The score is 2 - 0.

Counting the Omnibus Bill that funds 2015 through September:

Wall Street - 2

US Citizens - 0

The definition of corruption at it's core. The nation is left hostage to the powers of the plutocrats. They find a political hot spot and attach all their corrupt intentions.

Senators that voted against the bill; (click here)  Senator Marko Rubio, Senator Elizabeth Warren,  Senator Maria Cantwell and Senator Bernie Sanders.

Senator Barbara Boxer, Senator Harry Reid and Shelley Capito abstained from voting.

Every other US Senator voted for the measure including Miss Piggy. Monkey See, Monkey Do.

Voting No (click here) in the US House is Tom McClintock (R-CA), Thomas Massey (R-KY), Walter Jones (R-NC), Justin Amish (R-MI) and James Sensenbrenner (R-WI).

Louise Slaughter (D-NY) voted Present.

Abstained in the US House are Representatives Rubin Gallego (D-FL), John Larson (D-CT), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Debbie Dingle (D-MI).

Hm. Sad but true, the all saintly majority of the House and Senate along with an anticipated signature of Obama have undercut the American voter again.

Remember the Omnibus bill passed to prevent the government from shutting down in 2014? Remember and the last minute amendment that removed protections from consumers giving Wall Street the right to carry out the risk taking of derivatives? The annual bailout of banks? Remember that?

I figured out how and why the banks came up with that idea. They basically pouted that ordinary citizens can declare gambling losses above any winnings. Banks are citizens, too, aren't they.

Ah, but, what has this to do with TRIA? I should be reading the definitions by now, right?

By Danny Vinik
...On Thursday afternoon, (click here) the Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation to renew the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), which expired at the end of 2014 and allows the federal government to backstop commercial insurance companies up to $200 million in the case of a terrorist attack. But the bill, which the House passed on Wednesday, also eliminates another provision in the financial regulatory bill. Wall Street’s strategy to dismantle Dodd-Frank is only picking up speed.

The regulation that TRIA rolls back is not pivotal to Dodd-Frank. It gives the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodities Future Trading Commission (CFTC) oversight over collateral and margin requirements for certain financial trades—known as derivatives—with commercial end users. It’s not as important to Dodd-Frank as Section 716, which prevented banks from using taxpayer-backed money to trade in certain high risk financial products and was eliminated in the year-end funding bill known as the CROmnibus. But it still weakens the law. “The oversight of margin and collateral for derivatives transactions is a basic regulatory safeguard,” Americans for Financial Reform wrote in an open letter opposing the provision. “Even though regulators have not proposed to require any margin of commercial end users at this time, it is inappropriate to completely eliminate the ability of central derivatives market regulators to take action in this important area.”...

We have a lot of vocabulary to learn with this Congres..

TRIP - Terrorism Risk Insurance Program
TRIA - Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002
TRIEA - Terrorism Risk Insurance Extension Act of 2005
TRIPRA - Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act - 2007

Terrorism Risk Insurance Program (TRIP) (click here)

On November 26, 2002, the President signed into law the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107–297, 116 Stat. 2322) [TRIA]. The law created a temporary federal program that provides for a transparent system of shared public and private compensation for certain insured losses resulting from a certified act of terror. The Treasury Department administers the program.

On December 22, 2005, the President signed into law The Terrorism Risk Insurance Extension Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109-144, 119 Stat. 2660) [TRIEA]. The law extended the life of TRIP through December 31, 2007.

On December 26, 2007, the President signed into law the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 (Pub. L. 110-160, 121 Stat. 1839) [TRIPRA]. The law extended the life of TRIP through December 31, 2014.

TRIA, related rules found in 31 C.F.R. Part 50 contain certain definitions, requirements, and procedures for insurers filing claims with Treasury for payment of the Federal share of compensation for insured losses under the TRIP. The Claims Procedures Rule, in particular, specifically addresses requirements for Federal payment, the submission of an initial notice of insured loss, loss certifications, the timing and process for payment, associated recordkeeping requirements, as well as Treasury’s audit and investigation authority. These procedures will apply to all insurers that wish to receive their payment of the Federal share of compensation for insured losses under TRIA. Insurers are advised to review the legislation and TRIP regulations before submitting information.

