The Japanese do it again. Congratulations.

Sodium silicate or sodium metasilicate, Na₂SiO_3.

A tetrahedral cystal. 

It is used to repair automobile engines and exhaust systems.  It forms a 'glass like' seal and has a high heat tolerance.

I am impressed.

When solid it forms a variety of sizes of crystals that appear to be like glass.

Japan nuclear crisis: Fukushima radiation leak stopped (click here)

An accidental leak of highly radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean from Japan's damaged nuclear plant has been fixed.

By Danielle Demetriou in Tokyo

6:40AM BST 06 Apr 2011

Workers used chemical agent injections to solidify the soil near the cracked pit from where the radioactive water has been leaking at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in northeast Japan.

The leak has resulted in soaring levels of radiation contamination in sea samples from the surrounding Pacific Ocean, with reports of more than 7.5 million times the legal limit of radioactivity at its peak....

Incredible people.  Absolutely incredible. 

Japan sets radiation safety standards for fish (click title to entry - thank you)

English.news.cn  

2011-04-06 14:03:09

BEIJING, April 6 (Xinhuanet) -- The first radiation safety standards for fish are being set in Japan. It comes after radioactive contamination in seawater near the damaged Fukushima Daiichi power plant measured several million times the legal limit.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said on Tuesday the government would apply the maximum allowable radiation limit for vegetables to fish.
The move to introduce safety standards for fish came after the Japanese health ministry reported that fish caught off the coast of Ibaraki Prefecture contained levels of radioactive iodine that exceeded the new legal limit.
The prefecture is approximately half-way between the damaged plant and Tokyo. TEPCO said even those large amounts would have no immediate impact on the environment, but added that it was working to stop the leak as soon as possible.

The House Budget cuts are cultural genocide.

One of the aspects of the USA is its diversity.  Diversity that exists because of recognition and accommodation by government to improve the lives of its citizens.  When the budget cuts in the House Budget is examined it is obvious there is cultural genocide as a basis to the ideology existing with the Regressives.

It is completely obvious to me that over the past decade, since "W" was president there has been a steady attack on the values of Democrats while more and more funding and exceptions were granted the culture of the Regressives.  I am fairly confident that is litigable. 

Oppression of a culture is a global human rights violation.  I believe that is what Democratic leaders are picking up on even if they see it as a function of choice rather than government.  In other words, "Faith Based Initiatives' are funded and nurtured while the programs valued by one half of the USA are discarded and underfunded.  There is a culture genocide proposed by this House of Representatives and it is a hostile agenda for them.

If equity was applied across the board in 'discretionary' spending to remove some of the burden from the national debt no one could complain, however, that is not what is occurring.

The Regressives like to characterize it as pandering to "Liberal /Value Voters" but that isn't it.  The fact of the matter is, the federal spending that supports many of the 'agenda items' of the House Regressives;haven't been touched.  The programs being cut have been developed over time to support Americans in a way that provides equity.  When funding is cut to long standing 'social programs' that have proven to be 'of value' to Americans that is an attack on a 'culture of caring' Liberals developed that gets results.  These are not empty programs simply sopping up money without results. 

Over the years there has been a methodolgy by the Regressives to eliminate any contact by federal dollars to any 'value system' that does not agree with theirs.  That is not only discrimination it is planned genocide of a culture that exists to serve segments of the American population not otherwise addressed.  The 'genocide priority' of the Regressives is not only offensive it seeks to destroy other value systems regardless of how benign or productive they are.  No one is eliminating Regressive values from the budget, nor have them been, but when it comes to a culture other than their's they have no tolerance and seek to destroy the values of an entire segment of the country in their process.

I know I can prove that methodolgy, I don't know why anyone else can.  This is more than simply making budget cuts, it targets culture and that at the very least on a global scale is highly illegal.

The 'leaning' toward funding States by Ryan's "Ideological Debt Cuts" are unconstitutional.

The Federal Government cannot institute income tax or any other form of tax to benefit the States.  That function is that of the State governments. 

The Federal government can institute taxes to pay for federal programs, offering incentives to States to institute programs offered through federal collection of taxes.

It would be every Governor's dream come true for the federal government to set precedent to tax on their behalf.  That is out of the question.  It is simply unconstitutional and only reflects even further how the Regressives understand nothing about governance so much as politics of their constituency.

