"Morning Papers" - Its Origins

        

The Rooster

"Okeydoke"

Haven't seem much of Palin around the Massey mine, right? No clue.

Manchin announces wreath-laying ceremony  (click title to entry - thank you)

April 10, 2010 by Ken Ward Jr. 

Gov. Joe Manchin and First Lady Gayle Manchin will participate in a wreath-laying ceremony in honor of the 31 miners involved in the mine disaster at the Upper Big Branch Mine-South. The ceremony begins at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, April 12, at the Coal Miner Memorial Statue, located on the state capitol grounds near the Culture Center.

During the event, the governor will ask people from across the nation to join the first lady and him in a moment of silence to honor the fallen miners and their families...

The fallen?   

Miners are at war?  

Really?  

Whatever happened to OSHA !!!!!!!!!!!!!  (click here)

MSHA News Release: [04/06/2010]
Contact Name: Jesse Lawder or Carl Fillichio
Phone Number: (202) 693-5060 or x (202) 309-9184
Release Number: 10-0452-NAT

Statement of US Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis on the death of 25 miners at Upper Big Branch South Mine

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement on the death of 25 miners yesterday at the Upper Big Branch South Mine in Whitesville, W.Va.:

"As we hear of more heartbreak from Whitesville, our thoughts and prayers are with the families, friends, loved ones, neighbors and coworkers.  Twenty-five hardworking men died needlessly in a mine yesterday.  I pledge that their deaths will not be in vain.

“The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration will investigate this tragedy, and take action.  Miners should never have to sacrifice their lives for their livelihood."

Shut them down !  No more compromise with companies that 'game the system' for profits.

"The investigative team (click here) will now begin its important work to determine exactly what happened, and Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health Joe Main and I will meet with the President to discuss what actions the administration can take to prevent further tragedies in this industry.

"Although details of the catastrophe are unclear at this time, we do know this: Mine explosions are preventable, miners should never have to sacrifice their lives for their livelihood, and all workers deserve to come home to their families at the end of their shift safe and whole."

I am sure the mine tragedy will be at the top of Palin's new show for advocacy for better conditions for families and workers.  And I am confident she'll stay on it until the dream is realized. 

The crowd started chanting "Drill, baby, drill." But she corrected them: "It's 'Mine, baby, mine.' "  (click here)

Massey and Palin made out of the same Wall Street Stuff.  Perhaps it will be Massey that will make the show and provide tears to the plight he faces trying to 'deal with' the rights of human beings in the USA.

There ya go, Sarah, some of the babies' fathers are dead.  Happy now?  Cutting safety to the bone to enhance stockholders happiness a priority still?  As a rule, Sarah isn't good with adult issues.  Just one of those crazy things that happens in the world of politics, right Sarah?  Here today, dead tomorrow. But, the violence sells well huh babe?  Oh, yeah.  Guns are power, dead miners are wealth.  You go get 'em, Sarah.  I am sure our Founding (Not Foundry, Sarah) Fathers would have backed that beyond a shadow of a doubt.  Death to Americans so Wall Street has its profit margin.  I think that might rightfully be called a 'Death Tax.'  Maybe your Tea Baggers might put it better into 'concept' that way.  Ask Rove, he would know.

The reason the coal miners had no high quality air in the mine was because methane is always present with coal and it wasn't being captured BEFORE the mining began.

Fossil fuels, regardless of their 'type' are all basically the same.  They are ROTTED carbon from living organisms.  When dead organisms ROT, especially plants, they produce methane, i.e. land fills.  The coal deposits are no different and neither is oil.  There are always toxic gases, including, sulfur and nitrogen affiliated with these deposits.  The methane in the mines is allowed to exist and cause high potential for explosions.  In order to make mines safe for human beings to work in they need three things, high ventilation rates (HVAC) systems, and the prior removal of methane to 'CONTAINERS' so it doesn't cause more greenhouse gas concentration in the troposphere.  All that takes money.  Money that Wall Street has no conscience to spend.  When profits are cut by a real conscious CEOs don't get big bonuses, including the one at Massey.  So, while the employees of Massey are ? grateful ? for the work, they are allowed to wallow in the slime of its CEO and the corruption of its government to protect them.  If this makes me sound like a dreaded 'Beck communist of socialist' then the people of that audience have become demented to a value system of decency !

