Sunday, November 11, 2012

The Supreme Court is not only activist, but, treasonist under Roberts.

I know that is an inflammatory statement, but, the truth is the 
truth.

The Robert's Court is becoming 
more and more extreme. What 
is completely appalling is the 
way this is directly effecting the political fairness of a region of 
the country.

Since when does political corruption of a region of the country become dominant to the rights of the entire country? This is a designer court 
and acts in disregard to the US Constitution. This is not about states 
rights, it is about dismantling civil rights and removing the vote as the 
only means nominating and electing our 'representative democracy.' 

It is time to seriously consider impeachment of the judges willing to 
weaken the strength of the citizen in favor of political power. This 
directly relates to the disseminating of citizen's rights to corporate 
cronys.


The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (click here)

This site at the Justice Department is safe as accurate for at least the next four years.

The 1965 Enactment

By 1965 concerted efforts to break the grip of state disfranchisement had been under way for some time,but had achieved only modest success overall and in some areas had proved almost entirely ineffectual. The murder of voting-rights activists in Philadelphia, Mississippi, gained national attention, along with numerous other acts of violence and terrorism. Finally, the unprovoked attack on March 7, 1965, by state troopers on peaceful marchers crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, en route to the state capitol in Montgomery, persuaded the President and Congress to overcome Southern legislators' resistance to effective voting rights legislation. President Johnson issued a call for a strong voting rights law and hearings began soon thereafter on the bill that would 
become the Voting Rights Act.

These attacks on the Middle Class won't end until Scalia leaves the 
court. Since the Bush appointments the Supreme Court has been openly
hostile toward the citizen while yielding to corporations. There is a lot
wrong here and it is time to begin serious hearings on impeachment. The
Court has become to emboldened with 'anti-citizen' themes. Roberts 
was densely linked to The Heritage Foundation before his appointment
to the Court. I am confident his priorities for same comes from attachments
to that foundation as well. Scalia is nothing but hubris anymore. We 
already know the irreverence of Alito. Thomas will probably write one of
the two opinions on this priority of this Court.


November 9, 2012, 4:18 p.m.

WASHINGTON — Acting just three days (click here) after the election, 
the Supreme Court announced Friday it would consider lifting a legal 
cloud that has hung over the South since the 1960s by striking down 
part of the landmark Voting Rights Act as outdated and unfair....

The Supreme Court should be strengthening voter rights by demanding 
standardization across the country of early voting, voting mechanisms
and opening opportunity to the citizen rather than weakening it. The 
electorate is growing with every generation coming of age, the need for
expanding the voting opportunity is paramount to a functioning election.

This decision by the Roberts' Court came on the heels of President Obama stating "...and we need to do something about that." The statement was
in regard to teh voting rights fiasco this year. This decision to assail this 
law is a direct attack on the results of the 2012 election when Citizens' 
United failed to buy the elections in the Senate and Executive Branch.

Abstract: The right to engage in free speech--particularly political 
speech-- (click here) and the right to freely associate are two of this 
nation's most important founding principles. That is why the Supreme 
Court's recent decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election 
Commission is so important: It protects these principles against those, including President Barack Obama, who favor a federal ban on 
independent political advocacy by corporations....

Chief Justice John Robert's decision in regards to The Affordable Care 
Act is in line with his Heritage Foundation connections.

...On June 28, 2012, the Supreme Court (click here) upheld the constitutionality of Obamacare, particularly its core provision – the 
so-called individual mandate under which most Americans would be 
required to buy health care insurance with at least the minimum 
amount of coverage stipulated by the federal government or pay a 
fine. The Court upheld the mandate on the grounds that it was within 
the taxing authority of Congress. Chief Justice John Roberts provided 
the swing vote to give the liberal justices on the bench the majority 
they needed to uphold the controversial law.

In a 5-4 decision written by Chief Justice Roberts, he concluded that 

“Because the Constitution permits such a tax, it is not our role to forbid
 it, or to pass upon its wisdom or fairness.”...

The Affordable Care Act was originally authored by The Heritage 
Foundation. Why would it be inconsistent for Roberts to align his authority
against a law he probably contributed to nearly two decades before? I
haven't done a study on the parallels between The Heritage Foundation
and the decisions of the Roberts' Court, but, my guess is the comparison 
is very strong.