..."The problem (click here) in Washington is, they take any honest and sincere attempt to fix this problem and use it as a political weapon against you in the next election," he said. "We can't let that deter us."

it is interesting Ryan states the politics of the nation overshadows the resolve to its problems, as he is just as much a part of the problem as his proposals are ideological and not practical.  He even admits that.

The Federal government cannot impose its responsiblities on the States.  It is a slippery slope that quite frankly the States cannot afford.  Ryan presents his plan if they one could wave a magic wand it is all done and a perfect world.  The REALITY of Ryan's proposal is that the 'infrastructure' of the States would have to be expanded and reorganized.

The Federal government has administered SSI, Medicare and Medicaid since its inception with existing infrastructure.  The 'idea' the complete restructuring of the federal government to dissolve these functions and simply assign them to the States WITHOUT an increase of the size of the NATIONAL DEBT is hideous.  Ryan's proposal is nothing more than an exercise in political haymaking.  There is nothing practical or possible about it.

Here is an idea for Mr. Ryan, let's give all the funding for the military to each State?  Every State could have their own Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard (if applicable) and Marines.  Great idea, huh?  I mean the federal debt could increase beyond expectations before it finished building all the military bases in each state.

There is no savings or reduction in any of Ryan's ideologies.  It loses validity with the simply and overlooked cost of 'first' implementing it.

Put it in a bill, Ryan, I am sure the House Regressives will pass it so the Senate can defeat it.  Then at least they'll have their answer.

It is all political grandstanding, "Contract with America," "Path to Prosperity," fancy words that work as 'campaigns' and not legislation.

It might not pass as the Tea Bagger Regressives have their own idea of political grandstanding.

Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI) (click title to entry - thank you) will be unveiling the establishment GOP's ten-year plan to make $6 trillion in spending cuts. Critics are already calling the proposal "radical," but Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) said last month that the Republicans' ten-year budget plan will actually do very little to meaningfully address the out-of-control spending in Washington....

The Democrats really don't have to say much in opposition of any of the Regressive plans for spending fedreal monies, the TWO separate branches of the Regressives actually oppose each other as well as any Democratic legislation or Presidential initative.

The Virtual Government Shutdown, let's talk about it until Friday.

"Hello, hello, my neighbor is building a bomb in his garage."

Bring the troops home.  If the bizarre Republican House Budget causes a shut down of government funding on Friday, the troops should come home.

...With an agreement (click title to entry - thank you) still far from reached, the White House Office of Management and Budget said agencies were preparing to close their doors even as leaders from both parties worked to keep that from being necessary....

Regressives don't know how to govern, they only know how to "Circle the Wagons."

...Government shutdowns can hurt businesses (click here) in many ways.  They can affect not only employers’ revenues, but also cause cash flow problems.  Furthermore, any missteps on employee pay during a cash crunch could bring lawsuits, bad morale, and poor public relations.  In the past, federal contractors ultimately were paid for the days not worked because of a shutdown.  The discussion in the nation’s capital these days, however, is that the next time may be different. 

Prepare now for the possibility of a government shutdown....

...Issues to Consider

Use of PTO....

...In Maryland and Washington, D.C., for example, accrued, unused vacation or PTO is considered “wages” under state wage payment laws.  Therefore, a company’s ability to “change the rules” regarding leave after the leave has accrued is restricted.... 

The Regressives haven't 'felt' a government shutdown before, so they want to have the experience before they go home to their constituents.

The Federal Government funds the FBI and CIA.  Things should be interesting for awhile.

The Bush Tax Cuts and Ryan's $4 trillion debt plan is REDISTRIBUTION of wealth to the wealthiest.

I have stated over and over and over, for the USA economy to work it needs a strong Middle Class.  Over the past decade The Bush Tax Cuts and job outsourcing have cost the nation the 'wealth of its Middle Class and starve the beast takes on a whole new meaning with Ryan's $4 Tillion debt reducion scheme.

What is Wealth? (click here)

Question: How is wealth different than income? What is wealth?

Answers: Wealth is private assets minus liabilities (debt). Simply put, wealth is what you own minus what you owe. Income is your paycheck or government benefit check or dividend check, or

your profit from selling an investment. Wealth is what you have in the bank and the property

you own.

Question: Is it possible to have negative wealth?

Answer: Yes. Seventeen percent of the population in 2004 have no assets or they have negative assets: they owe more than they own.