The problem here is that access to the 'safe' chamber is too far away to actually access and in the case of Massey's mines the explosion rendered the miners throughout the mine unconscious and unable to save their own lives.

The mine's air was toxic and full of explosive capacity at some time during the 'work day' and they were required to continue to work.  The reason of course is 'the coal provides life.'  

That is about as perverse as it comes.

In the power point presentation there is a significantly different way of providing air quality and PROTECTION to the people of any mining employment.

There are measures that can be taken that can improve the lives of the communities and the work quality of the miners.  It is expensive.  It means that mines are not necessary excoriated of their 'last ounce of carbon rock.'  But it does mean dignityto a nation that is converting its energy resources to that which is modern and civilized.

The problem with Wall Street as an 'entity' of power in the USA is the FACT it has no conscience ! 

Do you make my Father's house a house of merchandise?

Shame on everyone for not seeing the truth.

This is what is known as a 'rescue chamber' - click title to read Power Point

In the power point presentation, it goes on to explain a far better form of 'built in' unit that has dedicated 'AIR LOCK' capacity.  What is also explained are the sincere dangers of mining and the ever present issue of air quality.  The definitions by Massey of what is acceptable OXYGEN levels or 19.5% is below any health standard employed by hospitals for patients, which is 21%.  The people of the USA have opportunity to change their means of obtaining energy and living free of any dangers provided the people of these towns.  I don't consider 'living dangerously' glamorous.  I consider it foolish.

The dead are buried and now what? Oh, life goes on as if nothing happented.

I hope President Obama finds a good replacement for the Supreme Court.  More women would be nice.  But, I refuse to play the Republican media game.  There are people's lives at stake.  The 'so called' RESCUE CHAMBERS, come in a box.  They are chambers at all.

So, let's see.  The mine operators don't care about safety.  The 'bore holes' should have been VENT HOLES along the entire duration of the mine tunnel with continuous air quality meters.  The rescue chambers should have been real chambers where a human body could actually survive toxic and explosive air, the equipment they wear don't protect them from concussion.  The children of the town are encouraged to attend a school where coal dust dominates their playground and the water the people of the area drink is polluted. 

Now, I want to know why a Justice choice to the Supreme Court is dominating the USA media where there is so much WRONG with the quality of life of the people of this industry?

I suppose the 'rescue' was sensational and moral enough to pursue but the aftermath just ain't worth it because it might actually change the way the USA finds energy in this country and God forbid Wall Street shouldn't have its profit margin anymore ! 

Was the CEO fired?  Did the news media 'rag on' until he was gone?  Votes might want to ask themselves how much of a puppet they really area !  AIG didn't insure them either.  I don't believe Bech or Limbaugh carried much coverage.  So much for FAIR and BALANCED.  Murdoch viewers have an alternate reality.  So long as viewers and listeners stay in their 'cubical lives,' "All is well."  They are 'spoon fed' their rage on a regular basis and God forbid it should effect Wall Street and Murdoch's political cronies.

Company self-insured for mine tragedy claims  (click here)

Safety record eyed after blast kills at least 25

MONTCOAL, W.Va.—The company that owns the West Virginia coal mine where at least 25 miners were killed last week is largely self-insured for the risks associated with the explosion. 

In its annual report filed last month with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Richmond, Va.-based Massey Energy Co. said—despite the inherent risks associated with coal mining, including fires and explosions—it does not have business interruption insurance. It also self-insures its underground mining equipment, Massey said.

A spokesman for the West Virginia Insurance Commission said Massey's Performance Coal Co. subsidiary, which operates the Upper Big Branch-South mine where the explosion happened, is a qualified self-insured company in the state and self-insures its workers compensation risks....