Additional materials addressing the TRIA, TRIEA, TRIPRA and TRIP, including Treasury issued interpretive letters, are contained on this website. Also, a “browsable” version of all of Treasury’s TRIP related regulations can be accessed through the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations.

I haven't read any of the law, but, it would be interesting to read the definitions. I just find it interesting that in 2005 and 2007 and with the new reauthorization in 2015 there is still the need for insurance from terrorism. I guess AIG doesn't cover acts of god.

Indeed. 

The first legislative measure of the 114th Congress (2015 - 2017)

January 8, 2015
By Melissa Hillebrand

...“The Big ‘I’ is (click here) proud that all of our hard work on TRIA and NARAB II has come to fruition and will benefit thousands of small businesses and insurance consumers across the country,” says Bob Rusbuldt, Big “I” president & CEO. “Today’s bipartisan action by the Senate on both TRIA and NARAB II, in one of the first acts of the new Congress, represents a culmination of years of hard work of the Big ‘I’ and our small business members, and I offer our members a sincere and heartfelt congratulations. Long awaited reform on non-resident licensing for agents is finally coming.”

The bill extends TRIA for six years, and increases the amount needed in total losses before the TRIA program kicks in from the current $100 million to $200 million, at a rate of $20 million a year beginning in 2016. The bill also raises the federal government's mandatory recoupment from $27.5 billion to $37.5 billion, increasing by $2 billion each year beginning Jan. 1, 2016. For all events, the bill would raise the private industry recoupment total from the current 133% of covered losses to 140% of covered losses. 

"As with previous TRIA reauthorizations, the primary responsibility for financial recovery is placed on the private sector in all but the most catastrophic of events. TRIA provides policyholders and businesses the certainty they need to operate and grow our nation’s economy," says Leigh Ann Pusey, president and CEO of the American Insurance Association....

Seems like a nice thing to do, right, insuring the insurance companies that insure businesses against losses from terrorism. It gives the government incentive to find terrorists and thwart their plans. Otherwise, besides any deaths the losses to the USA economy is unknown, so there exists TRIA.

Schedule Page (click here)

Carly's New Rules!

She is typical in her Republican mussing; sympathetic, but, lacks definition. 
 

It is Sunday Night

"Call Your Bluff" from the album "Worth Fighting For" by Act of Congress (click here for website)

A game of chess
A game we play
I can't trust
A word you say
The stakes are high
The truth you've concealed
 
A gamble of lies on a roulette wheel
Spinning down,
As the chips being to thrive
The Queen of Hearts-
A believable disguise
 
You bide in your time,
Tryin' to work it out
Don't know if I'll ever feel sure enough
'Cause I'm placing my bet
On a house made of cards,
Putting all in to call you bluff
(Hmm hmm hmm)
 
Your mouth says "yes"
Your eyes read "no"
I drummed a sigh
You simply fold your arms,
As a dish rolls in your eye
Your luck's wearing thin
And your conscience left to die
 

You bide in your time,
Tryin' to work it out
Don't know if I'll ever feel sure enough
'Cause I'm placing my bet
On a house made of cards,
Putting all in to call you bluff
(Hmm hmm hmm)
 
The cards have been dealt
The die has been cast
And odds are slim
That this chance will last
(It won't last)
 
Ooh, now I know
I'll never feel sure enough
 
'Cause I'm placing my bet
On a house made of cards,
Putting all in to call you bluff
 
(Hmm hmm hmm)

When are extremists going to be held responsible for their actions, before or after they kill?

