Thank you, Jeffrey Immelt, it was the best decision and a real boost to the parents that lost children because of gun violence.

The lending arm of General Electric (click here) has stopped offering financing to retailers whose primary business is selling guns. Around 75 retailers are immediately affected. A company spokesman says this is a response to "industry changes, new legislation and tragic events."

Currently, people purchasing guns in the USA are paying at least 18% interest on their purchases. They use credit cards. They are not the best credit risks but are moderate risks.

Gun purchases are investments. These investments are subject to market pressures. They are not good investments because the USA can cause a fall in value when the legislation is passed.

People like the gun owners on this blog are running after empty dreams. They have a faux sense of security by owning dangerous guns. Not only that but the investment they made have a high rate of loss and at least 18% interest raises the cost of the gun over time by more than 20%. If a gun is purchased on credit for $1000.00 there is a very good chance by the time that gun is paid off it will cost far more than $1200.00. That gun will never sell for as much as the purchaser paid for it. Guns will not appreciate that fast in value.

The moderate risk credit card gun purchaser is better off saving the money for better car or paying on their home or getting out of debt.

Buying guns is not assisting the USA's economy, by every measure it is hurting it while using monies people sincerely don't have.

More definitions to Assault Weapons Ban Amendment

``(ix) The following MAC types: (click here called "Whispering Death")

``(I) MAC-10.(below with suppressor and stock click here)


``(II) MAC-11.(below click here for Sumo Daug who rented the gun from a shooting range)


       ``(III) Masterpiece Arms (click here) 

MPA is Master-Piece Arms.

MPA A930 Mini Pistol (below)

FYI below: Does it qualify as an al Qaeda training facility?

, MPA460 Pistol,(below - I don't know about anyone else, but, I've always wanted to look up to a weapon.)

The 460 Rowland is offered in three varieties of firearms: (click here)

The 6” 460 Rowland Pistol, the 10” 460 Rowland Pistol, and the 460 Rowland Carbine.
The 6” 460 Rowland Pistol, or MPA460-10, is chambered for 460 Rowland ammo, has a 6” threaded barrel with muzzle break, scope mount, side charger and 30 round magazine. The MSRP is $579. Also available with extra 45 ACP Upper included for $669.
The 10” 460 Rowland Pistol, or MPA460-15, is also chambered for 460 Rowland ammo, has a 10” threaded barrel with muzzle break, scope mount, side charger, and 30 round magazine. Its MSRP is $675, but is available with extra 45 ACP Upper for $799.
The 460 Rowland Carbine, or MPA460-1, is chambered for 460 Rowland ammo, has a 16” threaded barrel with muzzle break, AR-15 hand guard, scope mount, 2-7×32 scope with illuminated reticule, side charger, MPA low profile fixed stock, 30 round magazine, 1:16 barrel twist- RH, 3.8 lbs trigger pull, parkerized finish, American-made, Lifetime guarantee. The MSRP is $853, but is also available with extra 45 ACP Upper for $999.

MPA Tactical Pistol,(below)


 and MPA Mini Tactical Pistol.(below - click here for $551.00 weapon with threated barrel, 35 round clip, holosight and flashlight. Heck, I'd buy it for the flashlight alone.)




       ``(IV) Military Armament Corp.(click here -  The company focused on the military market)

Ingram M-11.(below - the hook on the back of the weapon is a retractable stock.) The manufacturer doesn't produce these anymore, but, they are still being sold. Many of these weapons come with lifetime warranty like a lifetime membership to the NRA. The warranty speaks to the longevity of these weapons.

       ``(V) Velocity Arms VMAC.(below)


       ``(x) Sig Sauer P556 pistol.(below)


       ``(xi) Sites Spectre.(below)


       ``(xii) All Thompson types,(click here on sale from $813,00 to $1543.00) including the following:
       ``(I) Thompson TA510D.(below - click here for comparison with Bushmaster Carbon 15 Type 21S Pistol Combination Gun which "FindTheBest" believes is more deadly.  


