it is for our country to be the leader in space, created “Space Force” to not only partner with NASA on national security matters such as “space domain awareness and planetary defense,” but he made said partnership an immediate imperative in regards to both Russia and China. So it makes no sense that President Trump...the man who also stated in his March address to Congress that he wants to “plant a U.S. flag on Mars;”...would suddenly decide that NASA'a budget must drastically be cut.  

So why and on whose advice is Trump doing what former astronaut and recently retired NASA Director Bill Nelson ...a JFK style Democrat whose loyalty is not to his party but to NASA's main mission*...doing the very opposite of what needs to be done? Saying, “You’ve got this incredible agency populated by what I call a bunch of wizards that, on a daily basis, make the impossible possible, and you are going at them with a chainsaw and a meat-ax,” Nelson might well suspect what I suspected when I first heard of these outrageous cuts.

Harsh but true words that I have a possible answer to...an answer some might not like. So let me begin by saying that I personally do not believe that President Trump acted solely on his own or that he was the originator of what I deem to be a NASA “hatchet job,” because, like me, Trump has always believed that NASA is but one shining example of American exceptionalism at its very best. And while technically NASA is an independent civilian space agency created by Congress that is under the direction of the executive branch, specifically the “Office of Management and Budget” (OMB), it is Congress itself who ultimately decides on NASA's final budget through its “budget and appropriations process”...the process by which Congress sets spending priorities and allocates taxpayer dollars to fund specific programs, and where a budget request is either approved, denied or given a set period of time to make recommended “adjustments”...a long and sometimes tedious process as government bureaucracy tends to get in the way more times than not.

But remember, President Trump has made no secret that while he wants to place more emphasis on private space sector “commercial space objects and objectives” than has previously been done, he still wants important NASA space missions to go forward...at times on their own, at other times in conjunction with said private space sector when need be. And that alone would seem to dictate that while NASA does need to cut costs in a few noncritical areas, it in no way implies that he wants a NASA “hatchet job” done most especially when such cuts could set back our current number one position in space sciences, achievements, and applications.

So after giving this some long and hard thought, I believe that while President Trump did not originate this disgrace of a NASA budget plan, what former director Nelson called a "hatchet job," was set into motion whether deliberately or not when Elon Musk suggested to Trump...like D.O.G.E. suggested to NASA which programs need to be cut...that Trump pick his friend Jared Taylor Isaacman...an American billionaire entrepreneur, pilot, and commercial astronaut with no scientific background whatsoever, a man heavily invested in Musk's SpaceX program, and who has been a vocal mouthpiece for advancing competition in the space industry by reducing reliance on government programs like NASA,..to be the new head of NASA...the job Isaacman has yet to be approved by Congress for as he is considered by both parties to be hostile to NASA especiallywith his SpaceX ties rightfully being seen by many as a serious conflict of interest.

Supporting the private space industry is one thing...most of us, me included, do support said industry...but when it's suggested that a vocal proponent of said industry be the one to head your competition of sorts...as in NASA... that's quite another thing, And this is especially true when the individual proposed already has gone "on record" as saying which key NASA missions he will cut when and if he gets the job or even before he does...which Isaacman has already done.

"We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard."

- President John F. Kennedy's words spoken at Rice University on September 12, 1962, to inform the public about his plan to land a man on the Moon before 1970.

But the bottom line, in my opinion, is that when budget decisions regarding allocations and funding are being considered for certain highly specialized government agencies...with NASA being such an agency...NASA alone should be making their own budget decisions not pencil-pushing bureaucrats, politicians, or even our president. Why so...because few folks truly understand the science, logistics, and intricacies involved in NASA's past and future successes.

And know that NASA is more than just rockets and spacesuits for NASA not only helps to generate economic growth and its corresponding benefits, but NASA's space missions...whether they be robotic or manned missions...helps us to advance the collective of our scientific knowledge...knowledge needed to help make both the dream of Moon and Mars colonization not just a someday possibility, but a not so distant reality. And when you add in all the practical applications NASA's space technology has here on Earth you might find yourself agreeing with my belief that NASA's budget needs to be expanded not be cut back. Cutting “fluff” is always a good thing, cutting man's future is not, for our reaching for the stars that started with Neil Armstrong's but “one small step for a man”...must be allowed to continue on unabated in the name of all “mankind.” Case closed.