January 10, 2015
By Rick Feneley

...A Muslim community leader (click here) who called for a crackdown on extremists in Sydney says he has been assaulted while walking in the street with his two-year-old son and warned that his family would be killed, eleven days after he was threatened and told to stop speaking out.
Jamal Daoud, a prominent refugee advocate, claims police have failed to take his reports seriously and says the community will start taking its own action to photograph and publicise attacks if they do nothing.
He says a man punched him in the chest about 2.20pm on Friday while he and his son were walking towards a shop at the corner of Hall and Station Streets, Auburn.
The man, with a long beard and speaking in a Lebanese accent, had told him: "I will kill you if you don't get out of my face."
Mr Daoud said two other "extremists" had got off a double-cabin white utility and abused him and threatened to kill him and his family.
They had made references to his campaign against extremists....

Best I can tell extremists are actually criminals, very dangerous criminals, hiding behind a religion they claim sanctions violence.

These people are dead serious. They are deciding life and death and no one is taking them seriously?

January 11, 2014
By Rachel Olding

...Among the scribbles (click here) were references to an Australian Federal Police building as a target and a plan to carry out guerrilla warfare in the Blue Mountains, police allege.
Just two weeks earlier, he uploaded a series of amateur lectures to YouTube filmed in front of a black sheet and aimed at the youth in western Sydney. 
The Sun-Herald uncovered the videos uploaded under the name Millatu Ibrahim, a fundamentalist Islamic organisation banned in Germany.
In the lengthy diatribes, he lectures his listeners on everything from the sin of tattoos to the smell of heaven.
"The tattooist and the one who gets the tattoo is cursed," he says in a 15-minute long video. "I advise you for the sake of Allah to not go near any of this stuff. When the shaytan [devil] invite you to haram [sin], are you gonna accept the invitation? Do you want to be a lowlife that's burning in hellfire?"
In another, he criticises Muslims who drive "hot shot cars" and sit at cafes "wasting time smoking, drinking coffee, speaking about Dunya [worldly possessions]".
"Why do you talk to the talk and not walk the walk? Where is the action for Allah?" he says. "I'm not angry for your sake... [I'm] angry for the sake of Allah and we are allowed to be angry for the sake of Allah, why? Because we're calling you to good and forbidding you from evil."
At the end of his videos, he tells listeners that he will answer any of their questions about Islam....

They have bought into the idea of a caliph as if it were beneficial. When Mohammad died there was no government. No laws. There was a power vacuum and a leader was chosen. It was not all that either. 

The urgent need (click here) for a successor to Muhammad as political leader of the Muslim community was met by a group of Muslim elders in Medina who designated Abū Bakr, the Prophet’s father-in-law, as caliph. 

Mohammad never was the leader of a caliphate. Never. The caliph was no different than Caesar in Rome. He was an expansionist and killed anyone not recognized as a worshiper. The caliph ultimately would split the faithful.

Mohammad never ran wars. The teachings of jihad were defensive measures should the people be attacked. Mohammad wanted to spread the word of a faith he believed to be the best for peace in Islam. He wasn't killed people to fear him.

ʿUthmān was the fourth caliph and he was assassinated. A caliphate is not all that. It is a secessionist reign of an artificial king. It is fiction these men are using to recruit people who believe they have to become a jihadist when all they have to do is practice the pillars of the Muslim faith and visit Mecca. This is outrageous and why this continues on the internet is beyond my imagination. These faux Islamic leaders are actively asking people to kill. That in any language or any country is highly illegal. Why is anyone exposed to this methodology of mass murder? The internet is not chaos unless one allows it.

These bozos aren't even covert and no one does anything. Amazing. If I ever told anyone I wanted so and so dead by the hand of Jonesy in the name of god, I'd either be looking at a prison cell for awhile and/or the looney bin. What goes on here these idiots are getting away with threatening murder and recruiting soldiers to anarchy? This is insane.

Governments act as if there is no law to invoke because of religious dogma. That is bullshit. No religious leader or illegitimate religious leader has the right to demand followers to kill. End of discussion.

Syria is not a government recognized for it's caliph. It is not children confused about their religious attitudes and actions. Syria is in turmoil and in profound civil war with factions pretending to be the most holy of all holy wars because it brings a following of dolts from the West along with their money and bleeding heart families.

Another OJ. It is just a matter of time.