       ``(II) Thompson TA5. (below - got to start somewhere)

       ``(xiii) All UZI types,(below)

including Micro-UZI.

UZI conversions micro uzi (click here) 

More conversions (click here) 

Parts Supplier (click here) 

More tomorrow.

I think Max Baucus is afraid of his own shadow over the Affordable Care Act. Too, bad.

The Public Option would have pushed back against the very concerns he has, but, the reality of the State Exchanges became the focus after Lieberman did a number on the country. I don't know why the States can't set up their own insurance company as well, if they choose to do so creating their own Public Option. All the states have their own insurance companies for automobiles. But, the focus of the exchanges currently is to allow normal market pressures to come to bear and bring about a larger pool of Americans to form those costs. All this while The Affordable Care Act has sent very important inclusions in those plans. 

The nation hasn't begun to realize the outcome of the State Exchanges. Additionally, the states can act to improve the performance of the exchanges if they care to, Massachusetts is doing fine. Look at the expertise and responders in Boston. I don't want to exploit this state's wonderful health care system, but, it is a reality. The fear of this entirely new bill is due to Right Wing Rhetoric, not the facts.

While retreating into his own inability to vision the future about health care, Senator Baucus is worried about a watershed in Montana.

Sawtooth Ridge looms above pivot sprinklers on the Broken O Ranch along the Rocky Mountain Front near Augusta. / Photo courtesy of JeffVanTine.com
April 23, 2013
by Karl Puckett, Tribune Staff Writer

Passing legislation (click here) that would protect federal land in the North Fork of the Flathead and along the Rocky Mountain Front will be priorities for U.S. Sen. Max Baucus in his remaining months in office, the Montana senator said Tuesday, when he announced his retirement.
The North Fork Watershed Protection Act would protect federal land on the American side of the North Fork drainage from new oil and gas development and mining. A second Baucus bill would preserve 275,000 acres of land along the eastern Front as either conservation management areas or wilderness.
“I will double down on legislation to permanently protect the American side of the North Fork watershed and keep the Rocky Mountain Front the way it is for future generations,” Baucus, a Democrat, said in a statement....

Senator Baucus won't want to connect the vote to pass this protection to any gun legislation, but, I sure won't be above it.

by Tristen Scott Two days after announcing his retirement (click here) and, in doing so, promising a full-court press to protect some of Montana’s most pristine places, U.S. Sen. Max Baucus testified before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to promote the North Fork Watershed Protection Act, a bill that would permanently protect the American side of the North Fork watershed from new energy development....

Watersheds are important and the North Folk Watershed dates back to FDR.

S. 255: North Fork Watershed Protection Act of 2013 (click here)

There is no reason to refuse to support this bill in the Senate or House. This is watershed. It is important and cannot be replaced. This bill should be voted into law as soon as possible, maybe even as an amendment to the background check bill.

Sarin is a nerve agent. It is similar to insecticide. This video was reported by "The Independent" of Allepo.

Sarin is an extremely potent acetylcholinesterase (AchE) inhibitor. (click here) It is possible to survive a Sarin release. It is important to realize what occurred within this release. I caution Assad to being this stupid. President Obama was the President that saw the end of Quaddfi among others.

Given there are people that survived the release, they would have information about their circumstances when it occurred. This reporting by The Independent was today. So, this is new information.

Friday, April 26, 2013
Sim Sengupta

...The claims (click here) that chemical agents have been used in the conflict comes at a time when stalemate on the ground, disunity among the political opposition and growing unease about the predominance of extremists among rebel fighters has led to calls for a renewed push for peace....

The USA economy grew 2.5% in the first quarter of the USA.

Regardless of the numbers within that growth the percentage is difficult to realize in a real way because of the size of the USA economy.

The graph alone illustrates a recovering economy since President Obama took office.

US economy accelerates at 2.5 percent rate in Q1 (click here)

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer | April 26, 2013 | Updated: April 26, 2013 9:35am

...Growth was also helped by businesses, which responded to the greater demand by rebuilding their stockpiles. And home construction rose further.