Paula Broadwell is not an amanuensis


If all Petraeus needed was a copier of manuscripts, they could have hired a monk and probably should have.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2012, 3:04 PM

A senior U.S. military official (click here) says the author who had an affair with David Petraeus sent harassing emails to a woman who was the State Department's liaison to the military's Joint Special Operations Command.

The official says 37-year-old Jill Kelley in Tampa, Fla., received the emails from Petraeus biographer Paula Broadwell that triggered an FBI investigation....

...The FBI probe began several months ago with a complaint against Broadwell. That investigation led to Broadwell's email account, which uncovered the relationship with Petraeus.

The FBI had to investigate harassment that could have turned into deadly attacks.

Nowak Family / AP
Astronaut Lisa Nowak and her husband Rich pose with their twin daughters on the occasion of the babies' baptisms in the spring of 2002 in Houston.


By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
UPDATED: 11:37 EST, 29 July 2011
...Nowak (click here) had flown on the Space Shuttle Discovery in July 2006, working as a robotics arm operator during space walks.

Seven months later, she got into her husband's blue BMW, drove nearly 1,000 miles from Houston to Orlando - allegedly using diapers along the way so she wouldn't have to stop - stalked Shipman throughout the airport and then attacked her in a darkened parking lot.
Nowak denies that she actually wore the diapers.
The attack concerned the affections of fellow astronaut and U.S. Navy Cmdr. William Oefelein, who had broken up with Nowak after he met Shipman.
Nowak was fired from NASA shortly after the attack, while the U.S. Navy ended Oefelein's ties to the space agency.
Oefelein and Shipman subsequently retired from the military and married ocala.com reports.
Nowak and her husband, Richard, divorced in 2008....


It is Sunday Night


"Minority" by Green Day (click title for link to website. Billy Joe is hospitalized and the band has a message there.)



I want to be the minority
I don't need your authority
Down with the moral majority
'Cause I want to be the minority

I pledge allegiance to the world
One nation under none
There of which I stand alone
A face in the crowd
Unsung, against the mold
Without a doubt
Singled out
The only way I know

'Cause I want to be the minority
I don't need your authority
Down with the moral majority
'Cause I want to be the minority

Stepped out of the line
Like a sheep runs from the herd
Marching out of time
To my own beat now
The only way I know

One light, one mind
Flashing in the dark
Blinded by the silence of a thousand broken hearts
"For crying out loud", she screamed unto me
A free for all
Free 'em all
You are your own sight

'Cause I want to be the minority
I don't need your authority
Down with the moral majority
'Cause I want to be the minority

One light, one mind
Flashing in the dark
Blinded by the silence of a thousand broken hearts
"For crying out loud", she screamed unto me
A free for all
Free 'em all
You are your own sight

'Cause I want to be the minority
I don't need your authority
Down with the moral majority
'Cause I want to be the minority

be the minority
I want to be the minority
be the minority
I want to be the minority

Veterans Day is not just about the dead. The honor belongs to Memorial Day.

A large sub-population of the homeless in the USA are Veterans.

Profile of the Sheltered Homeless Individual Veterans (SHIV) (click here)


Veterans are overrepresented among the homeless population:

In 2010, Veterans account for 10 percent of the total adult population and 16 percent of 

the homeless adult population.  However, Veterans comprised 13 percent of sheltered 
homeless adults in 2010 and 16 percent of homeless adults at a given point in time.

Secretary Shinseki has brought these studies forward to make a difference in the lives of these Veterans. They should never be ignored. For two consecutive years, 2009 and 2010, there are disproportionate populations of Veterans that are homeless and alone.

Secretary Shinseki has dedicated time and treasure to improving the lives of our Veterans, it is time for Congress to realize this is a sub-population of the homeless in the USA that is simply not acceptable. The Veterans in these dire circumstances receive food stamps, shelter and disability income from the USA federal government. It is time for Congress to show gratitude to these soldiers that stand the line of protecting our sovereignty. They are important people, they have always been important people and allowing homelessness is no way to express our gratitude.


We used to have a GI Bill of Rights that offered home ownership as a reward to their service, it is time that occurs again.


United States Department of Veterans Affairs
National Center for Veteran Analysis and Statistics (click here)

The homeless population of Veterans is not the only statistic we know about the people defending our nation.

