Friday, November 11, 2011

On Veterans Day, November 11, 2011, a historic port side purpose for the Carl Vincent.

New memories, new image for a aircraft carrier that serves the country tirelessly.

Nice.  And a nice article by The Boston Globe.  Well done, everyone.  I can't choose sides on this one either, as my family hails from Michigan and my homes is North Carolina.  "Here's to a great game!"

...As long as the rain stays away (click title to entry - thank you) from the Carrier Classic on the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson on Friday afternoon, coaches Tom Izzo of Michigan State and Roy Williams of No. 1 North Carolina are confident their teams will put on a great Veterans Day show for the approximately 7,000 in the crowd, including the nation's basketball-fan-in-chief, President Barack Obama, plus a national TV audience....

I haven't heard comment on the familiar appearance of at least two of the Cain Accusers.



The ladies are older now, still attractive, blond, fair skinned and what appears to be blue eyes.  At least one of these women filed formal complaints with Godfather Pizza.  The observation stands.

The only reason Cain is ahead of any other Republican candidate for President at this point is because the Right Wing Media is pouring a lot of time and energy into this Tea Party candidate.  Murdoch's empire dedicated itself to the Tea Baggers and now it is dedicating itself along with Limbaugh to electing Cain to put in place their all time favorite flat tax, which has been a focus for them for a long, long time.  The Flat Tax existed before the Tea Baggers and has been instilled in that movement, why stop now?

The other candidates are not getting the same coverage, focus or enthusiasm as Cain by the Right Wing media.  The 9-9-9 plan isn't Cain's goal, the Flat Tax is though.  999 is about 'media attention. 999 inspires fear of the candidate's power. 

This is insane. There were duplicate case files. No prosecuting attorney would rely on electric documents for prosecution.

This has the appearance of an unsophisticated murderer.  This is way out of line, but, students frequently maintain all their files on their laptop.  The files are usually an ongoing work in composition.

This is crazy.  Whoever did this didn't think through the fact there would be other prosecuting attornies to follow Mr. Gricar.  Why would anyone believe, regardless of the source of revenge or hate, all their troubles would stop with this man's disappearance?  I suppose that is the way criminals think, that they have control over their crimes, but, this is outrageous.  A professional anyone, attorney or otherwise, does not use their laptop to safeguard their files.  Commonly professionals use laptops to access files from a distant location or to add information to those files stored elsewhere. 

Someone actually copied the hard drive?  The office of this District Attorney would have records of all the cases Mr. Gricar had prosecuted and all the cases he was working on, to believe the current and past District Attorneys don't know where to begin to look only adds to the lack of sophistication of the criminal who did this.  This pedophilia gets scarier by the day.  The lack of priorities within Penn State is the scariest of all. 

...When an investigation(click title for New York Times article - thank you) first started in 2005 over allegations that Jerry Sandusky was engaging in sexual acts with young boys, district attorney Ray Gricar was working on getting to the bottom of things, disregarding Sandusky's position at Penn State and in the community. Unfortunately in April of that same year, Gricar went missing....

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Thank you, President Obama, it was the correct decision.

Alberta, Canada, where the world's largest oil companies are building massive open pit mines to get at the oil sands. photo: AP (2008)

This is NOT a political decision.  There is a lot on the line for the food supply of the USA.  Need I remind there is excitement in the farming community regarding ethanol. 

The dangers to the Midwest in regard to the changing climate was never so evident as this past year.  The flooding caused the Army Corp to destroy levies and vital farmland lay under water in order to save lives and a town.  There is just no room for error anymore.  The petroleum industry has never been vigilant about their practices causing destruction of the Louisiana shrimp beds, polluted waters in the Gulf, substantial damage to the economies all along the southern border.  We can't risk it anymore.  Our nation's farmlands in the Midwest have never been more important. 

The potential for farmers to grow prairie grass and other ethanol crops right next to fields and fields of vital food grains and crops is a wonderful use of these lands.  There should not be more stress placed on these lands or any more danger in the way of adding more greenhouse gases to the troposphere causing drought. 

This was not an easy decision for President Obama.  He could have thrown caution to the wind.  It would have been the easy and politcally lucrative thing to do. 

I can't thank him enough and I hope this will also give the Canadian government pause to realize those oil sands will always be there.  If the oil from those sands are vitally needed, would it not be more prudent to protect them now as a 'safety net' for the future and profound oil shortages. 