Government spending sank at a 4.1 percent annual rate, led by another deep cut in defense spending. The decline kept last quarter's increase in economic growth below expectations of a 3 percent rate or more....

This chart was drafted when the economic collapse occurred in 2008. The USA housing market tumbled out of control. But, it was the USA housing market that was most toyed with by volume alone. To realize that is now rebounding is really an accomplishment the country can be proud of.

There are two key risks to the outlook; (click here) One is that asset values - especially housing - will substantially undershoot reasonable long-term levels. The second is that financial market dysfunction will produce reinforcing rounds of real economic distress, especially in emerging economies.

How to handle domestic terrorists?

McVeigh. It is precedent. It is constitutional. There is no debate there.

There is no new normal. Hayden? Get out of your own way. His political leanings dominate his cognition, but, talking heads have to have something to say to have a job.

Instructions to build bombs have been available for decades.

Bush had to rebuild the wheel because it served his and Cheney's purposes, it doesn't mean it was BEST for the country.

There is no bluffing going on.

McCain is making rhetorical statements for political purposes when he states, the USA did nothing. If the USA and NATO did nothing there would be many more dead than there are today.

The USA is not acting unilaterally either.

NATO has a vested interest. There is more here than simply President Obama, but, France is engaged in Mali so the ability of NATO to move is effected. However, that doesn't mean NATO is not at the center of these decisions, including the fact, they are also engaged in Afghanistan.

Why is Russia interested in STABLE political states?

I wonder. Gee whiz. Why is Russia, Russia? 

Billy Bob must know the answer to this one, don't ya think?

I suppose Russia is interested in stable political states because it's military can be adverse to the best outcome of the people when it's capacity it turned lose in the hands of the inept.

Ya think? 

Or may ya don't.

The reason NATO is assessing the problem in Syria is of the uncertainty of the intelligence.

While the USA Neocons in the government and media have a problem with a sticky gas peddle there is the reality that as Syria loses it's governing infrastructure these releases are always a potential. Was the release actually an act of war, that has to be realized. 

US Lacks evidence in accusing Syria of using chemical weapons (click here)
April 26, 2013

..."Thus far, we believe that the Assad regime maintains custody of these weapons, and this demonstrated a willingness to escalate its horrific use of violence against the Syrian people," Foreign Policy quotes from the letter.'''

The USA is not going to war because another dictator lost control of their nation! 

The difference between Syria and Libya results from the the fact Libya was disarmed long before it's people rebelled against the government. The West had influence in Libya. That is not the case in Syria.

The fact Russia is not acting to end the suffering in Syria is why NATO has decided at this point to protect it's members, namely Turkey.

I kinda want to know why these issues of EXPERTISE are abandoned by the USA media for nothing but rhetorical stammering to bring political pressure in favor of war. Why is that? It isn't bad enough we have a bunch of politicians well vested into declaring war at every turn and now there is media seeking to leverage even more power to favor war. 

What is really curious to me is that the media plays to their dopey unknowing persona. This way when the USA and NATO don't do as the Neocon politicians and media demands, they can claim the USA has turned CHICKEN and is now more a danger to the national security than under BUSH!

Go straight to hell.

There is nothing like a media that is more than willing to see American troops killed for ratings and political clout.

Oil facilities and refineries are chemical plants. There have been many chemical explosions since moved to DHS.

The interview with former Secretary Jackson revealed ineffective government. Basically, a government that didn't care about the people so much as deregulating the petroleum industry and chemical plants. The fact Cheney's relative secured the deceptive practice explains a Halliburton connection. PROFITS. STOCKHOLDERS.

The BP Texas Oil Refinery explosion was March 23, 2005. It killed fifteen and injured 170 people. If DHS didn't learn then they were doing a lousy job of protecting the pubic, it was never going to learn.

November 16, 2012 10:13 PM GARLAND (CBSDFW.COM) – An explosion (click here) and subsequent massive fire at a chemical plant in Garland sent workers scrambling and businesses nearby into a panic.