____________________________________________________

Footnote

* NASA's main mission is to advance science, technology, aeronautics, and space exploration for the benefit of humankind.

Copyright © 2025 Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All rights reserved.

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For more political commentary please visit my RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS partner Craig Andresen's blog The National Patriot to read his latest article, Liberals Ignore the Plane Truth.

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RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...LIVE!                                           

Tomorrow, Tuesday, May 19th from 7 to 8:00pm EST, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig Andresen and Diane Sori discuss 'The Final Frontier vs. Budget Cuts'; 'Liberals Ignore the Plane Truth'; and important news of the day. Hope you can tune in to RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS on https://rspradio1.com Click 'LISTEN LIVE' starting at 6:50pm EST, show begins at 7pm EST.

Investigative Report:
Votes Manufactured Not Found
By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / Right Side Patriots on American Political Radio

Disclaimer: The opinions below are mine alone...the numbers cited are taken directly from the Broward SOE website on the dates I wrote this report.

By now most of my blog readers and those on social media know that I am from South Florida...the infamous Broward county to be exact and that she who was then Obama's and who now is Nancy Pelosi's little lapdog Debbie Wasserman Schultz is my Congresswoman. But most also know that for years I have fought tooth and nail for Republican candidates and for fair elections in my proven to be corrupt county and done so both in print and on Craig Andresen's and my Right Side Patriots radio show.

And while at times I have played “devil's advocate” regarding certain candidates on the right that I have disagreed with...as in those so far to the right that they actually shake hands with the far left...as in those who will not accept that the “social issues” belong to the states and not on the federal level...I have always come at said folks with verifiable facts and numbers and not with lies, innuendos, suppositions, or through partisan colored eyes as to do so would make me as contemptible as those I will now eviscerate. And why eviscerate...because I and my fellow Floridians have simply had enough of the fraud, cheating, lies, and illegalities emanating from our respective SOE offices.

And though I will concentrate on my home territory of Broward County in this article know that what I say, in most cases, is being mirrored by Susan Bucher, the SOE in Palm Beach County, just on a slightly lesser scale. Never forget Congressman Lt. Col. Allen West's reelection bid and how that was stolen from him by her not counting the military votes and that now Bucher is refusing to comply with court orders.

Now let's start with the fact that on November 6th we Floridians voted Republican Ron DeSantis as Florida's next governor over socialist-leaning Democrat candidate Andrew Gillum who favors sanctuary status for Florida, and we voted Rick Scott to be our new Senator, replacing Bill Nelson of the Democrat's “good ol' boys network.” And even though Andrew Gillum conceded to Ron DeSantis when he saw the Panhandle votes decidedly going to his opponent, Gillum is now taking his concession back. And while a concession usually means a candidate has accepted as fact that they cannot win their given race a concession while symbolic is not legally binding, but to revoke a concession is indeed highly unethical for it usually involves the candidate crying fowl as in “voter fraud” as the reason why the vote...why the voice of we Floridians...needs to be overturned.

But the thing is that “voter fraud” in both Broward and Palm Beach counties is not being done by Republicans but by Democrats alone, and the fraud reaches up to the Supervisor of Elections in both counties...especially in Broward County where it lays directly at the feet of SOE Brenda Snipes...a woman as dishonest as they come yet a woman who has gotten away with her shenanigans because (I believe) she knows that the color of her skin and her gender alone will be her weapon of choice if anyone dares try to remove her. Don't believe me...just listen to her condescending and chastising “tone” in how she talks to reporters when being interviewed on television...it's like Brenda Snipes has one hand in her pocket ready to pull out the race card if she doesn't like the questions being asked.