There may be profits in the process of oil sands to extract oil, but, there is a negative energy return for the cost of the process.  Generations have to inherit the future.  We need to give them a future to inherit.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, Nov 10, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Environmental and citizen groups in British Columbia (click title to entry - thank you) say the federal government review process of the proposed Enbridge Gateway pipeline must include tar sands expansion and climate change impacts.
The groups are reacting to a decision by the State Department and President Obama to delay the proposed Keystone pipeline to include a new review of alternative routes and wider environmental impacts, including climate change.

"The State Department and the Obama administration's decision to delay the Keystone XL pipeline sends a clear signal to Canadian decision makers," says Nikki Skuce, Senior Energy campaigner with ForestEthics. "In the context of the climate change threat, credible pipeline review includes climate impacts."


A federal joint review panel is scheduled to begin hearing citizen testimony on Enbridge's proposed Gateway pipeline in January of 2012....

How much was "Waste Management" paid from Rumsfeld's DOD?

The John D. Dingell VA Medical Center (click title to entry - thank you) is a 2.2 million square foot full service medical center in Detroit Michigan that provides primary, secondary and tertiary care including acute medical, surgical, psychiatric, neurological, and dermatological inpatient care. We also run mental health clinics that include substance abuse treatment, a day treatment center; a community based psychiatric program, a nursing home care unit, and a Health Care for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) program....


I had an uncle that suffered from diabetic neuropathy.  He was a military veteran, received disability after his back was ruined while working in a VA facility.  He was literally picked up by a patient in a mental health ward and slammed into a wall.  When he no longer could work for the VA taking care of other veterans, he sold American flags part time for the local VFW.


He was a nice man.  Great uncle.  He has passed away some years ago.  But, as time went by his diabetes seemed to become more brittle and he began to have problems with circulation in his lower legs.  He eventually would have both amputated.


After the first surgery I went to visit him.  He was out of surgery less than a day, but, was permitted to get into a wheelchair to go to the lobby and visit with me while getting a diet soda.  This is a true story.  Swear.


After we got to the lobby and I found a sunlite area I went to the coffee shop and bought a diet soda for him and a ginger ale for me.  I returned to him as he pulled a small box from his bathrobe pocket.  I sat across from him in a comfortable chair without saying much.  He started the conversation.  He asked me if I knew what was in the box.  It seemed like a sturdy plastic box.  I told him no, I did not know what was in the box.  He told me it was his lower leg.  The box was given to him that morning by his surgeon when making rounds.  I asked if I could hold it and he let me.  It was sealed.  I could not open it.


When my Uncle Len went home the box was on top of his dresser and he showed it to everyone.  It was sort of like a badge of courage.  After a time and with some rehab he went back to selling American flags.  The cremated lower limb never left the top of his dresser.  His lower leg was still with him, but, in a different place, that's all.  When he lost his second lower leg the second box was stationed next to the first and when he died the two boxes were buried with him.


His surgeon and surgery, both of them, were performed at the Detroit, Michigan Veteran's Administration Hospital.  My Uncle Len (Leonard) went there regularly for any of his medical needs, received any medications there and he was always treated with dignity.


I apologize to all the veterans, families, friends and those feeling violated by the very real desceration that occurred by Waste Management.  I am only beginning to understand why Secretary Gates welcomed President Obama as Commander and Chief.  I don't know what can be done, if anything to correct this wrong, but, I am confident Secretary Panetta and Secretary Shinseki will do all they can.



Remains of war dead dumped in Virginia landfill (click here)

By Craig Whitlock and Greg Jaffe
WASHINGTON 


The Dover Air Force Base mortuary for years disposed of portions of troops' remains by cremating them and dumping the ashes in a Virginia landfill, a practice that officials have since abandoned in favor of burial at sea.


The Dover mortuary, the main point of entry for America's war dead and the target of federal investigations for alleged mishandling of remains, engaged in the practice from 2003 to 2008, according to Air Force officials. The manner of disposal was not disclosed to relatives of fallen service members....

It is my feeling all the remains once cremated should have been boxed and placed together in a casket  or other burial container and buried in a common area separate from other tombstones in a national cemetary in the USA.  A place where people could know about for peace of mind. 

It was always about money, not morality.