Question: What are examples of assets that lower-income people might have?

Answer: Cash (savings or checking account), furniture, a car.

Question: What are examples of assets owned by middle-income people?

Answer: Cash (savings or checking account), equity in a house, a small business, a little bit of stock and/or a retirement fund.

Question: What are examples of assets owned by the top one percent?

Answer: Real estate, large stock and bond holdings, businesses, paintings and other collectibles.

401K or 401B is NOT 'large' stock and bond holdins.  LARGE stock holdings is someone like Bill Gates that OWN the majority of stock of Microstoft.

The way 'wealth' is discussed in the American media is incorrect.  Middle Class wealth is not discussed enough in its proper perspective.  ONLY the 'achievement' to being 'Super Rich' is considered a worthy discussion of wealth in the American media.  The luxury of owning a home without a second mortgage is an accomplishment that is not valued enough.  The way homeownership is discussed in the American media is the understanding 'the equity' of owning a home can be 'redistributed' to 'icons' of the super-rich through refinancing. 

"W"rong.  Owning a home and owning a home without a mortgage is SINCERE security to the Middle Class.  Owning a home without a mortgage and not having debt is more than security it is 'esteemed' well being.  A homeowner without a mortgage begins to appreciate the payment of property taxes and how their 'local' contribution to 'community' makes a better quality of life for all.  When a community reaches 'stages' of 'security' in education and social well being for all its residents, huge shifts in 'well being' including the reduction of crime and well being of 'status' takes hold and 'life' is valued for its COMFORT and longevity.

There are dearly few 'measures' of 'community development' that measure not only 'social development and well being,' but, community security and status.  A community has status when it has all the necessary 'needs' of its citizens developed and in a stage of 'maintenace.'  At the point where a community is simply 'maintained' the property taxes are stable and predictable to the needs of the community.  A 'growing' community has much higher needs and instability than a community that is well established.  When communities are in 'constant' flux due to rising and falling economic windows the 'stable community' is then under threat.

Community stability is vital to quality education and economic viability.

Communities can be 'dysfunctional' as well.  Where annexation or chronic real estage development substitutes for 'sound fiscal' policy the dysfunction places the community at risk for failure, instability, lower quality of services and reduced capacity to absorb economic shifts. 

The way wealth for the Middle Class is accumulated is directly related to well being.  When the Middle Class is chronically excoriated for incomes and 'growth' of the wealthy, which occurs when 'financing' of assets take replace, the Middle Class sacrifices  'equity stability' and 'economic security.'  When the Middle Class of a community has diminished 'wealth' their community suffers including the services it supplies including police on the street and education.
Middle Class wealth is the most important aspect of a healthy USA economy.  The purchasing power of the Middle Class when it is stable and thriving is by far the greatest national security the USA can enjoy. 

Rove and his cronies are so desperate they are seeking manipulators and liars to help.

We need to start our own 'scandal rag page' on behalf of the Regressive National Party (RNC).  I take it the DNC is not engaged in such activity to attempt to find traction through faux scandal and underhanded measures?  I didn't think so.  I'll see what I can find.  Should be interesting.  It would be good if the Regressives could find a candidate first, though.

...“WikiLeaks (click title to entry - thank you) suddenly became a household name,” he said, and he thought, “Amid all of this bad behavior, there is a certain genius going on there.”

Last week, in an attempt to tap into that genius, Crossroads began Wikicountability.org, a collaborative Web site intended to create a database of freedom of information requests that scrutinize the actions of the Obama administration....

By the way, has Rove remarried yet?  We never hear anything about that.  I mean has he taken up celibacy or something?  Maybe the truth is he perfers boys. 

Come Karl, time to put your manpants on.

The weather at Glacier Bay National Park is (crystal wind chime) warm.

...The whale, (click title to entry - thank you) dubbed #875 by researchers, was spotted on March 15, 2011, by researchers from the non-profit Hawai'i Marine Mammal Consortium, including Glacier Bay National Park's whale biologist Chris Gabriele. Gabriele recognized #875, a whale regularly seen each summer in Glacier Bay and the waters just south of the park known as Icy Strait....

Humpback Whales, like all baleen whales, migrate between their feeding grounds and their breeding grounds.  The seasonal migration brings northern hemisphere baleen whales to the Arctic Ocean for feeding during the summer months and to the equatorial ocean for breeding in the winter. 