The location of the Myanmar earthquake is near a fault.


Summary (click here)

Location and Magnitude contributed by: USGS, NEIC, Golden, Colorado (and predecessors)

General

1000 km
1000 mi
Powered by Leaflet
Myanmar
23.014°N, 95.883°E
Depth: 9.8km (6.1mi)

Event Time

  1. 2012-11-11 01:12:38 UTC
  2. 2012-11-11 07:42:38 UTC+06:30 at epicenter
  3. 2012-11-10 20:12:38 UTC-05:00 system time

Location

23.014°N 95.883°E depth=9.8km (6.1mi)

Nearby Cities

  1. 52km (32mi) NNE of Shwebo, Myanmar
  2. 64km (40mi) W of Mogok, Myanmar
  3. 116km (72mi) N of Mandalay, Myanmar
  4. 124km (77mi) NNW of Maymyo, Myanmar
  5. 362km (225mi) N of Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar

The region has seen devastating events due to earthquakes. 

Mr. Entwhistle should have done the 'honorable thing' BEFORE he used his power to victimize others.


...In a brief statement outside Broadcasting House (click here) in London last night, Mr Entwistle said that he had decided to do the “honourable thing” and step down from his post.
“When appointed to the role, with 23 years’ experience as a producer and leader at the BBC, I was confident the trustees had chosen the best candidate for the post, and the right person to tackle the challenges and opportunities ahead,” he said.
“However the wholly exceptional events of the past few weeks have led me to conclude that the BBC should appoint a new leader.”
Standing alongside him, the chairman of the BBC Trust, Lord Patten said it was “one of the saddest evenings of my public life”.
A clearly emotional Lord Patten, who chose Mr Entwistle for the role, said that he had paid the price for the “unacceptable shoddy journalism” on Newsnight. “He has behaved as editor with huge honour and courage and would that the rest of the world always behaved the same,” he said....

Anti-government Iranian Blogger tortured to death.

Mr Beheshti reportedly complained of being threatened the day before his arrest


...Sattar Beheshti, 35, was arrested (click here) in his home on October 30, rights groups said, after receiving death threats due to his anti-government blog. He died in custody, possibly as a result of torture, Amnesty International said in a statement last week.
On Sunday, deputy parliament speaker Mohammad Hassan Abu-Torabi Fard said a special committee would investigate Beheshti's death, according to the Mehr news agency.
"The national security and foreign policy committee of Parliament has investigated this topic and has formed a committee in this regard," Abu-Torabi Fard was quoted as saying by Mehr.
Conservative and outspoken lawmaker Ahmad Tavakoli, who represents Tehran, criticized Iran's judiciary for being silent on Beheshti's death....

Iran has withdrawn from Non-Proliferation talks begun in 2010. Unfortunately, Iranian politically moderate citizens were viewed by the First World as a hope for the country. It would seem as though the hope for Iran is being removed from its citizenry. I hope this is not a growing trend with the Iranian government.

...The meeting — to be held in Helsinki, Finland, by year's end (click here) — was on shaky ground since it was agreed to in 2010 by the 189 member nations of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Its key sponsors were the U.S., Russia and Britain, but they said such as meeting was only possible if all countries — especially Israel —agreed to attend....

Let me guess. Another natural gas disaster.

For some odd reason the media isn't reporting it as a natural gas explosion. 

Interesting. Across the board there is no reporting of the natural gas explosion. None.

I take it the flames were extinguished after the gas line was shut down.

It is amazing how potent the power of the petroleum industry is in the USA. Let me guess, the gas leak came through the kitchen sink which was dripping.


INDIANAPOLIS November 11, 2012 (AP)

A deafening explosion (click here) that leveled two homes and set two others ablaze forced about 200 people from a devastated Indianapolis neighborhood overnight. Authorities said one body was recovered after the flames were extinguished from the blast that shattered windows, crumpled walls and did other damage to dozens of other homes....
...Complicating the pre-dawn search of the neighborhood, authorities did not know definitively how many people were in the neighborhood when the blast occurred. "People scattered when all this happened, so we're not really sure how many people we're looking for," Hensley said.
Bryan and Trina McClellan were at home their 23-year-old son Eric when the shock wave from the blast a block away shuddered through their home. It knocked the windows out along one side of their home and their first instinct was to check on their two toddler grandchildren in the basement. One was holding his ears and saying "Loud noise, loud noise."...

continued...