The fans, students and alumni have a right to feel demoralized from their hero. Was Joe Paterno really a hero though?


He went up the chain of command as the university system demanded, but, he never took the abused children seriously. This isn't just a matter of jilted lovers. This is about an adult man maintaining boys in his easy reach to satisfy his sexual drive. This is about pedophilia.


One could say the chain of command was the problem, but, they were simply conspirators in the same deception.


Right now, the students and alumni have the most on the line. Not because they lost their head coach and might have a few bad years of football, but, because the 'reputation' of Penn State has been smeared. A college is more than its teams and their standing in their divison, it is about having a reputation and the value of the degree by the greater society.


I am confident some of the joy of being from Penn State revolved around its incredible record and a man by the name of Peterno. Walking into an interview often the first 'ice breaker' is reflecting on the athletic accomplishments of the university. That isn't as rewarding an ice breaker anymore.


I believe the reality of pedophilia within the ranks of coaches at Penn State was handled poorly, as was the scandal, as are the decisions that overshadowed the university last night. It seems to me the value students and alumni place on this university and education were never reflected on, but, only the 'liability' that the school would face. Expeditiously removing the coach and president from the university was more or less a legal maneuver and not thought out in a way that would have best served its reputation now or in the future.

It is all about money. It has been from the beginning with the success and legend of Joe Peterno and it is still about money in his dismissal and disregard to the students and alumni.

If I could make a wish it would be to calm the students and remind them about how important their future is to not just themselves, but to their university's reputation and the contribution they will bring to a country that cares about them. I wish they could find a way to settle their hearts on their own well being and set new priorities for making that happen with a focus on graduation and the enjoyment the future holds.

If nothing else this episode teaches everyone it doesn't matter what monies involved, but, living true to one's morality and the reflection of innocence in the faces of the victimized is more rewarding.

Any students involved in disturbing episodes of anger should be given the benefit of the doubt, any charges removed in lieu of a counceling session at the Student Health Office in realization of the poor handling by the administration from the very beginning.

The favored party of the 1%. Either Americans want a government and one that works or they don't.



Two years ago, November 2010,  McConnell (click title to entry - thank you) made a speech to The Heritage Foundation declaring war on President Obama for ideological reasons.  I don't recall President Obama speaking to The Heritiage Foundation or any other prominent Democrat.  The party is closed to 'ideas' at all.




 National Rifle Association (click here)  CEO Wayne LaPierre said President-elect Barack Obama’s vows to protect the Second Amendment might be little more than a wave of empty promises.
“I predict he’ll break his campaign promises,” LaPierre said Friday, just before speaking to a packed auditorium at the Bristol Public Library....

The Republicans are bought and sold by the Plutocrats of the 1%. 





And the one person missing in this particular picture is the only one that sincerely cares about the USA and should be leading the Republican polls, Governor Jon Huntsman.  And why should Governor Rick Perry remember the department he wants to destroy; he wants to destroy it.  It shows how insignificant any alternative energy priority is to that man.  It takes government working with the private sector and research to support the private and public sector to develop better alternatives for the people of the USA.  If that isn't a blatant and complete disregard for the well being of the American people, don't ask me what is.  All the priorities of the Republicans are ideological.  They don't make sense, they make money.

Yesterday, in Ohio, Kasich (did I spell his name correctly) made a consession speech after his attempt to destroy unions failed.  He said he got the message and he understood the priorities of the electorate.  Those statements are incomplete thoughts.  He may have got the message, but, he should verbalize the EXACT message he got because for decades there seems to be a real communication gap between the people and Republicans.  He stated he understood the priorites of the electorate, but, AGAIN failed to verbalize EXACTLY what those priorities consist of thus failing to communicate well with his citizens. 

Rhetoric and cliches are the way of the past.  Last night Governor Huntsman had no problem communicating his understanding of priorities to the people in the audience. THAT, may be his downfall. 