The plant is owned by Nexeo Solutions, LLC a Houston-area company that distributes chemicals, plastics, and composites and also offers environmental services.

According to the company, the chemical methanol was being unloaded from a rail-car when the explosion occurred. Methanol is a highly flammable, toxic, wood alcohol.

The fire burned roughly 10,000 gallons of methanol....

Has anything changed? No. And so long as Republicans have leverage in the USA this corruption will continue. Much of what occurs in preventing disaster such as this is a State function.

Jun 22, 2005

CSB Reports Chemical Dust Explosions are a "Serious Problem" (click here) - Nearly 200 Accidents took 100 Lives; Data, Testimony Noted at Public Hearing Today

...At the hearing, CSB lead dust study investigator Angela Blair and investigator Giby Joseph presented preliminary data indicating there have been 197 dust explosion incidents in the United States since 1980, causing 109 fatalities and 592 injuries. The explosions, which occur when fine particles of dust are ignited, occur in many industries, the CSB found, including rubber and plastic products, chemical manufacturing, primary metal, lumber and wood products, and food products, among others. They occur nationwide. For example, the CSB preliminary data show 21 such incidents in Illinois over the years, 19 in California, 13 in Ohio, 8 in North Carolina and three in Kentucky....

The most densely populated state in the nation is New Jersey. New Jersey has a lot of chemical traffic. There are several pharmaceutical industries in New Jersey. Dust. Pills. All that mess. At one point there were huge chemical operations in New Jersey, American Cyanamid, Union Carbide and Johns Manville were among them. During all those years, there was no major explosion. If there were, the state was so densely populated there would be large numbers of deaths. The reason these plants were reasonably safe was due to regulation.

After the Bhopal, India accident Union Carbide put an Emergency Manager answering only to the Plant Manager on the beat to be sure their Bound Brook plant was safe.

There are real reasons why these tragedies occur and it isn't because the EXPERTS in the USA don't know better or how to protect people's lives. The reason these tragedies occur is because it benefits Wall Street profits. These tragedies are NOT accidents. They are negligence to benefit profit and there needs to be arrests for manslaughter.

Where deregulation occurs and Republicans interfere with safety for the public there HAS TO BE prosecution of those taking advantage of the deregulation in order to stop the danger. Someone has to be held responsible and a slap on the wrist with fines is not going to do it. There needs to be prosecution of those responsible for the safety of the plant.

Government is failing the people. It is failing in the area of plant safety and banking among others. There is interference of regulation by the Republicans protecting the profiteers.

It's the "Threat Threshold" stupid.

Foreign nationals are brought on by companies for many reasons. Espionage is sometimes part of it. It worked out well for Mr. Chalibi from Iraq when the USA decided he was a good guy with a gun. 

I don't know exactly why companies took an interest in the Uncle. But, it was Russia. Russia has lots of secrets any company wants to know about. Russian oil is coveted by others that should not be coveting those assets.

The point is sometimes knowledge of the language, culture, people, etc. can be invaluable. The young men were brought to the USA for an opportunity to live a better life and get away from a volatile region of Russia.  If you were their uncle wouldn't you want to remove them from such dangerous potentials in their young lives? Of, course. It is very unfortunate it all didn't go well. It just seems given all the factors that played into the Boston bombings there would have been better interventions.

The final reality is more likely, all those monies spent on a huge intelligence center to consolidate all this information and provide reasons for agencies to 'talk to each other,' will prove to be nothing more than a huge waste of money like the Embassy in Iraq.

The PROBLEM surrounding September 11, 2001 wasn't really about sharing information. The FBI had one terrorist scoped out. The CIA knew there were problems with the al Qaeda network and issued a warning to the President. The REAL problem that has lead to all these folks running amok in the USA is that the THREAT LEVEL was never lowered enough to actually find the REAL TARGETS OF INTEREST. 

Until the Threat Threshold is lowered and these folks can actually be stopped before they carry out their plans against Americans, we can spend trillions upon trillions more and the same would continue to exist and occur in our society.