CORRRECTION: Shares of Massey Energy Co. rise  (click here)

April 9, 2010, 10:25 a.m. EDT

By Kate Gibson NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Massey Energy Co. /quotes/comstock/13*!mee/quotes/nls/mee (MEE 46.72, +0.58, +1.26%) on Friday rose for a second day after the coal company said in a regulatory filing it would hike output elsewhere to make up for lost production at its mine in West Virginia, where a blast killed 25 and left four others missing. Monday's explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Moncoal is the worst U.S. mine accident in decades. Shares of Massey rose 2.9% to $47.46.

These people should never be allowed to stand alone anymore in trying to live a life with health and longevity.  They have lawyers just to fight for clean water.  Does everyone else in the country?  And Wall Street does nothing but love the profits made on the backs of danger and death.

Massey’s Blankenship Fought Regulators, Town, Maid as Coal CEO  (click here)

April 10, 2010, 12:03 AM EDT

By Margaret Cronin Fisk, Brian K. Sullivan and Karen Freifeld

April 10 (Bloomberg) -- Don Blankenship, chief executive officer of Massey Energy Co., has fought with mine regulators, unions, residents of his town and even his personal maid.

His company regularly appeals fines for safety infractions. He has personally gone into mines to persuade workers to abandon union organizing efforts. Massey is fighting lawsuits that claim it contaminated groundwater in Blankenship’s town. A maid supplied by a company she claimed was a Massey unit was forced to fight all the way to West Virginia’s highest court to collect unemployment benefits.

Blankenship, 60, is emerging as the public face of Massey as rescue workers search for four additional miners after the April 5 explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine that left 25 dead. Resistance to spending money and willingness to litigate reflect policies Massey has pursued since he became CEO in 2000.

“Don Blankenship is perfect for Massey Energy,” said Kevin Thompson, attorney for residents of the West Virginia county where the CEO lives who are suing the company alleging water contamination. “It’s more than cost-cutting with Don Blankenship. It’s a need to control. It’s a need to win.”

At a July 11, 2008, deposition in a lawsuit over two deaths at the company’s Aracoma mine, Blankenship was asked by his lawyer, Thomas V. Flaherty, to respond to accusations that he had a “personal drive for increasing company profits at all costs, including the safety of subsidiaries’ associates.”

Accidents Cost

“It is just the opposite,” Blankenship testified. “As an accountant, I know that safety is an important cost control. So even if I were so calloused, which I am not, as to believe that safety should be sacrificed for production, I would understand that it doesn’t make any sense because the accidents and so forth cause you to have more costs.”

Blankenship wasn’t available for an interview for this story, a spokeswoman at the Massey media hotline who declined to give her name said on April 8. He is declining to comment until the search and rescue of missing miners is completed, she said. Another spokeswoman at the hotline yesterday said the company wouldn’t respond immediately to questions about Blankenship because of the rescue effort.

James S. Crockett Jr., a Charleston, West Virginia, attorney who represented the company in the Aracoma mine wrongful-death suit, declined to comment. Albert F. Sebok, a Charleston attorney with Jackson Kelly PLLC representing Massey in the pollution suit, didn’t return calls for comment.

Safety ‘Job One’

To the claim that Blankenship puts production ahead of safety, his attorney Flaherty said yesterday that “safety is job one” at the company....

The tragedies of the last 24 hours is enough to reflect on. I am really tired of American living lives too dangerous to continue. Senseless comes to mind. Good night.

Britain names world's largest marine reserve 

JULIET EILPERIN

April 3, 2010

The British government has announced the creation of the world's largest marine reserve, designating a group of 55 islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean off-limits to industrial fishing and other extractive activities.

The Chagos Islands are home to about half of the Indian Ocean's healthy coral reefs, along with several imperilled sea turtle species and 175,000 pairs of breeding seabirds.