Wednesday, November 09, 2011

Alaska's Epic Storm November 2011 (11/9/11)




Morning satellite image of Tropical Storm Sean (below)
Forecast for Sean
The latest SHIPS model forecast predicts wind shear will remain about where it is now through Friday morning. However, ocean temperatures will gradually cool to 24°C during this time, and it is questionable whether Sean will have a favorable enough environment to strengthen into a hurricane. The computer models show little development of Sean, with none of our reliable models predicting it will become a hurricane. Bermuda is the only land area that need concern itself with Sean, as the storm is now caught in a trough of low pressure that will accelerate the storm to the northeast. The center of Sean could pass close enough to Bermuda to bring the island heavy rain squalls and sustained winds of 40 - 45 mph on Friday. NHC is giving a 52% chance that Bermuda will receive tropical storm-force winds of 39 mph. Wind shear will rise to 30 - 50 knots on Friday, which should be able to rip the storm apart by Saturday.


The "Iditarod" might be quite a challenge this year. It doesn't begin until March 2012.

November 9, 2011
0333.54 PM
Satellite Radar (click here for animation of current weather map)


November 9, 2011\
2030.00 gmt
NOAA Infrared Satellite of Alaska (click here)

In the lower center of the image is the Alaskan island chain.  That should help find Alaska and the west coast of Canada.


November 9, 2011
0730.15z
UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite of the north and west hemisphere (click here for 12 hour loop)

Bit of a mess, huh?  There are simply vortices everywhere, in the center of the continent, at the Arctic Circle off the east coast in the Atlantic.  Just everywhere.
North American Continent Map with Alasak and the west coast of Canada.


November 7, 2011                   Snyder Oklahoma            Photographer states: 
This is the Tipton-Snyder, OK tornado. This supercell produced multiple tornadoes over a couple of hours.

Oklahoma battered by tornadoes, hail (click here)

"Peaceful Purposes" may have a different definition in Iranian.



I would imagine 'Peaceful Purposes' to the Iranian President would include a regional peace the Iranian government considers important such as their National Defense against anything living.

Senator Gretchen Whitmer Responds to Pro-Bullying Legislation

Tea-vangelical Governor Bob McDonnell claims today the Republicans election success was do to job growth. It could not be further from the truth.

Virginia Unemployment Rate - Seasonally Adjusted (click here)

The unemployment rate in Virginia is a stagnant as the rest of the nation, otherwise McDonnell would be running for president as well.

The reason the Republicans were somewhat successful yesterday in Virginia is due to the face McDonnell has been CRYING "Poor me" in regard to judicial appointments. 

The lowest rate of unemployment in Virginia occurred from September to Noverember 2000 of 2.2%.  January 2008 the unemployment rate was 3.3%.   Ocober 2008 the rate was 4.8%.  By Janaury 2009 it was 5.7% and it kept climbing to an all time high of 7.2% in January 2010.  Below the national average, of course, but the pattern is the same as every other state in the nation.

The current unemployment rate in Virginia is 6.5% with a low between January 2010 and the current rate of 6% in May of this year.  The unemployment rate, its pattern and stubborness is as lackluster as the rest of the nation and even more profound when one considers the all time low in recent years was 2.2% in 2000.

I rarely quote the Washington Times as they are 'creative' at times, but, just the same there was this:

McDonnell wants action on judicial appointment (click title to entry - thank you)


By David Sherfinski
The Washington Times
Thursday, July 21, 2011

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell on Thursday sent a letter to leaders in the Virginia General Assembly telling them to move quickly on selecting judges for state courts, including the Supreme Court,  as he is prepared to do it himself should they adjourn their special redistricting.

The legislature has been mired in a partisan gridlock over judicial appointments as they remain in a special session called to re-draw congressional district lines. Mr. McDonnell wrote that House conferees have agreed on new lines, but the Senate will not acquiesce....


This was on his Twitter feed yesterday evening with the statement "Voter Turn Out is Low."

Link:  Find Your Local Polling Center  (click here)

Candidates for Senate eager to sway voters (click here)

No one has more riding on the outcome than the governor, who reaches the midpoint of his term in January.

...Republicans have waged an all-out effort to gain control of the Senate, fielding candidates in 36 districts and waging aggressive, well-funded challenges to several Democratic incumbents — including three who represent parts of Southwest Virginia. The fates of incumbents John Edwards of Roanoke, Roscoe Reynolds of Henry County and Phillip Puckett of Russell County may determine whether Democrats keep the Senate majority they won four years ago. More than $4 million has been spent in the fights for those three seats.

No one has more riding on the outcome of Tuesday's vote than McDonnell, who will reach the midpoint of his four-year term in January. A Republican Senate could give McDonnell the legislative muscle he needs to enact policy reforms in state government, public education and the state employee pension system that Democrats have blocked....