First appointed SOE by Jeb Bush in November 2003 after he removed Florida's only at that time black woman SOE Miriam Oliphant for flagrant malfeasance, Jeb (I believe) did not want the blow back of racism being leveled against him for removing Oliphant so he took both the cowards and politically correct way out and replaced Oliphant with another black women...and Snipes has been voted in time and again since then. But also remember that Governor Rick Scott had the chance to actually remove Snipes from her SOE position back in 2017 when she admitted in court, in lawsuit Case No. 16-cv-61474-BLOOM/Valle brought by the conservative legal group American Civil Rights Union, that non-citizens and felons “possibly voted,” and that there “seems to be” more voters registered on Broward County voter rolls than there are actual eligible voters. Yet Scott didn't remove her and (I believe) he didn't do so because he, like Jeb Bush, feared said race card being used against him in any future political aspirations he might have.

In fact, on July 31, 2017 our local newspaper, the Sun-Sentinel, stated that when she testified in court, “Snipes acknowledged the processes her office [has] been using aren’t perfect and that some non-citizens and felons have voted despite not being eligible—especially right before major elections, when groups are actively registering new voters.”

Nice huh...now add in that Broward’s questionable issues raised during the trial included fraudulent voter registration lists which included on them supposed 130-year-old voters, the afore mentioned non-citizens and felons, duplicate registrations, illegal registrations, and hundreds of commercial addresses listed as residential addresses that turned out to be rented mailboxes...with Snipes knowing all and doing basically nothing about it. But the problem is that this case against Snipes and her office was not presented to the courts as a voter fraud case...as it should have been...but as a case questioning whether Broward County managed its voter records in accordance with 1993's National Voter Registration Act...commonly referred to as the “Motor Voter Law"...the very law that has caused more problems than it solves as it allows people to register to vote when they apply for a driver’s license whether they are citizens or not. And while this law does require SOE offices to keep their voter lists accurate and up to date, Brenda Snipes apparently never did so and for now obvious reasons.

And know this was not the only time Snipes has been charged with voter irregularities...here's just a short list of the numerous charges leveled against her: in 2004 some 58,000 mail-in ballots were not delivered to voters; in 2012 roughly 1,000 uncounted ballots were discovered a week after the election; in the 2016 primary election results were posted on the elections office’s website BEFORE polls closed; also in 2016 a medical marijuana amendment was left off some ballots; and a court ruled she had broken election law when she destroyed ballots from the 2016 election 12 months after it instead of the 22 months required by federal law...the case of Tim Canova v. Brenda Snipes.

Briefly, Broward Circuit Judge Raag Singhal ruled in Case No.:CASE17-010904(21) that Supervisor Brenda Snipes' office did improperly discarded thousands of ballots cast two years ago in the Democratic primary race between Tim Canova and Debbie Wasserman Schultz after Snipes ignored and then illegally obstructed Canova's request to copy and inspect ballots. Yet even with this ruling Snipes remained in her SOE position...after all the thought of Snipes using the race card is a powerful incentive for her being left untouched. Nothing else makes sense now does it.



So now that brings us to the actual numbers...indisputable on the record numbers... numbers proving that there has been major voter fraud going on in Broward County for quite some time, and that SOE Brenda Snipes knew all about it and looked away for it served her party's candidates and agenda well to do so.

Let's start with these latest numbers as I write this: today, three days after the midterm election, suddenly and miraculously 83,000+ uncounted votes have been discovered in Broward County with neighboring Palm Beach County also miraculously discovering 15,000 uncounted votes. And surprise-surprise...newly we thought elected Sen. Rick Scott's margin of victory has now dropped from 57,000 votes to just 15,074 votes out of the of 8.2 million votes cast when on election night Scott held a 50.09% lead over incumbent Nelson’s 49.91%.

And while Ron DeSantis' election night tally showed a solid 1% win over Andrew Gillum, 49.8% to 48.8%...his numbers have also suddenly shrunk to but less than 1/2 of 1% point...as in 49.61% to 49.17%...thus requiring an automatic machine recount. Now separated by just 36,235 votes out of more than 8.2 million votes cast, DeSantis' election night win was by over 55,000 votes but now has landed at 4,073,423 votes to Gillum's 4,037,304 votes.

And poor Matt Caldwell, a seventh-generation Floridian and a Second Amendment “purist,” saw his election victory stolen right out from under him as gun-control advocate Democrat Nikki Fried, who has no agricultural experience whatsoever and who coincidentally happens to be from Broward County, is for now apparently our states new Commissioner of Agricultural and Consumer Services...a cabinet level position that includes amongst its responsibilities consumer regulation, the protection of goods to market, and the issuing of concealed arms permits. Now doesn't that last responsibility answer it all.