The new preserve covers about 544,000 square kilometres - more than twice the size of Britain - and will shelter at least 76 species classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Just two-tenths of 1 per cent of the world's oceans are protected, compared with 6 to 11 per cent of the world's land mass; the Chagos Islands addition will increase it to about three-tenths of 1 per cent.

The new protected area will surpass the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in the waters of the north-western Hawaiian Islands, set aside by then US president George Bush in 2006, as the biggest marine reserve.

''Its establishment will double the global coverage of the world's oceans under protection,'' Britain's foreign secretary, David Miliband, said. ''This measure is a further demonstration of how the UK takes its international environmental responsibilities seriously.''

Jay Nelson, who directs the Pew Environment Group's global ocean legacy initiative, called the decision ''a historic victory for global ocean conservation''.

He noted that because the corals lived at greater depths in the area they were less vulnerable to bleaching, and that the large-scale fishing prohibition should protect both tuna and the 60,000 sharks caught each year accidentally by tuna fishermen.

''It should give the tuna some breathing room,'' Mr Nelson said. ''And it's good news for sharks, too.'' 

The Chagos Conservation Trust (click here)

His work in Anti-Trust Law earned him the reputation as a liberal. He is actually a centrist judge. Click title for US vs. Ross.

A member of the U.S. Supreme Court since 1975, John Paul Stevens has developed a reputation as a judicial centrist on the High Court, although many of his more well-known opinions are marked by a liberal bent.

Born on April 20, 1920, Stevens descended from Nicholas Stevens, who emigrated to America in 1659 after serving as a brigadier general in Oliver Cromwell's army. Stevens's father was a businessman and lawyer; he designed Chicago's Stevens Hotel and was its original managing director.

A political moderate during his college days at the University of Chicago, Stevens graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1941. During World War II he served with the U.S. Navy and was awarded the Bronze Star. After the war he studied law at Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago, graduating first in his class in 1947.

Stevens began his legal career as a law clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice WILEY B. RUTLEDGE. In 1948 he joined the Chicago firm of Poppenhausen, Johnston, Thompson, and Raymond, specializing in litigation and Antitrust Law.  In 1951 he served as associate counsel on a study of monopoly  power for a subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives. Upon returning to Chicago in 1952, Stevens founded the firm of Rothschild, Stevens, Barry, and Meyers. Along with his private practice, he taught antitrust law at the Northwestern University and the University of Chicago law schools throughout much of the 1950s. He also served for a time as a member of the U.S. attorney general's National Committee to Study Antitrust Laws.

In 1970 President RICHARD M. NIXON appointed Stevens as a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He became known for his scholarly abilities and his carefully written, clear, and succinct opinions. His first opinion on the court of appeals was a dissent in a challenge to the summary incarceration of an antiwar activist who had disrupted a legislative session (Groppi v. Leslie, 436 F.2d 331 [1971]). Stevens viewed the incarceration as unconstitutional, and the following year his minority view was vindicated by a unanimous Supreme Court (404 U.S. 496, 92 S. Ct. 582, 30 L. Ed. 2d 632).

The liberal Supreme Court justice WILLIAM O. DOUGLAS retired in 1975, providing President GERALD R. FORD his only opportunity to make a Supreme Court appointment. Stevens received high praise and active support from Ford's attorney general, EDWARD LEVI, and unqualified support from the American Bar Associaiton. During the Senate confirmation hearing, Stevens remarked that he believed that litigants should know how judges viewed the arguments and that it was important to make a record to note diverse views for reference in later cases.

John Paul Stevens

 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Stevens was unanimously confirmed on December 17, 1975, and took his oath of office two days later.

Until Stevens became a justice, new justices were typically seen but not heard. Instead, they usually joined dissents or concurrences without offering their own opinions. Stevens did not fit that pattern. During the 1976–77 term, Stevens had seventeen separate majority concurrences and twenty-seven separate dissents, far more than any other justice.