Ran into my good friend Governor Doug Wilder at my polling place this afternoon! Polls are open until 7pm - please get out and vote! (from
Facebook)

Something on the International side: Could Lord Ashcroft have been the hub of the current drug cartels in Central America?

This is where the picture came from (click here)

£Ashcroft: Biggles, Bertie, Algy and Ginger Flaunting the Rules? via Labour of Love March 1st, 2010 at 23:54

We've been following the rather ridiculous Baron Muchhousing Ashcroft of Belize for some time. Here, for example is our archive featuring "Flying Lion" - the good Lord's private jet company - which has been ferrying shadow mimicsters and MPs around willy nilly. Not a UK company. Not paying tax here. With no base here. With no direct company interest in the demented big-C wasting involved in dashing around the globe.Michael Ashcroft's Flying Lion has exploited an apparent loophole in the donations rules. These bar overseas companies and overseas based individuals from donating either money or in kind goods and services to UK political parties. With one exception. That being Travel. This concession being designed to allow the Sultan of Brunei say to summon some UK polis at his own expense.

Lord Ashcroft is a British Tori that lived in Belize more than the UK.  He was found to be issuing tens of thousands of Passports and Visas while living in Belize under British authority.

Just in this past year he was given a free pass by the Cameron government and sent to what normally would be considered a 'safe' place to put him.  I believe it was a country somewhere along the Mediterranian.  Not sure, exactly.  At any rate, there is no reason to believe he isn't still as toxic to global security as he was while in Belize.

He is a worry and now this turns up.  It is reasonable to be suspicious as to any connection between the antics of this corrupt Brit and the drug cartels.  Passports and Visas probably facilitate the migration of the cartels into the USA.  So, much for border fence security when passports and visas abound.
Tonight 24 persons, (click title to entry - thank you) most of them Belizean Immigrants in the United States are facing federal charges for drug trafficking and passport fraud.

It's the result of a major operation by US Law Enforcement, a three year investigation into and infiltration of the Belizean Bloods Gang, a drug trafficking operation based in Chicago.
 
The biggest name to come up so far is Jerry Johnson, who, according to investigators, ran the operation out of Chicago. According to informants who gave police information, JOHNSON inherited his father's drug connections when that father was deported to Belize. Once the drugs got to Chicago the Belizean Bloods had a narcotics distribution route including Illinois, Utah, Ohio, Indiana, New York and California....

Congress needs to pass the "American Jobs Act."

Paper clip or no paper clip, the best option for returning teachers, police and emergency workers back to their jobs was written by President Obama.  It is just a fact.  There is no other viable solution and everyone in the country knows it.

John Kasich dumped on Ohioans that could least afford to lose their jobs.  I guarantee you there are more houses in foreclosure now since Kasich took office and they belong to those he laid off in some of the most vital jobs in the state.  The American Jobs Act HELPS states continue their vital services and supports education. 

The states need this bill.  They need it intact as it stands.  The members of Congress that have stood in opposiition to passing this bill, including those in the Senate demanding yet another filibuster are causing state budget shortfalls that are causing more and more contraction of the economy. 

The Governors should be pushing their Congress persons to pass this bill and turning it down.  The bill is paid for.  The country's extremists are hurting people, not helping them.

PASS THE BILL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't know why John Kasich should stay in office. He has hurt the people of Ohio.

When the people of Ohio voted for a Governor that would create jobs, they didn't think he would actually destroy them and reduce the tax base and vital services all at the same time.

John Kasich can't possibly believe he is going to have a productive relationship with Ohioans from here on.  He doesn't believe he can salvage any of his agenda at this point.  If there ever was a covert agenda in the 2010 election, this had to be one of the top qualifiers.

Why should the people of Ohio put up with this mess from here on?  John Kasich needs to resign. 

...with 75 percent (click title to entry - thank you) of precincts reporting, the repeal was led by a 62 to 38 percent margin.
John Kasich took over for Ted Strickland as Ohio's newest governor in January, and coming into power, he promised to curb the power of unions. In abolishing the rights of more than 350,000 public workers, including police and firefighters, to negotiate for things like benefits, equipment and various other issues, Kasich appears to have overstepped his bounds....