In his Nov. 19, 2013, file photo, George Zimmerman listens in court, in Sanford, Fla., during his hearing on charges including aggravated assault stemming from a fight with his girlfriend. The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office says Zimmerman was arrested in Lake Mary on Friday on an aggravated assault charge. (Joe Burbank, Orlando Sentinel/AP)

January 10, 2015
By Peter Holley
 
...On Saturday morning, (click here) Zimmerman appeared in court and was given a $5,000 bond and ordered to stay out of Volusia County, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Judge John Galluzzo told Zimmerman that he has until Tuesday to surrender firearms in his possession, according to the Sentinel....

The Stand Your Ground Laws are completely "W"rong for the USA. This is not the wild west anymore and people don't know how to handle themselves. Stand Your Ground is as much a cultural problem as a legal one.

Be well, Harry.

I was concerned when I first heard about the terrible accident. It is more serious than I thought. We miss you, Harry. You have to get well and come back soon.

I thought all space equipment that fell into the ocean was picked up anyway.

The oceans don't need space debris, too. It has enough problem with plastic garbage.

January 10, 2015
By Paula Mejia 
 
SpaceX, a private company (click here) that specializes in manufacturing rockets and spacecraft, recently launched a mission to deliver a 5,000-pound cargo capsule containing equipment, supplies and belated holiday gifts to astronauts at the International Space Station. While the cargo capsule successfully reached orbit on Saturday, the Falcon 9 rocket that launched it into space crash-landed, Reuters reports....

I hope France is getting enough support from other countries. This is a foreign experience for them.

The society deals differently with anger and violence. This is completely foreign to them.

The two brothers — Cherif, 32, and Said Kouachi, 34 — (click here) who attacked the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo earlier this week may have been part of a sleeper cell, Morten Storm, a Danish national who spied on al-Qaeda for Danish, British and American intelligence, told ABC News.

What I can say from my experience or from my knowledge is that these people here have managed to deceive French intelligence to believe that, while they were once extremists, they no longer were," Storm said. "So they managed to get under the radar and… they finally woke up again, like a sleeper cell, and (committed) this atrocity."...

France military is more than able to carry out missions to end violence as they did in Libya and other countries Africa. But, to have their own citizens become monsters is quite another issue.

I have no idea why she would consider Syria a safe haven. No one is safe in Syria. The difference between France and Syria for her is she thinks Syria will emphasize for the deaths she has caused. I am not so sure.

They are horrible people.

...This week’s Paris attack, however, reveals a less impulsive, more complex dynamic.

That is what bothers me and President Obama and allies need to look at how good the intelligence regarding these murderers actually has become. It seems to me there are large gaps with domestic killers. I have little confidence in any intelligence at this point. They are missing the mark. We don't need to know that it happened and why, we need to have them stopped before they organize any attacks.

The attackers (click here) had ties to a previous pedigree of radicalism, to a wave of violence two decades ago when Algeria’s civil war spilled over into France and powerful bombs killed and terrified Parisian commuters. Their affiliations diverged and mutated over time, as they sought an outlet for their radicalism and graduated from being part of a motley crew of neighbourhood wannabes to linking up with older generations of Islamic militants....

..In a telephone interview, Mr. Kouachi told BFMTV that he and his brother, Saïd, were financed by Anwar al-Awlaki, the American imam who moved to Yemen and recruited for al-Qaeda until he was killed in 2011 by a drone.

In a separate BFMTV interview, Mr. Coulibaly said he got his orders from the IS “caliphate.” He said the three had agreed to co-ordinate their actions, striking at the same time. “We just synchronized the start. When they did Charlie Hebdo, I started doing the police.”...

There is a reason the GOP demands harsh voting conditions.

Non-voting America are more liberal than most politicians. The non-voters make life harder than it has to be for their lack of personal expression of their political views.

...It so happens (click here) that the gap between voters and non-voters breaks down strongly along class lines. In the 2012 election, 80.2 percent of those making more than $150,000 voted, while only 46.9 percent of those making less than $10,000 voted. This “class bias,” is so strong that in the three elections  (2008, 2010 and 2012) I examined, there was only one instance of a poorer income bracket turning out at a higher rate than the bracket above them. (In the 2012 election, those making less than $10,000 were slightly more likely to vote than those making between $10,000 and $14,999.) On average, each bracket turned out to vote at a rate 3.7 percentage points higher than the bracket below it....