"IT IS NOT OUR JOB TO APPLY LAWS THAT HAVE NOT YET BEEN WRITTEN."
—JOHN PAUL STEVENS

It would seem the Russian have a bit of a mess on their hands. I can only imagine what NATO will rant on about over this.

Poland's President, Bank Governor Die in Plane Crash (Update4)  (click here)

Friday, April 9, 2010

By David McQuaid and Piotr Skolimowski

April 10 (Bloomberg) -- Polish President Lech Kaczynski and central bank Governor Slawomir Skrzypek were killed today along with several key members of the country's political elite when their plane crashed in western Russia, where they were to mark the 70th anniversary of a massacre of Polish officers.

The 60 year-old president's wife, Maria, and leaders of the country's main opposition parties and military, including the Army Chief of Staff Franciszek Gagor, also died in the crash, which happened as the aircraft was on approach for landing in Smolensk, Foreign Ministry spokesman Piotr Paszkowski said in a phone interview. The crash killed all 96 on board, including 88 passengers and 8 crew, according to Russia's Emergency Ministry....

And of all things the BANK GOVERNOR was on the flight.  There goes Wall Street down the tubes.  Get out the crying towel for Paulson.  


And below is some brilliant insight from The Christian Science Monitor.  


Should we all thank God now or later for the Nuclear Treaty Obama and Medvedev just signed?  If Poland had its way, it would be 'Bombs Away' rather than seeking to improve their pilot schools.  Any reason will do, you know?  

I guess Hillary isn't having a good day.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski plane crash death could strain Poland-Russia ties  (click title to entry - thank you)

The commemoration of the Katyn massacre was meant to be a key 'forgive and forget' moment for Poland and Russia. It may now be overshadowed by the tragic death of Polish President Lech Kaczynski, riding in a Russian-built aircraft....

Twenty-nine West Virginians are dead from one mine explosion. Did the last four ever have a chance?

To be completely honest, I don't want this on my conscience anymore.  We need to remove coal mining as a prospect for energy.  I don't care if coal miners think this is just a part of life.  It isn't a part of most Americans' lives.  Their oppression to 'serve the beast' is more than any First World country should tolerate.

April 9, 2010

The Department of Energy wants 20 percent of America's power (click title to entry - thank you)  to come from wind by the year 2030. What role will the Plains states play? Ira Flatow and guests look at wind power development in Oklahoma and the region, and the plans for transmitting that power to the coasts.

The study below shows a marked increase in Child Lung Disease when they attend school near a coal plant.

Follow Up of Schoolchildren in the Vacinity of a Coal - Powered Plant in Israel  (click here)

Follow-Up of Schoolchildren in the Vicinity of a Coal-Fired Power Plant in Israel

Ayana I. Goren, John R. Goldsmith, Sarah Hellmann and Shmuel Brenner 

Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 94, (Aug., 1991), pp. 101-105 

(article consists of 5 pages)

Published by: Brogan & Partners 

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3431300

The Joy of Massey and its employment just never ends.

Breaking news: Court OKs Massey silo near school  (click here)

June 9, 2009 by Ken Ward Jr.
Massey Energy got one coal silo near Marsh Fork Elementary School built before activists and the press noticed the silo site wasn’t within the permit boundary shown in company maps. Photo by Britney Williams, courtesy Coal River Mountain Watch.
The West Virginia Supreme Court just issued a long-awaiting opinion that, in effect, says that Massey Energy’s plans for another coal silo adjacent to Marsh Fork Elementary School in Raleigh County is OK.
Justices unanimously affirmed an earlier ruling by Kanawha Circuit Judge Duke Bloom, who previously upheld a decision by the state Department of Environmental Protection to authorize the silo construction.

Stupak? Can any Democrat ever really believe this is a loss? I am not shedding a tear, okay?

The Associated Press is reporting that Stupak, a member of Congress for the last 18 years, will make his announcement at 12:30 p.m. today in Marquette, Mich. Stupak had been targeted for defeat by some anti-tax, anti-government Tea Party activists for his role in the health care fight.