The same pattern with southern hemisphere whales occur annually.  They migrate to the waters surrounding Antarctica for feeding in the summer months and to the equatorial oceans for breeding in the winter. 

Their migrations have nothing to do with water temperature.  Northrern hemisphere whales and southern hemisphere whales never meet because the seasons are opposite from each other.  While the northern baleen whales are breeding in equatorial ocean waters in the winter, their counter parts in the southern oceans are feeding near Antarctica in the summer.

Distinctive markings on a whale flukes allow identification of individual animals. NPS photo.

Temperature :: 43 °F

Feels Like :: 37 °F

Conditions :: Overcast

Wind :: 10 mph from Southeast

Windchill :: 37 °F

Wind Gust :: 17 mph

Dew Point :: 28 °F

Humidity :: 57%

Rainfall :: 0.00 in

Snow Depth :: Not available
Pressure :: 29.57 in

Sunrise :: 6:26 AM

Sunset :: 7:56 PM

Latitude :: 58.8 North

Longitude :: 137.0 West

Elevation :: 33 feet

Visibility :: 10.0 miles

Clouds :: Overcast 8000 ft
UV :: 1 out of 16

Keeping Gitmo Detention Camp is irrelevant, "W"rong and expensive. It is a political icon to the Regressives.

There are reasons for detainment camps for prisoners of war.  Gitmo became completely irrelevant when the information the prisoners of war could provide proved to be lies, outdated and desperate.

The Regressive National Committee candidates USE a military instillation to propagate fear rather than resolving it as a political icon to their campaigns.

Regressives do not know how to govern, they only understand their own politics.

"Detainee" by definition is a temporary status. The definition of POW, which is the same as a detainee, is a temporary status.

With the soldiers returning from Iraq and the beginning of a draw down in Afghanistan as of July of this year, the time remaining to try POWs is very limited.

...The case of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (click here) and four alleged co- conspirators is being referred to the military justice system, Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement in Washington today. The military trial will be held at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, said two U.S. officials, who weren’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity....

The Regressive National Committee candidates have engaged in 'oppositional' politics ratther than campaigns based in reality and what is best for the country.  When they were elected in mass numbers to the House in 2010 their ideologies took over the priorities of the US House of Representatives.  Faced with chronic underming of sincere justice and effective indictiments of  'oppositional politics' the Attorneys General of the USA have decided to move the trials of the most ruthless POWs.

The best path for trails of these world criminals is to indict them and try them to the standards available within the USA Justice System that would include the Death Penalty.  Indictment through the civil system in the USA would INSURE charges would hold the POWs past that of the end of war. 

The USA is facing ever escalating dynamics in Afghanistan.  The troops are seeking to make impressions upon their leaders.  The uncivilized discourse of the domestic extremists among the Religious Right within the Regressive National Committee are having severe packlash within the military theater in Afghanistan.  The possibility the draw down in Afghanistan will increase is a reality that cannot be ignored.  With all those 'factors' playing into the reality the POWs currently held in Gitmo could be released to their native countries with the removal of soldiers from the Afghan nation, time is not necessarily a reality with such 'silly' politics playing within the USA.

Detainee - A person held in custody or confinement: a political detainee.

Prison of War - A person who surrenders to (or is taken by) the enemy in time of war

 

TITLE X--MATTERS RELATING TO DETAINEES  (click here)

SEC. 1001. SHORT TITLE.

This title may be cited as the 'Detainee Treatment Act of 2005'.

SEC. 1002. UNIFORM STANDARDS FOR THE INTERROGATION OF PERSONS UNDER THE DETENTION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.

(a) In General- No person in the custody or under the effective control of the Department of Defense or under detention in a Department of Defense facility shall be subject to any treatment or technique of interrogation not authorized by and listed in the United States Army Field Manual on Intelligence Interrogation.

(b) Applicability- Subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to any person in the custody or under the effective control of the Department of Defense pursuant to a criminal law or immigration law of the United States.

(c) Construction- Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the rights under the United States Constitution of any person in the custody or under the physical jurisdiction of the United States.

Article 4  (click title to entry - thank you)

A. Prisoners of war, in the sense of the present Convention, are persons belonging to one of the following categories, who have fallen into the power of the enemy:
 
1. Members of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict as well as members of militias or volunteer corps forming part of such armed forces....