The information has to be disseminated to local authorities that have competencies to work with FBI and CIA. I might add, that when there are more people in the USA law enforcement community qualified to 'make the trip to Quantico,' the larger the pool for qualified agents. 

Currently, we have an FBI Director that was begged to stay for lack of a 'qualified other' to take the position or should I say 'willing' to take the position. If the pool of candidates were larger from across the entire country making their way up the ladder, we would have many qualified leaders for any of the intelligence departments. It is time we did this while adding competency to our nation and standards of intervention to stop this hideous paradigm we all face.

Now, why would Russia know something about the Tsarni boys?

The Boston Bomber can't afford a lawyer? Right? I am sure his Uncle could. At least according to a silly old blogger.

Halliburton MONEY sponsored the families move to the USA. Why would Russia be interested? Anyone's guess, right? "W"rong.

Business Wire [New York] 15 Apr 2005: 1.
Big Sky Energy Corporation, (click here) (OTCBB:BSKO) (NASDAQ:BSKO) (the "Company") Announced today that Mr. Bruce H. Gaston has been appointed as the Company's Chief Financial Officer, replacing Mr. Tom Milne, who will remain a Director of the Corporation. In addition, Mr. Ruslan Z. Tsarni joins the management team as the new Vice President, Business Development & Corporate Secretary....

...Mr. Ruslan Tsarni, a U.S. citizen, has over 10 years of professional experience in oil and gas legislation and corporate law. Previously, Mr. Tsarni served as Corporate Counsel of Nelson Resources Limited Group of companies, as well as Managing Director of several of its operating subsidiaries, responsible for all matters relating to corporate governance and placements and filing requirements under the securities regulations of Toronto Stock Exchange and AIM. He worked with financial institutions and banks on raising funds for acquisition and development of the assets operated by Nelson's subsidiaries, as well as managed legal and administrative matters for all such subsidiaries. From 1999 to 2001, Mr. Tsarni worked as Head of Legal Affairs of Golden Eagle Partners LLC where he developed downstream and upstream oil and gas businesses in Kazakhstan and served as Managing Director of its wholly owned subsidiary Tobe LLP. From 1998 to 1999 Mr.Tsarni worked as Senior Associate with Salans Hertzfeld & Heilbronn providing legal advise to major multinational companies on different aspects of Kazakhstan legal issues on development of mineral resources, corporations, taxation, currency, customs, employment, banking, bankruptcy and trade marks. From 1994 to 1996, Mr. Tsarni served as a consultant for Financial Markets International LLC and Arthur Andersen LLP contracted by USAID for projects aimed to develop securities markets in Central Asia, where he trained corporate governance and corporate finance principals to state and private companies....

Tsarni served USAID for two years. Why didn't Russia engage in detailed information with the FBI? To begin that is not really heard of. Tipping off another government to prevent tragedy is an acceptable form of communication, but, cooperation beyond alerting the USA...hmmmmm....that would mean Russia would have to give up it's sources. I don't think so.

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Daniel Hopsicker

...At a time when vast natural resources (click here) and enormous fortunes were ‘in play’  during the economic free-for-all after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the 24-year old Tsarni was already a ‘player.’

Its long been an open secret that USAID is often used overseas to house CIA and other US intelligence operatives.

Oddly enough, just six months ago the country competing with the US for influence in the region, Vladimir Putin’s Russia, unceremoniously kicked USAID out of Russia for, Putin spokesmen alleged, encouraging his political opposition....

...Out on the ragged bleeding edge of the former Soviet Union, Ruslan Tsarni had a decade-long business relationship with Halliburton, the multinational juggernaut run by Dick Cheney before  he became Vice President of the United States....

Russia can't possibly believe they can block attempts to stop such use of Sarin.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, secretary-general of NATO, expressed concern over the Syrian crisis spilling over borders [AP]

Rasmussen also said that NATO was concerned about the risk of the conflict spilling over Syria's borders.

"I can assure you that we stand ready to defend, protect our allies, in this case Turkey, as a neighbour of Syria. We have all plans ready to ensure effective defence and protection of Turkey," he added.