Saturday, November 10, 2012

There is a culture of substance abuse at his military base.



...Witnesses earlier (click here) in the week talked about the blood-soaked clothes that Sergeant Bales was seen wearing when he returned to his base in Kandahar and his comments to fellow soldiers about having done “the right thing.” There was also testimony about the test for steroids in his system that came back positive three days after the killings.....

There needs to be further investigation into the cultural abuse of steroids among these soldiers. Evidently, they believe they have to be Super-Soldiers to survive the fronts in Afghanistan. It is a mental health issues.

Friday, November 09, 2012

"All In" - Is this for real? What kind of joke is this? Oh, my god, his poor wife.



Please tell me, the USA military didn't pay his mistress while she estranged the man from his family. 

I am sorry, but, she is unprofessional, has no serious boundaries. He is a very interesting man, but, where were her ethics as a journalist and author about a Five Star General. Please don't tell me the USA military provided her with security clearance. Please tell me every man along the way didn't become gaga over her legs, right? Seriously. Hello? Are there any men that know how to protect this country?

How does anyone face his wife after this disaster in her life? This is terrible. I guarantee you this 'thesis' was paid for by the military budget.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (click title to entry - thank you)

This absentee ballot is taking on some brevity. Get this.


Absentee ballots crucial in judge race (click here)

November 9, 2012
By LEVI PASCHER - For the Enterprise
Despite reports Wednesday that there were four winners in the 11-county Fourth Judicial District's state Supreme Court race, one candidate says the final spot on the court is too close to call at this time.
Montgomery County Court Judge Felix Catena said today he leads family court magistrate John Ellis, of Tupper Lake, by only 61 votes.
"The numbers seem to be all over the place from the reporters to the board of elections," said Catena. "As far as we can tell, I am ahead of John Ellis by 61 votes."
Catena said the election results were much closer than previously reported.
According to Catena, he is ahead of John Ellis 135,616 to 135,555....

The Veto Pen

We have danced this dance as Cinderella before, except, the Bush Tax Cuts end on midnight of December 31, 2012.

The House will never be able to enlist the Senate to override President Obama's Veto. 

The Republican House needs to stop acting like spoiled rich kids and get real.

WASHINGTON | Fri Nov 9, 2012 4:48pm EST
(Reuters) - Newly re-elected President Barack Obama (click here) said on Friday he was prepared to compromise with Republicans to avert a looming U.S. fiscal calamity but insisted a tax increase for the rich must be part of any bargain.

Obama reminded Republicans that his approach to avoiding steep tax hikes and spending cuts due in January, which could trigger another recession, had just won the backing of Americans at the polls. His spokesman said he would veto any deal which did not include an extra contribution from the wealthiest.

Obama invited congressional leaders to the White House next Friday to discuss the issue, the most pressing challenge as the president starts his second term in office....

And Professor Krugman agrees. It must be a Nobel thing. It isn't easy to herd cats, but, no one said it was impossible.


OP-ED COLUMNIST

Let’s Not Make a Deal (click here)


...So President Obama has to make a decision, almost immediately, about how to deal with continuing Republican obstruction. How far should he go in accommodating the G.O.P.’s demands?

My answer is, not far at all. Mr. Obama should hang tough, declaring himself willing, if necessary, to hold his ground even at the cost of letting his opponents inflict damage on a still-shaky economy. And this is definitely no time to negotiate a “grand bargain” on the budget that snatches defeat from the jaws of victory....

The Republicans should avoid practicing politics at all cost to solve the nations' fiscal problems and get this done now. Seriously. The country is not in the mood for the gaming of the system anymore, regardless, of the hubris of a Koch Brother High by the GOP House. 

It is all laughable. Completely laughable. 

There is a lot of work to do including the Climate Crisis. It is time to get to work.

Sorry to hear he is leaving. He has given exceptional service to his country.

Nov 5, 2012 1:00 AM EST
1. Lead by example (click here) from the front of the formation. Take your performance personally—if you are proud to be average, so too will be your troops.

No doubt, retirement will enhance his relationship with his spouse. I wish them well.