Heartfelt acknowledgement of Senator Boxer's retirement.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (click here) addressed the retirement announcement by colleague Sen. Barbara Boxer, calling Boxer “small in size but a giant in her contribution to the country.” Boxer announced her decision on Thursday to not run for re-election in 2016.

She won't be far away though. She is going to be a support to the elections of 2016. "Barbara Boxer PAC for Change" (click here)

She will be missed. I am grateful for her dedication.

There are some outrageous expressions to justify the murderers.

This is ridiculous. Murder is illegal. The murders in France are no different. There is absolutely no reason for causing the deaths of anyone, yet alone those that bring quality to the lives it touches. These deaths have nothing to do with arrogance, it is about defending the lives of civilized people.

The sincere protections for the people that rattle the status quo is vital to a healthy country. The real task is to find a way to protect Charlie Hedbo. Is there a balance between freedom of speech and its' extremes so everyone knows the unlimited reach of freedom? Without these very talented men and women we don't grow as a culture and society. They are important. We need to find a way to protect their lives without oppressing their rights. Is that possible in an open society?

Questioning the ability of a country to protect all their citizens is not giving permission for murderers to carry out their own agenda of hate.

France is the example of where life is most precious in their culture. These deaths are profoundly felt. They have insulted the values of France. It is the willing expression of grief of the French people that has to impress the world as to what the depth of peace can be felt by a nation. They are hurt. They are missing their own very deeply. France is a magnificent example of freedom and endearment of citizens to each other. There is just no question as to the loss this country feels for those violently murdered by oppressors.

Derek Fox said the editor of Charlie Hedbo had the price of his assumption of cultural superiority and arrogance. Photo / Supplied

January 8, 2015
By Isaac Davison

Former broadcaster (click here) and Maori Party candidate Derek Fox has been criticised after blaming the victims of the Paris terror attack.
Fox said on Facebook said the editor of French satirical magazine Charlie Hedbo had "paid the price" for his "bigotry" and "arrogance".
Three gunmen shouting "Allahu akbar!" killed eight journalists and a visitor at the magazine's Paris office and two police officers as they fled the scene.
Fox wrote that Charlie Hedbo editor Stephane Charbonnier was a "bully" who had abused free speech and was now responsible for the deaths of his colleagues.
"The editor of the French magazine has paid the price for his assumption of cultural superiority and arrogance, he was the bully believing he could insult other peoples culture and with impunity and he believed he would be protected in his racism and bigotry by the French state....

Cyclones rarely make landfall in New Zealand. That is not the anticipated outcome this year.

Most cyclones (click here) in the southern hemisphere that effect New Zealand are primarily offshore with diminished but strong winds reaching land. This is a new event anticipated by New Zealand.

January 8, 2015
By Vaimoana Tapaleao

...There is a high chance a tropical (click here) cyclone could hit the country sometime over the next few months, a report released by the national climate centre said today.
Niwa's climate outlook for January, February and March shows sea temperatures are expected to be warmer than usual in the Tasman Sea to the west and south of the country - but near normal to the east of the North Island.
It also points to a high probability that there may be some tropical weather systems heading down under soon.
"New Zealand has a slightly elevated chance of having an ex-tropical system coming within 550km of the country during the 2014-15 Tropical Cyclone season."
The outlook for tropical cyclones shows that the risk for New Zealand will be highest around February through to April....

France has a very long history of domestic peace. This is a rare event and the Eiffel Tower went dark in honoring those lost in this mass murder.

...Some onlookers (click here) held pens in the air in tribute to the eight fallen journalists. Some held bouquets of flowers. And others silently wept as they stood in the late-morning rain. French President François Hollande declared Thursday a national day of mourning, the fifth time in the last 50 years that the day has been set aside. Flags in France and at many embassies around the world are flying at half mast as the country copes with its first terrorist attack since 1995....