"The situation in Syria has dramatically deteriorated," Rasmussen said. "This continues to pose a threat to regional stability."

There is a lot on the line. But, Europe cannot allow mass murder in Syria. If there was a release of Sarin gas and it was used as a weapon against the people, it cannot be ignored.

There are also reports Israel intercepted a drone from Lebanon. If that is true, then it is a shot over the bow of the west. Lebanon does not want a war next door.

But, if the drone didn't belong to Lebanon or any Lebanese group, then there are still Iranians working out of that country. At the beginning of this month an Iranian spy was found there, too. So, more than likely it is the same group. They don't care if it shot down over Israel so long as it can transmit pictures back of any preparedness to launch missiles.

More than likely it was an Iranian drone. The entire region is in flux and Europe wants to be careful. I don't blame them. I'd like to be a fly on the wall in knowing what the options are Hagel is looking at.

...Meanwhile, NATO wants to restrict its role (click here) strictly to that of defending its member Turkey, and to avoid any thought of military intervention in Syria, for which NATO has no mandate. It's stationed defensive Patriot missiles at the Turkish-Syrian border, manned by German troops....

Buy the leases from the Interior Department and put up wind turbines

See the entries below

There are regulatory changes (click here) that can occur to facilitate wind production permits rather than oil and gas permits. The Cabinet Secretary would have to request the BLM and Ocean Energy Management to find the needed changes. But, it is doable.

Courts could be accessed to provide the opportunity for wind when these lands were not offered for alternative energies.

The reason I mention the courts is because leases for 2012-2017 have already been auctioned. But, if there is an INEQUITY of LAND USE of public lands AND/OR there is more profitable and more wind potential of these lands then it is possible the government will have to redraw the maps to accommodate the best outcomes of alternative energies.

There is no reason alternative energies should be provided with inferior areas of exploration any different than the petroleum industry. If anything there should be a preference for that energy source over carbon emitting fuels.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar spoke at an oil and natural gas lease sale conducted by the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management at the Mercedez-Benz Superdome Wednesday.

Updated: Wednesday, June 20, 2012, 6:53 PM

The first oil and natural gas lease sale (click here) in the central Gulf of Mexico area where the Deepwater Horizon exploded two years ago attracted more than $1.7 billion in high bids from energy companies, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Wednesday at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. The lease sale, the second the U.S. has held in any region since BP's Macondo well erupted in April 2010, killing 11 rig workers and causing one of the worst environmental disasters in the nation's history, put about 39 million acres -- or 7,434 tracts -- up for bid, from as close as three miles to as far as 230 miles off the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama....

The USA Military demands some of the lands from BLM be used for their purposes. The national security of the USA can't be deterred if the oil and gas are required by the USA. While abroad the USA military purchases their fuel needs, so the amount they need at home is limited to their overall capacity globally.

Buy the leases from the Interior Department and put up wind turbines

See the entries below

The best part of the George W. Bush Library is the Prairie Grass Park.

In this Monday, Oct. 29, 2012 photo, (click here) former first lady Laura Bush, center, talks with Herb Sweeney, right, landscape architect, and Mark Langdale, president of the George W. Bush Foundation, during a tour of the Texas interpretation of the White House Rose Garden at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas. A 15-acre park at the upcoming George W. Bush Presidential Center will recreate a Texas prairie, complete with a wildflower meadow, a special blend of native grasses and even trees transplanted from the former president's ranch. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Prairie Grass was promoted during the administration as a viable option for American Farmers to produce ethanol. He has right to the legacy.

...The park's landscaping, which was just completed this month, recreates the kind of prairie landscape that would have existed in the area before the city was here, said Mark Langdale, president of the George W. Bush Foundation.

The wildflower meadow should include Indian paintbrush, evening primrose, and, of course, Texas' beloved state flower, the bluebonnet, when it blooms next year....

The theme is NATIVE plants and grasses. The attack on invasive species in the USA began with vigor under the administration. Native plants are a wonderful reality for any state in the nation.