"Morning Papers" - Its Origins

The Rooster
"Okeydoke"

"Good Night, Moon"

New Moon

0% of Full

Sunday, April 3, 2011

11:46 PM

When are we going to have some real gun control in this world?

College students stop to hug him on campus. Children ask him for autographs in restaurants. Strangers want to shake his hand at gas stations.

Nearly everywhere he goes, people recognize Daniel Hernandez as the burly, soft-spoken intern who helped save Gabrielle Giffords' life the day the congresswoman was shot in the head in January.

That was three months ago. Since then, Hernandez, a 21-year-old University of Arizona student, has been interviewed by hundreds of journalists from all over the world. He has traveled the country to receive awards and accolades, including being an invited guest of President Barack Obama for the State of the Union address. He set up a website to handle the constant requests for interviews....

..."I worry about him all the time," said his sister, Consuelo, 18. "Psychologically, I know he has changed. Things like that you will never forget."

Horrible trauma is very difficult for the brain to process, said Dr. Gabrielle Lawrence, a psychologist in Scottsdale. She said many people subsequently struggle with severe grief and post-traumatic stress disorder....

Storms come in all forms these days.

NASA's Cape Canaveral launch base (click here) was hit by a spectacular storm this morning, producing pictures that are truly out of this world.
A full inspection of the space shuttle Endeavour will have to be made after a day of high winds and hail.
No one was injured and no obvious damage could be seen, but did cause a slight delay to the training programme.
The six astronauts were at the Kennedy Space Centre today to practice emergency procedures at launch pad 39A but were prevented by the weather.

US House Representative Gifford's spouse, Mark Kelly will be aboard the next life off of Endeavour.  We are all looking forward to Gabby's attendance.

Choose Mark Kelly's wake-up song for shuttle mission (click here)

Posted: Mar 30, 2011 11:13 AM
Updated: Mar 30, 2011 9:30 PM

HOUSTON - NASA is letting you choose the wake-up song for the crew of the Endeavor Shuttle Mission, commanded by Mark Kelly, husband of injured Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
Traditionally, the song to wake up the astronauts is selected by friends and family of the crews, but for the first time ever, NASA is letting the public decide the music for the crews of Endeavor and Discovery with the "Wakeup Song Contest."
"Space shuttle crews really enjoy the morning wake-up music," STS-134 Commander Mark Kelly said. "While we don't have the best quality speaker in the space shuttle, it will be interesting to hear what the public comes up with. We are looking forward to it."...

Facing victory, Thune spends relentlessly for his re-election in 2012.

Sen. John Thune (click title to entry - thank you) has already spent more than $4.6 million on a re-election campaign that doesn’t have an opponent....

One can never be too sure with those Tea Baggers about.  He learned his lesson from Murkowski.  But, after all those monies are just sitting there, why let it go to waste?

"Cash on Hand" is real interesting (click here).

Ryan's Previous Plans never included any cuts in Military Spending which equals the cost of SSI easily.

His plan is about protecting Wall Street and not the citizen.  Certainly not Main Street.  It is about power over the citizen.

He states what?

"...will go further than the presidential deficit commission..."

What was that again?

"...will go further than the presidential deficit commission..."

WHY does any debt reduction have to beyond what is recommended?  When the debt is reduced, it is reduced. 

So.

Like.

What?

...On Sunday, Ryan *click title to entry - thank you) said his proposal will go further than the presidential deficit commission recommendations, which proposed cutting $4 trillion over a decade from the deficit, which is expected to hit $1.4 trillion this year, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Ryan also said his proposal would cap spending and lower corporate tax rates.
Critics say his earlier plan would disproportionately hurt the poor, while it cuts taxes for the wealthy and big companies.

GENERAL SPENDING, TAXES
Creates a mechanism to slow growth in mandatory spending programs like Medicare and Social Security, with automatic across-the-board cuts if Congress fails to act.
Requires a supermajority, or three-fifths vote, in the House and Senate to debate legislation increasing taxes....

The $4 Trillion Gamble. The Bush Medicare Option is not dead yet.

...Discussing entitlements, (click title to entry - thank you) he said the plan would change Medicare, the federal health care plan for seniors, by creating a "premium support" system that allows seniors "to pick the (private health) plan of their choosing, and then Medicare subsidizes that plan."...