Tuesday, November 08, 2011

The beginning of life as perscribed by 'faith base' values is not the beginning of 'personhood' / 'citizenship.'

Anti-abortion “personhood” law loses in Mississippi (click title to entry - thank you)
Voters in conservative Mississippi were rejecting a so-called “personhood” ballot measure that would have the effect of outlawing all abortions and challenging the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
The proposition on the Magnolia State’s ballot asked:  “Should the term ‘person’ include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning or the functional equivalent thereof?”
With half the vote counted, the measure was garnering only 43 percent of the vote.  It was initially favored to pass, but lost support rapidly in waning days of the campaign. A Public Policy Polling survey last week found the state evenly divided on “personhood.”
Groups not usually associated with Mississippi politics — Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union — campaigned against the measure....

The government cannot be so invasive into a woman's life that it controls an embryo at conception.  It is not possible to have such a law nor should there be a law to enforce such an idea.

...“It does sound so ludicrous,’’ (click here) Derzis told me last Friday — so much so, she contends, that opponents were long complacent, and now have been left to scramble. “We were all behind the eight ball,’’ she said. “I think if we had another month here we could defeat this legislation.’’ But with a few days left, she wasn’t sure. Indeed, a poll released yesterday showed that 45 percent of the population supported the measure, and 44 percent opposed it...

Mr. Cain stated the American people wanted CEOs instead of politicians.

 
He could not be more "W"rong. 

Do I detect the 1% again?

We already had those and it was a huge mistake!

I find Lin Wood an interesting choice as Mr. Cain's attorney.

John Clune and Lin Wood, (click title to entry - thank you)  attorneys for Kobe Bryant's accuser, said Tuesday there have been no talks about settling the civil case.
As Ms. Allred knows when women come forward to report a wrong doing against them in a sexual content, it is usually the woman that suffers regardless of the truth in the circumstances. 
There have been many women that have come forward in years and decades past to report their facts to the media as public offices carry a great deal of brevity.
It is they that suffer in the long run while men do not.  It is that unavoidable suffering some of the women are trying to avoid by remaining anonymous. 
I wish Ms. Allred could find a way to bring the four together in a panel, even if they have to remain behind screens, to discuss openly their encounters with Mr. Cain and the course they took and why.  There are four women.  They can't all be wrong.  And every person, especially women, know that payments for resignation or ending employment is often the best they can do for themselves and still keep their dignity and potential employment for the future.
This is hardly over and I hope the women find a way to resolve this topic to the satisfaction of the people.
To understand the devastating effect of the media on a woman's career, Ms. Sherrod was the victim of baseless complaints, too.  Her career was ended viciously and iwthout casue; even though she was offered her position back in the government.  I don't blame her, she would have been harassed and second guessed at every turn.
Yet, Mr. Cain claims to be the victim of baseless complaints, but, he is mostly uneffected in the face of four women stating the same facts about their experience with him.  As a matter of fact his campaign treasury has vastly increased since the first woman came forward.

I thank the National Restaurant Association for releasing employees from liability for the media to pursue the truth.

...The association (click title to entry - thank you) told the woman’s attorney it is willing to waive the confidentiality agreement signed by the parties involved — although not by Cain himself — but her lawyer, Joel P. Bennett, said in his own statement Friday that the woman wishes to remain a private citizen and would not be revealing further details regarding her story....

To say there are many women working for members of this association as a career and as a method of self-support and family support through episodes of college or otherwise is an understatement.  It is a relief to realize the leadership of the National Restaurant Association is sensitive to this topic and willing to be a partner to the truth.

John Cornyn continues the Right Wing Rhetoric with AG Holder.

From the "Houston Chronicle"

The National Rifle Association (click here) has close ties to Texas Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison (below left) and John Cornyn (below right)–and it is doing whatever it can to prevent the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.

Cornyn is trying to exonerate the Bush White House from the failed program of "Wide Receiver" (gun walking) by stating the Mexican government was aware of the program.  If I follow the assessment of the ATF in regard to "Fast and Furious," the 'idea' of an autonomous program without Mexican government knowledge may have been appropriate.

Perhaps what Cornyn should be asking is for the assessment of "Wide Receiver" that lead to the decisions regarding "Fast and Furious" by the ATF. 

Cornyn is obviously doing the business of the RNC in trying to 'pin' the outcomes of "Fast and Furious" on upper levels of government in an attempt to reach the AG and the President.  This entire line of questioning is inappropriate and political in its ambitions.