So where have all these votes Democrats need to overturn the election come from? First, while we keep hearing the words “provisional ballots” being thrown around, the truth, I believe, is that these suddenly appearing ballots have been recently “manufactured” and lugged in by truck as the Democrats attempt to pass them off as now legitimately found but misplaced votes. And second, I believe, reported tally numbers on the SOE website and voter registration numbers have been manipulated by Brenda Snipes as well as the actual voting numbers themselves.

But first as to the “provisional ballots.” A “provisional ballot” in Florida (as per Florida Statute 101.048) is a ballot cast by a voter whose eligibility to vote is either in question or cannot be verified at the polling site...many times illegal voters...with any and all questions about said voter's eligibility having to be resolved before their vote can count. More on that in a bit.

Now as to the official numbers reported on the SOE website...numbers themselves that show fraud is going on. Let's start with the fact that when the election was over the SOE office reported that 634,000 total votes had been cast (Snipes on Friday morning changed that number to 717,000 votes cast after she suddenly found 83,000 votes that were not tallied but that's impossible as that number does not jive with the SOE website tally numbers). And on November 9, 2018...three days AFTER the election...the Broward SOE reported that for this election there was 1,182,220 registered voters...with 593,540 being Democrats, 252,023 being Republicans, 328.868 being 'NPA,' and 7,789 being 'Other'...eligible to vote. In other words 548,220 eligible voters...a bit less than half of eligible voters...did not vote in this all important election.

So I guess all those ballots now being trucked over to the SOE office are some of the ballots cast by the 548,220 folks who supposedly did not vote but whose ballots are now part of the 83,000+ ballots that have "miraculously" appeared...sure they have...and these in the video below taken by Florida's First District Rep. Matt Gaetz might well be some of those ballots.



But important to remember is that to be able to register and vote in Florida you must present photo and signature identification on Election Day; be a U.S. citizen; be a Florida resident; be at least 18 years old; have never been legally judged ineligible to vote for either mental incapacitation or crime; and have not been convicted of a felony and had your civil rights restored...and yet as previously stated Snipes admitted felons and non-citizens have voted. And yet Brenda Snipes remains in her position as SOE.

Below is the actual voter registration numbers at the time of Florida's August primary day:

Notice that on August 28th...primary day in Broward County...1,152,897 people were eligible to vote with 274,038 people actually voting, as in a 23.8% turnout. Now remember that three days after the midterm election registered voters were at 1,182,220 an increase of 29,323 registered voters but with the vast majority being new Democrat voters with but a miserly 4,940 new registers going into the Republican column...that in itself is quite odd as Republican vote-getters claim they registered way more new Republicans than that.

But truly odd and something that should raise a red flag is that the original number of those eligible to vote on November 6th have been taken off the SOE website to be replaced by new numbers posted three days AFTER the election...and I want to know what is the discrepancy between the pre and post election numbers and why aren't those pre-election numbers available. What is this woman trying to hide?

Also quite distressing and truly damning...in fact this might be Snipes' very downfall...is that at 4:03 PM, November 06, 2018...three hours BEFORE Florida polls closed...Local 10 News (WPLG an ABC affiliate) reported on their website https://www.local10.com/news/election-results/nov-6-2018-broward-county-election-results* the following election results with 100% of Precincts Reporting (577/577): FL Governor; Broward County...Democrat Andrew Gillum 67% with 480,314 votes to Republican Ron DeSantis' 31% with 221,335 votes and U.S. Senate FL;Broward County...Democrat Bill Nelson 69% with 469,969 votes to Republican Rick Scott's 30% and 210,599 votes.

What I want to know...what I demand to know...is how and from whom did Local 10 News get these numbers three hours BEFORE the polls closed...(and nowhere does it say these are early voting numbers) I'll tell you from whom... from “crooked” Brenda Snipes! And if ALL precincts reported in as Local 10 claims why and what the hell is Broward still counting!!! Phony, fake, and "manufactured" votes that's what they're counting and they're doing so solely to overturn the election and to make Democrats the election winners!!! Something stinks folks...and stinks big!