The first new initiative annouced by Bush in 2004 was to provide $2 Trillion to change Medicare to private health care.

$2 Trillion.  Here we go again.

...Some of the ads (click here) say that the law means "seniors could lose their doctors" or that it "threatens seniors’ ability to keep their own doctor." But what the ads are talking about here has nothing to do with the new health care law. Some doctors have said they may stop accepting Medicare patients because of scheduled payment cuts set in motion by a 1997 law, cuts that are unaffected by the new statute....

The Affordable Care Act REMOVES "Medicare Advantage" to re-enroll participants into regular Medicare enrollment.  Why?  Because it saves the country money while protecting participants from exploitation of private insurance companies susceptible to fraud and potential bankruptcy no different than the banks.

...Although the ads cite an April report from the office of the chief actuary of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as support for this claim, that report actually discusses cuts the law makes in payments to other providers, such as hospitals and nursing homes – not doctors....

Then once it is privatized, in comes the elite practice of medicine the seniors will never be able to afford.  The 'concierge medicine' concept is a Regressive - Elite concept.  Just another bad idea.  The USA needs to stop this 'health care roller-coaster' and back the establishment of State Pools.

High-End Medical Option Prompts Medicare Worries (click here)

by The Associated Press

WASHINGTON

April 3, 2011, 12:17 am ET

...If concierge medicine goes beyond just a thriving niche, it could lead to a kind of insurance caste system.

"What we are looking at is the prospect of a more explicitly tiered system where people with money have a different kind of insurance relationship than most of the middle class, and where Medicare is no longer as universal as we would like it to be," said John Rother, policy director for AARP....

Egypt has its upcoming democratic elections. But, if their new leadership is extremist, Egypt may find a decline in quality of life.

Mubarak has left the house !  Or has he?


CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's military council (click here) denied on Sunday a report carried by Al Jazeera television channel that former President Hosni Mubarak had left the country for Germany.
Asked whether Mubarak had left Egypt, a source from the military council told Reuters: "No, this is denied."
Mubarak has been staying in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh since being ousted from office on February 11.
The military council said last week that Mubarak and his family were banned from leaving the country.
(Reporting by Marwa Awad)

What will occur is caution from global contacts with Egypt.  There will be less aid, especially when it comes to selling arms and munitions to Egypt.  If Egypt does a 180 degree turn regarding peace and relations with Israel, there will be repercussions.  Not good ones either.

That is the real danger to the citizens of the Middle East.  If the paradigm against Israel shifts as quickly at the leadership seems to be shifting, there will be 'permission' for immediate retaliation.  The West and Israel will draw back to defend their interests and 'the games will begin.'  The end might be just as quick, too.

While Palestine could use a break, the major hurdle is Hamas.  Israel did its part a long time ago, when Prime Minister Sharon closed down the settlements in Gaza.  Even with all those concessions, Palestine in Gaza hasn't sought peace so much as more hostilities.  The new leadership needs to embarce peace as they did when demonstrations brought them democratic processes.  If that changes, there will be dire consequences. 

There is an interesting quandry regarding Egypt.  If extremists are elected to the new leadership, will the military go the way of the ISI?

Officials of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's leading Islamic group, (click title to entry - thank you)  have called for the establishment of a Saudi-style modesty police to combat "immoral" behavior in public areas in what observers say in another sign  of a growing Islamic self-confidence in the post-Mubarak era....

The real question for Egyptians this Election Day is: will their choices cost them more freedom than it brought them?

Where is all the press coverage of their elections and the lead up including campaigns.  I would think that is where the 'real news' remains.  The riots were the easy part, the elections and governing is quite something else.

"Drill, Babe, Drill." - "Drill Here, Drill Now" - How is that working our for you?

National Average Gas Price Today (click title to entry - thank you)

For Regular is $3.645.

Do Americans actually UNDERSTAND how this 'commodity' issue really work?  Because if they did, they would have thrown off fossil fuels a long, long time ago.

If the USA developed the Electric Car for mass production during the Nixon Oil Embargo, where would we be now?

Drilling into the USA continental shelf is dangerous and ridiculous.  It will never produce enough of the 'oil commodity' to reduce the price of gas and / or energy 'ONE/TENTH' of a PENNY.

If we stopped using fossil fuels in the 1970s...

There would no enormous fuel costs for families today. 