The real crime about this announcement is that violence played a roll in this.  The more than interesting aspect is that The Tea Party is claiming responsibility for it.  I happen to agree. 

Report criticizes 287(g) program

...The program is known as 287(g) and works as a partnership between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and local law enforcement agencies. It expands ICE's capacity to arrest, jail and remove illegal immigrants from the country.


The report, conducted in 2009, found terms of some of the 66 such programs across the nation were not being followed, that ICE had not provided adequate guidance and oversight of local police for the program, and that data collection to address civil rights concerns had yet to be established -- concerns immigrant advocates have been voicing for years.

The Frederick County Sheriff's Office has taken part in the program since 2008, and is one of 11 agencies nationwide that has officers trained to participate in both the jail and task force model of 287(g).

The jail model allows trained officers to check the immigration status of those arrested on state and local charges and taken to jail. The task force model allows trained officers to enforce federal immigration laws in the field in the course of their duties.


Since its inception in the county, the 26 trained 287(g) officers have put immigration detainers on more than 600 people, said Frederick County Sheriff's Office Capt. Tim Clarke.

The sheriff's office was not among the seven agencies reviewed in the report.

The report also criticized what it called inadequate and inconsistent training of 287(g) officers, and found that ICE has not prioritized resources toward the stated focus of the program: to deport criminals who are in the U.S. illegally and pose a threat to public safety or are a danger to the community.

"With no specific target levels for arrest, detention, and removal priority levels, and with performance measures that do not account for all investigative work and criminal prosecutions, ICE cannot be assured that the 287(g) program is meeting its intended purpose, or that resources are being appropriately targeted toward aliens who pose the greatest risk to public safety and the community," the report states....

Oda announced Canada will pump an additional $54.6 million into a Haitian hospital and the national police force

..."The Haitian government has to take the lead on co-ordination," International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda said from Port-au-Prince, where she was on her third visit. "Fulfilling that plan has to be under the leadership of the Haitian government."


But a Canadian non-governmental group that is focused on Latin American issues questioned how Haiti can actually determine its own fate given it is a poor country with limited resources....

RNC chair is a trouble magnet - Credibility is the issue. Deliberately Exposing Young Republicans to scandal is an outrage. Lots of questions.

The committee faces the larger problem heading into November of having spent almost as much as it raised so far in this election cycle. To raise money for Republican candidates without the tarnished RNC brand, Steele's predecessor, Mike Duncan, has helped start an independent group called American Crossroads.

Gingrich goes racist.

"What we need is a president, not an athlete," Gingrich said during a question and answer period after his speech. He added: "Shooting three point shots may be clever, but it doesn't put anybody to work."

What if she didn't have a political directive to her life, she would never have her own million dollar baby.

Is Levy Johnson getting a cut on the baby's salary?

Levi Johnson planning reality show to compete with Sarah Palin?  (click here)

Levi has described his idea for a show with the horrifying comparison “Jersey Shore on Ice.” (click here)When he found out that Sarah Palin wanted to “own Alaska,” he found the idea so distasteful that he and his people decided to try to beat them to the punch. And while many Alaskans are cringing and pulling bags over their heads at the thought of Palin “owning Alaska” they really don’t feel much better about the idea of Levi Johnston “owning Alaska.” It’s kind of like saying, “Don’t worry, we won’t hit you on the side of the head with a 2×4… We’ll hit you on the side of the head with a skillet! Feel better?”

The Irresponsible Priorities of the Canadian Government

From Wood Furnace Energy to contradicting assessments of sensative biotic areas, there are real questions as to the environmental stewarship of Canada.  Do they actually 'get it?'

Nunavut's Lancaster Sound

...The proposed hydrocarbon sweep (click title to entry - thank you) has triggered an assessment by the Nunavut Impact Review Board and has already prompted a red-faced apology by federal officials over the premature delivery to one Inuit hamlet of 200 drums of fuel for Arctic energy and mineral mapping expeditions that haven't yet been approved by local authorities....