Now let's take these numbers in the DeSantis v. Gillum race for example and compare them with the official SOE website registered to vote numbers: as per Brenda Snipes there were 1,182,220 eligible to vote in this election from Broward County and in total between these two men 701,649 votes were cast as of this BEFORE the polls closed Local 10 News 4:03pm post in the governors race. Now according to Snipes' total NOT voting count of 548,220 registered voters and you subtract the 480,571 from those who did vote in this race, as per the Local 10 News post, and even if you assume that the Local 10 News post is the tally of early voters (which nowhere does it say that it is) that leaves you with a questionable 67,649 vote tally discrepancy in Snipe's numbers, and we know damn well that way more than 67,649 people voted on election day. Translation: people voted who had absolutely NO legal right to vote.

And that folks changes the entirety of the eligible to vote numbers and reduces the total number across the board of legitimate people who voted for each and every candidate. Talk about out and out voter fraud.

And now we must add in that whiny Democrats are claiming that the ballot set-up itself was to blame as the Senate race appeared below the instructions and that they didn't see it. First, the ballot itself is approved by the SOE herself...as in by the anything but should be nonpartisan SOE Brenda Snipes and second, are Democrats really that stupid as to not look to the bottom of the page as they knew well there was a Senate race. And here's a fact that should shut them up...every voter gets a sample ballot in the mail BEFORE the election...if you didn't get one take it up with Snipes.

So where does this leave us as of now, Saturday afternoon at 2:47pm EST as I conclude my investigative report...it leads us to the fact that Brenda Snipes, in my opinion, is as crooked as they come. The Hillary/Obama loyalist and (I believe) vote fixer has broken many Florida voting laws via her SOE position. In fact, Ms. Brenda Snipes and her office broke Florida law 102.141 (b)...which details the process by which ballots are to be counted and tallied...as in it is required that within 30 minutes of the polls closing she should have published an estimated count of the ballots in hand, and it was to be regularly updated every 45 minutes there afterward...and she did not do this. Every other county in Florida other than Broward and maybe Palm Beach had done this. And with the other SOE's following procedure, the only logical explanation for Snipes not doing so is that she and her people were either too busy "manufacturing" votes or were too busy trucking in the votes that they had already "manufactured."

And that brings us back to the provisional votes...the vast majority of which are the very votes Snipes claims to have found. There's a simple way to end her nonsense...call those voters and ask if indeed they had cast a provisional vote...I bet most have not. And I bet the same can be said about the majority of the absentee ballots as well. In other words, I would not doubt that Brenda Snipes and her staff both BEFORE the election and within these past few days AFTER the election have “bubbled-in” left over blank ballots...the now to date 83,000+ ballots suddenly found.

So as the news just broke that both our senate and governors race are now subject to recounts**...as if we didn't know that would happen...all I can say is that the fix is in and it probably was given the go-ahead when Hillary Clinton visited both Broward County SOE Brenda Snipes and Palm Beach County SOE Susan Bucher a week before the election. And I also would not doubt that Barack HUSSEIN Obama's hand is in this as well for Obama demands payback for his being denied his third term in office via his puppet Hillary Clinton. And what better payback would there be than turning Florida blue.

Case closed.
______________________________________________
* As I publish this report on 11/12/18, the Local 10 News (WPLG) website is still showing the election results they posted three hours BEFORE the polls closed.

** Here's how the Democrats will try to pull off some of the vote manipulation as in the scanner recounts of the paper ballots which can easily be defrauded. All someone has to do is fill in (bubble in) the box of the Democrat candidate where the original ballot had the Republican candidate marked. The machine will now recognize it as a double vote and reject it, thereby eliminating the original Republican vote.

Copyright @ 2018 Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All Rights Reserved.

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RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...LIVE!
 
Tuesday, November 13th from 7 to 9pm EST on American Political Radio, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig Andresen and Diane Sori discuss 'Votes Manufactured Not Found';  'A Trifecta of Nuts in the News'; and important news of the day.