There would be no threat to future generations regarding national security.

There would be no need to dip into the National Reserve for any reason.

There would not be increased food costs due to increased energy costs.

There would be security for generations from the Climate Crisis.

There would be a worry free life, without the huge costs the USA is burdened with today on all venues of economy and life. 

What are we waiting for? 

Rid the USA of fossil fuel use.

"Tax Freedom Day" (click title to entry - thank you)

Diagram at left are "The Bush Tax Cuts."

...This year, the day the average American would finally be square with Uncle Sam is April 12, the 102nd day of the year.

The Foundation breaks this down by state, as well. Utahns will be tax free on April 10. While the Beehive State (click here) has the 19th highest tax burden in the nation, it's much closer to Mississippi's earliest-in-the-nation March 26 than Connecticut's latest on May 2.

Overall, the Foundation's news seems to be good. The national Tax Freedom Day is almost two weeks earlier than it was in 2007, and it's much earlier than the record of May 1 in 2000. But the date alone doesn't tell the story. We pay less of our income in taxes than in '07 mainly because, on average, we have less income.

The federal tax deficit, meanwhile, looms over our April 12 picnic like a vicious thunderstorm.

The Tax Foundation understands this, which is why it also provides a date for how long we would have to work to pay for the $1.45 trillion deficit, as well. That date is May 23....

Libya, oil, "No Fly Zone." NO Problem.

With oil production of 1.8 million barrels per day we are all confident Libya can eventually pay for the services of NATO.

The immediate problem is that Libyans are not 'getting the hang' of a No Fly Zone.  The Opposition Forces are continually running into the Gadaffi forces and then retreating to regroup and recount their survivors.

I really believe the entire 'Good Guy - Bad Guy' thing with the media has to do a lot with sports.  You know, Gadaffi vs Opposition, tough to tell whom is winning with a moving goal line.

Hey, did I tell you or did I tell you?  Yes?  ABC news.  Yep.

Fierce clashes rage in Libyan oil town (click title to entry - thank you)

...The key Libyan oil town of Brega was again the theatre of heavy fighting on Sunday as rebel forces advanced only to be forced back in an ambush by forces loyal to Moamar Gaddafi.

The clashes come as Libyan diplomat Ali Treiki became the latest in a string of officials to abandon Mr Gaddafi's regime, while South African Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu said allowing Mr Gaddafi to escape trial could be "the lesser of two evils" if it meant saving lives.
Volunteer fighters, who had entered the town 800 kilometres east of the capital Tripoli just hours earlier, said they were staging a tactical withdrawal after being ambushed by loyalists of Libya's veteran strongman....

Did you know the Republicans of the Regression National Committee have a Public Option for health care?

It is called "The Emergency Room."  Whether a person is a citizen of the USA or an illegal immigrant, they can obtain care through the emergency room of any hospital in the USA.  This IS the Republican's "Public Option."

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (click here) today released new data from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample -- the largest, all-payer emergency department database in the United States.  The Nationwide Emergency Department Sample is designed to help public health experts, policymakers, health care administrators, researchers, journalists and others find the data they need to answer questions about care that occurs in U.S. hospital emergency departments.
These data indicate that uninsured persons accounted for nearly one-fifth of the 120 million hospital-based emergency department visits in 2006.... 

It is true.  I am so excited.  I thought I was at opposite sides of the spectrum from Regressives.  Seriously.  At least there is some common ground to begin 'healing' the huge void of the Regressive agenda and the majority of decent Americans.

Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA)  (click title to entry - thank you)

In 1986, Congress enacted the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA) to ensure public access to emergency services regardless of ability to pay. Section 1867 of the Social Security Act imposes specific obligations on Medicare-participating hospitals that offer emergency services to provide a medical screening examination (MSE) when a request is made for examination or treatment for an emergency medical condition (EMC), including active labor, regardless of an individual's ability to pay. Hospitals are then required to provide stabilizing treatment for patients with EMCs. If a hospital is unable to stabilize a patient within its capability, or if the patient requests, an appropriate transfer should be implemented.,,,

This ACT must have begun at the pleading of the ProLife Movement.  I am deeply moved by their dedicate to 'getting them born.'  It provides NO Pre-natal care or Early Child Care, but, then there is Planned Parenthood and Head Start, so I guess the Democrats found some needs besides, "Gettin' 'em born."