Stable Mountain Tops are needed to support wind turbines.

Why should there be ANY environmental impacts?

Energy?

At what costs?

The word is ELIMINATE impacts, not, reduce them.

Obama Administration Takes Unprecedented Steps (click title to entry - thank you) to Reduce Environmental Impacts of Mountaintop Coal Mining, Announces Interagency Action Plan to Implement Reforms: Federal agencies take coordinated action to strengthen oversight and regulation, minimize adverse environmental consequences of mountaintop coal mining

Release date: 06/11/2009
Contact Information: Christine Glunz (CEQ): (202) 456-3469; Kendra Barkoff (DOI): (202) 208-6416; Adora Andy (EPA): (202) 564-2715; Gene Pawlik (USACE): (202) 761-4715


WASHINGTON – Obama Administration officials announced today that they are taking


unprecedented steps to reduce the environmental impacts of mountaintop coal mining in the six


Appalachian states of Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West


Virginia through a coordinated approach between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),


Department of the Interior (DOI) and Army Corps of Engineers....

The Tea Party is the party of violence. It actually intimidated a House member that voted to save lives.

...In an op/ed piece by Kathleen Parker (click title to entry - thank you) her barely cloaked rage mirrored the seething anger that is rushing across the internet from pro-life organizations. Parker compared Stupak to Judas while another pro-life organization informed all pro-life voters by email of “the stunning betrayal by the Democratic lawmakers who campaigned for election as pro-life but then turned their backs on unborn children…”

Perhaps we need to pause a moment, turn down the Glenn Beck/Rachel Maddow volume and consider what H.R.3590 - Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act did accomplish for the pro-life community. Rather than aiding and abetting abortion this important piece of legislation:

Guarantees coverage for pregnancy. Pregnancy is no longer a pre-existing condition.

C-sections, birth defects, and domestic violence can no longer be considered pre-existing conditions and used to deny insurance coverage;...

After all they only need to 'reload.'  Somehow, Sarah Palin continuing to make that assertion is suppose to make it alright. 

No.

MENOMINEE --  (click here)  Ivon Butman is a long time resident of Menominee. Like many residents, she not only supports Congressman Stupak, but also the health care reform bill.
"Congressman Stupak is very much to be admired,” said Butman. “He stands by his principles and he was very instrumental in getting this whole thing passed, and locally here he is very much admired and he's done a good job."
Stupak, a pro-life Democrat, voted for the health care reform bill, but only after being assured that an executive order would prevent federal money from funding abortions. He's long been liked and respected in his hometown of Menominee, and residents we talked to Friday are disturbed by the threats of violence Stupak and his family have received.
Vans Foods owner, Tom Van Gaal, said those tactics are way out of line....

The fact of the matter is, that the REPUBLICAN PARTY and THE TEA PARTY are still not accepting responsibility for the demeanor that stirs their constituency to violence.  They are avoidant in all their assertions regardless of the issue.

It might get so bad, that people affiliated with Rep. Stupak could feel threatened to withdraw from the circumstances.  I didn't know the USA streets had turned into those that exist in Baghdad, whereby war is a barrier to voting. 

Since when, in the USA do people have to cower in fear of their lives, only to be a martyr to their own patriotism.  A person has to have 'guts' to run for office in the USA?  I don't think so.

Washington, DC, United States (AHN) - (click here) A day after the arrest of a Washington state man (click here) for making death threats to a Democratic senator over her healthcare vote, federal prosecutors have filed charges against a California man for threatening House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The criminal complaint against Gregory Lee Giusti, 48, will be unsealed when he appears in court Thursday. He was arrested around noon Wednesday in San Francisco.


The FBI has not issued a statement, but a spokesman for Pelosi said in a statement the arrest was made after an investigation of threatening phone calls to the speaker.


"The Speaker thanks the FBI, the Capitol Hill Police, House Sergeant at Arms, and other law enforcement officials for their professionalism in this matter. She will have no further comment at this time," Brendan Daly said....