Hope you can tune in at: http://listen.samcloud.com/w/73891/American-Political-Radio#history...or on Tune-In at: https://tunein.com/radio/American-Political-Radio-s273246/

Op-ed:
A Flip-Flop on Offshore Drilling but at What Cost  
By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / Right Side Patriots on American Political Radio
 
...So why did Zinke really exempt only my state of Florida from the new drilling deregulations (for now anyway) and not the other states who objected right from the onset...why when the new offshore drilling proposal is a huge win for President Trump's strong energy policy. Why...simply because while it is about politics as in a Rick Scott senate win helping to keep the Senate red come the mid-terms, it's much more about making sure that Florida stays red in 2020...with Trump favored Rep. Ron DeSantis hopefully being Florida's next Republican governor. Placate Florida now, keep Florida red then... 

Continue reading...

Op-ed: 
A Flip-Flop on Offshore Drilling but at What Cost
By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / Right Side Patriots on American Political Radio

“We want to grow our nation’s offshore energy industry, instead of slowly surrendering it to foreign shores...a clear difference between energy weakness and energy dominance...” 
- Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke

A hypocrite and a phony...to me thy name is Florida Governor Rick Scott. Never liked him, still don't...never trusted him, still don't...but unfortunately I had to vote for him when he beat out his Republican challenger (and the man I supported and volunteered for) Bill McCullen for the then Republican gubernatorial nomination. Not a well-spoken man as witnessed by the few televised interviews he gives, Governor Rick Scott is the very man who sold out the all important Port Canaveral container contract to a muslim company based in the Middle East instead of awarding the contract to any of the numerous American companies that had applied.

Imagine the very port that services Cape Canaveral...that services NASA...now has containers entering the port... entering our country...being inspected by...or contents possibly being ignored by...stevedors working for the Gulftainer Group, a subsidiary of the Gulf Stevedoring Contracting Company (GSCCO), which is based in of all places Saudi Arabia. You can read all about that here in my previously written Op-ed: Selling Off America One Piece at a Time.

And Governor Scott's so bad decision making, in my opinion, only gets worse when recently he was able to get Florida exempted from the Trump administration's so rightfully reversed protections put in place by the Obama administration and announced “sweeping deregulations” that would allow both offshore oil and gas drilling in almost all previously protected Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic waters. This new oil and gas leasing program...a program that opens up more than 90% of the region known as the Outer Continental Shelf, a coastal "domain" that extends between 10 and 250 miles off the U.S. coastline....would see more than 90% of the Outer Continental Shelf becoming “available” for what would then be the largest number ever of lease sales to fossil fuel companies...as in 50 lease sales in all but one of 26 planned areas in U.S. waters, including 19 sales off the coast of Alaska, seven in the Pacific, 12 in the Gulf of Mexico, and nine in the Atlantic.

And all this, according to the the U.S. Geological Survey, translates into there being as much as 4.59 billion barrels of oil and 38.17 trillion cubic feet of natural gas off the Atlantic Coast; 10.2 billion barrels of oil and 16.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas off the Pacific coast; 26.61 billion barrels of oil and 131.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas off Alaska's coast; and 48.6 billion barrels of oil and 141.76 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Gulf of Mexico...all untapped as of yet.

A very good thing indeed as these large oil deposits off the U.S. coastline would allow for us to cut what is our still dependency on foreign...on Arab oil. And while fracking has already helped to some degree to do just that, drilling and fracking combined would together put a major dent in our purchasing of Arab oil...plus with drilling even more jobs...thousands of jobs...would be created for American workers along with adjunct industries and their corresponding jobs that would naturally evolve from the drilling industry...a jobs number that could be as high as 20,000 energy sector jobs* created in Florida alone.

But does all this matter to Governor Scott...the man whose slogan is "To make Florida first in job creation"...apparently not as on Tuesday, January 9th he met with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to secure said exemption for drilling off Florida's coast citing the possibility for spilled crude washing onto Florida's beaches...of course something no one wants...as Florida relies heavily on its beaches...on tourism...as its key economic industry. And Zinke agreed...agreed without having any public input or scientific review...and issued a statement saying that, “I am removing Florida from consideration for any new oil and gas platforms.” And why...because he said other coastal states like Louisiana are "working coasts" that are "very much different than a recreation-centric coast that's in Florida."