Cornyn, himself, doesn't understand the facts as he attempted to confuse memos, phone calls and meeting with the two programs.  If that was deliberate on Cornyn's part than his "Oath of Office" is in jeopardy for abuse of power and creating political rhetoric from facts.

November 01, 2011 3:02 pm ET — Matt Gertz
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) (click title to entry - thank you) is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He was previously the Attorney General of Texas. And he's apparently unaware that when law enforcement finishes investigating one group of criminals, they don't just stop; they move on to a new investigation....

In the video at this article Cornyn, on FOX News with Bill Hemmer, lies about the knowledge of the Mexican government about "Fast and Furious."  On this blog it was noted that in a speech within Mexico AG Holder spoke about the gun programs.  So, Cornyn is simply lying for the sake of lying and trying to exonerate the Bush program as a superior program regardless of its failue.

The BLAMING that is the POSTURE of the Republicans is to distract from the profound problem in the USA and its Gun Cartel.  The fact there is no ban on Assault Weapons is the problem NOT the failed attempts to prove the migration of guns to Mexico or the inability of the USA to stop this disaster of a legislative nightmare when Bush allowed The Assault Weapons Ban to expire.

The Gun Programs of the Clinton Administration PROVED to work, among them The Assault Weapons Ban. 

Common sense gun safety laws bring down gun crime by 40 percent.President Clinton fought the gun lobby and won common sense gun safety laws including the Brady Bill and the Assault Weapons Ban. Under the Clinton-Gore Administration, overall gun crime has declined 40 percent, and firearms related homicides committed by juveniles have dropped by nearly 50 percent. There were 227,000 fewer gun crimes in 1999 than 1992, and 1,246 fewer children were killed by guns than in 1992.
  • Background checks performed under the Brady Law have prevented more than 611,000 felons, fugitives and domestic abusers from buying a gun.
  • The Assault Weapons Ban, passed as part of the 1994 Crime Bill, banned the manufacture, sale and importation of 19 of the deadliest assault weapons.
  • The Clinton-Gore Administration has worked with state and local governments to increase prosecution of gun crime. Since 1992, the number of federal firearms cases has increased 16 percent, and as a result of this Administration’s unprecedented partnership with states and localities, overall gun prosecutions - federal, state, and local combined — are up 22 percent. In addition, federal gun offenders are serving sentences that are about two years longer than in 1992 and the number of serious gun offenders sent to federal prison for more than five years is up more than 41 percent.
  • Clinton-Gore Administration U.S. Attorneys in Richmond (Project Exile) and Boston (Operation Ceasefire) were instrumental in innovative efforts to crack down on armed drug traffickers, violent criminals, gang members and violent youth which has helped to reduce crime in these cities. The Clinton-Gore Administration has also implemented a comprehensive crime gun tracing initiative — the Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative — in 38 cities to trace crime guns and identify and arrest illegal gun traffickers.
  • Finally, to combat violence in schools, the Clinton-Gore Administration enacted the Gun Free Schools Act, which requires schools to adopt zero-tolerance policies toward guns in schools and expel students bringing firearms to school. Over the 1996-98 school years, nearly 10,000 students were expelled from public schools for bringing a firearm to school.
The fact of the matter is, the less guns on the street in the USA, the less the gun crimes. 

...As shown in exhibit 6, (click here) law enforcement agency requests for BATF assault weapons traces in the 1993–95 period declined 20 percent in the first calendar year after the ban took effect, dropping from 4,077 in 1994 to 3,268 in 1995. Some of this decrease may reflect an overall decrease in gun crimes; total trace requests dropped 11 percent from 1994 to 1995, and gun murders declined 10 percent over the same period. Nevertheless, these trends suggest a 9- to 10-percent additional decrease (labeled with a triangle in exhibit 6) due to substitution of other guns for the banned assault weapons in 1995 gun crimes15...

The line of questioning of AG Holder proves the RNC is sitting at the committee meetings and not the people these Republicans are suppose to represent.  They use every opportunity, from inflammatory rhetoric in statements during legislative sessions to oversight of their perspective committees to obstructing necessary legislation to promote their politics and not the business of the nation!  Instead of taking care of the majority of Americans they ONLY want to care about 1% of the wealthy in America.