And while those words are true to a great degree it is still a very unwise and so highly uncalled for move on Interior Secretary Zinke's part because the newest generation of oil and gas platforms have not only corrected the issues causing major environmental concerns but they would not even be visible from Florida's Atlantic coastline as the platforms would be miles offshore and there would have only been two...one each in the area geologists feel hold the largest oil deposits...one off Volusia county's coast the other off Flagler county's coast. And by the way, President Trump's home Mar-a-Lago is in Palm Beach County so don't even go there.

As for Governor Scott, he has over the years been a champion of supporting coastal drilling around Florida, in fact, during his first campaign for governor in 2010 he explicitly called for drilling offshore. However, after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, and only after the spill coated some west Florida beaches in black sludge and tarballs, did then candidate Rick Scott add language to his campaign website stating that he wanted drilling done in an "environmentally sound way and adhering to the strictest of safety standards." Yet these are but mere words said because at the same time he said them he vehemently opposed the Obama initiated 7-year drilling moratorium after the Deep Water disaster.

And since being elected governor, Rick Scott has sadly remained mum as to his promise to expand drilling nor has he bothered to even look into a way to drill as safely as possible while adding jobs at the same time. Very odd indeed since Governor Rick Scott never once objected to drilling off Florida's coast nor did he ask for Florida to be exempted from said drilling when the Department of the Interior was first putting together Trump's drilling proposal even though the Democratic governors of New York, New Jersey, California, and several other states with Republican governors most assuredly did and still do object, and they are currently citing what Rick Scott is only citing now as the midterm election draws near...the all-important tourism value of their coastlines to their state's economies.

So Florida's Governor Rick Scott now joins the ever-expanding ranks of flip-floppers who refuse to see that the overall track record for U.S. offshore drilling is indeed a very good one. And with the Gulf of Mexico...having to date 95 operational drilling rigs up and running...comes the fact that there has only been three major accidents in the years since Gulf drilling began in 1938 with the Creole field. And those events are the aforementioned Deepwater Horizon event (which happened because of a natural gas surge), the 1964 C.P. Baker Drilling Barge disaster, and the October 2007 Usumacinta Jack-up disaster with the later two caused by tankers docked alongside the platforms not from any intrinsic problems with the platforms themselves. And there has also been one more accident...certainly not as serious as the others when last October the Delta House floating production facility saw an oil leak, but this leak was caused by a fracture in a flowline jumper not by any tanker, and thankfully most of the oil dissipated before ever reaching the shore.

Not a bad track record I'd say considering all the oil that has been harvested, processed, and used...oil we didn't have to purchase from Arab countries that don't like us very much.

And while the anti-drilling bunch continuously cite the few serious accidents and oil leaks that have happened as a reason not to increase offshore drilling, know that most leaks accounted for are naturally occurring oil leaks that have been leaking longer than we have been drilling. And it's a fact that in the Gulf of Mexico...and off California's coast as well...oil naturally seeps up through the seafloor but that the oil that does so seeps up very slowly creating only the thinnest of oil slicks when it reaches the surface, and that the organisms that live over these seeps...such as "oil-gobbling bacteria"...have evolved in such a way as to be able to cope with said leaks. And why do I mention this...because the eco-whakos think all oil that reaches our beaches is from some platform disaster.

So why Governor Scott's sudden change of heart about Florida offshore drilling...it's for political reasons alone... as he knows that Florida's senior Senator Bill Nelson...a moderate Democrat who was a Payload Specialist on the Space Shuttle Columbia and is a champion of Florida's space industry and NASA...has always been opposed to offshore drilling and that the opposition to such drilling is strong in Florida...at least it used to be.

“I have spent my entire life fighting to keep oil rigs away from our coasts...but now, suddenly, Secretary Zinke announces plans to drill off Florida’s coast and four days later agrees to ‘take Florida off the table’? I don’t believe it. This is a political stunt orchestrated by the Trump administration to help Rick Scott,” so said Senator Bill Nelson.

That I'm not so sure about as Governor Scott is not totally behind Trump's agenda no matter their smiling faces...so highly important with the midterms looming especially where it concerns the current hot-button issue of DACA. Remember, as governor, Scott endorsed legislation filed by Miami Republican Rep.Carlos Furbelow and North Carolina's Republican Sen. Thom Tillis that would offer an eventual path to citizenship to immigrants who came to our country illegally before January 1, 2012, and were 16 or younger when they did so.

And while even the environmental group Sierra Club recognizes the politics involved in Zinke's statement what with their Florida Director Frank Jackalone saying, “Make no mistake about it, Ryan Zinke's decision...to remove Florida from the draft offshore drilling plan was a purely political move to aid the ambitions of Rick Scott,” even that statement comes with a caveat of sorts as Zeinke knows well that one man's ambitions alone being the reason for said exemption would never survive the many legal challenges to come... challenges relating to provisions in the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act...a law laying out the standards and procedures for determining which areas will and will not be open to offshore drilling.

So why did Zinke really exempt only my state of Florida from the new drilling deregulations (for now anyway) and not the other states who objected right from the onset... why when the new offshore drilling proposal is a huge win for President Trump's strong energy policy. Why...simply because while it is about politics as in a Rick Scott senate win helping to keep the Senate red come the mid-terms, it's much more about making sure that Florida stays red in 2020...with Trump favored Rep. Ron DeSantis hopefully being Florida's next Republican governor. Placate Florida now, keep Florida red then.

Remember, Senator Nelson is one of ten Democratic senators up for reelection in states carried by President Trump and is also the most vulnerable because of his moderate stance on certain issues. Zinke knows that a Nelson loss in Florida would most likely keep the Senate red for at least another two years so why not play both sides of the aisle against each other. If Rick Scott, as expected, does enter the race and wins, Florida's thank you remains no offshore drilling (for at least the time being)...and if Senator Bill Nelson keeps his seat no offshore drilling wins again as he is and has always been against Florida offshore drilling and would vote so. And if Rep. Ron DeSantis just happens to become Florida's next Republican governor, while he too has flip-flopped on the issue of offshore drilling to some degree, I believe he in the end would most likely stand united with President Trump on the offshore drilling issue after not only aligning himself with Trump during his gubernatorial run announcement but as a thank you I'm sure for Trump having campaigned for him here in Florida.

Simply, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke had nothing to lose and everything to gain by exempting Florida when he did what with the possibility that even if Rick Scott beat Bill Nelson in the Senate race and with both now still singing the anti-drilling tune...with a Ron DeSantis governorship highly likely and with his publicly stating loyalty to the Trump agenda no matter his somewhat wishy-washy oil drilling stance right now...the gamble of his in the end  supporting the drilling is a gamble worth taking. And I would assume President Trump thinks so too or Florida would not have been exempted from offshore drilling no matter what the naysayers or hypocritical Rick Scott supporters say.

So as advocacy for offshore drilling gains momentum nationwide; and as we Floridians know our state needs revenue unrelated to just tourism coupled with more jobs no matter the current yes/no drilling politics involved; and while my personal belief holds that protecting the environment is also a must...the thing that must trump all in today's volatile world is that our dependence on foreign oil must stop and if unseen from the shore while at the same time being done safely, then both offshore oil and gas drilling must be a go even here in my home state of Florida.
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* As per Florida Economist Hank Fishkind in the Jacksonville Times Union: "Florida could earn royalties of at least $2.3 billion per year, creating 20,000 energy sector jobs at an average salary of $76,500 per year and generating $7 billion per year in direct economic activity. If Florida waters are as productive as some believe and if the price of oil climbs, the royalties and taxes alone could be $12 billion a year and the industry could generate $41 billion in economic activity, creating over 230,000 jobs."

Copyright @ 2018 Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All Rights Reserved.

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RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...LIVE!

Tomorrow, Tuesday, January 16th from 7 to 9pm on American Political Radio, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig Andresen and Diane Sori discuss the offshore drilling issue; President Trump’s supposedly racist comment; and other important news of the day.

Hope you can tune in at: http://listen.samcloud.com/w/73891/American-Political-Radio#history