Everyone in the pool!

Boner is pulling another one.

We need a measure of PATRIOTISM of the people we elect. 

I know what they are thinking and there are several sides to this coin.

There is personal greed accompanied by those that believe legislators can cause harm to the people over time as they whittle away at paradigm shifts that do not serve their political goals. ie: SSI, Medicare, Medicaid, etc.

No. Not this time and any legislator voting for exemptions as a federal bill should be voted out of office. I don't care who they are. This is ridiculous. 

There has to be a measure of legislators that stand with their constituents other than having disasters such as the report generated by Issa and Boner regarding Benghazi. The House Benghazi report puts the the average citizen point of view without the benefit of reading intelligence reports by the agencies into the report to sell politics. 

Dangerous. So, to insure the electorate knows who the person they elect actually are, there needs to be a PATRIOTIC measure of their legislative activities. This is one of them.

There is the other side of sanity regarding this that states if a legislator is exempt from the impacts of any bill they are more likely to be less self serving. Hence, "The Patriot Index." It will help to stop this mess.

"The Patriot Index" = Did the legislator serve the best interests of their people without corruption while sharing their quality of life including the same standard for health care.

President Obama and his Cabinet took pay cuts along with "The Sequester" employees. Positive Number for The Patriot Index. Follow? They don't have to change their lives with their families, but, they have to demonstrate they walk in the very shoes of the people that elected them. "The Patriot Index."

By JOHN BRESNAHAN and JAKE SHERMAN

4/24/13 9:49 PM EDT

Congressional leaders in both parties (click here) are engaged in high-level, confidential talks about exempting lawmakers and Capitol Hill aides from the insurance exchanges they are mandated to join as part of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, sources in both parties said.

The talks — which involve Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), the Obama administration and other top lawmakers — are extraordinarily sensitive, with both sides acutely aware of the potential for political fallout from giving carve-outs from the hugely controversial law to 535 lawmakers and thousands of their aides. Discussions have stretched out for months, sources said....

Seven more explosions in Alabama. Three human beings critically injured. Why do any of the ports, including the Port of Louisiana receive any funds from the federal government or receive services from the US Army Corp? Close the port.

We can't continue to throw good federal money after bad. This is outrageous. The state structure of Louisiana is designed to be a blood sucker off the federal government to give the petroleum industry a comfy nest within the state. ENOUGH!

Tug boats maneuver around the Carnival cruise ship Triumph on the east side of the Mobile River earlier this month. On Wednesday two fuel barges on the river exploded, rattling windows and blowing open doors in communities nearby.

AP Photo/AL.com, Bill Starling

A year doesn't go by that the people of the USA aren't dumping millions and millions into Louisiana. MOVE THE PORT. Louisiana doesn't deserve it. 

This is outrageous. PATHETIC ! Louisiana is a parasite. 

MOBILE, ALA.

Firefighters (click here) from Mobile, Ala., and U.S. Coast Guard crews responded Wednesday night to four explosions and a fire on fuel barges in the Mobile River....

Louisiana is so dense in petroleum interests it should have a floating rescue armada that puts the US Coast Guard to shame, but, that isn't happening is it?

Louisiana's politics screams CONSERVATIVE so much and so frequently it sounds like a gay legislator that votes to destroy gay rights. Same thing. Louisiana exists on federal money. Enough, already. The Governor doesn't have to get his head off the pillow when an emergency like this happens because he knows the reputation of the waterfront of Louisiana is well known to the US Coast Guard. I don't want to carry the state on the back of the federal government anymore.

"Sequester Louisiana!" it will solve the dilemma with the national debt. No lie. In ten years we won't have to worry about the level of debt to the nation anymore.

Louisiana has vast resources made available to the petroleum industry. The industry is well established there. The people of Louisiana live in poverty paid for by the federal government. Eighty percent of Louisiana's Medicaid is paid for by the federal government PRE-Affordable Care Act. Like, what? And the people of that state are suppose to believe and be brainwashed to believe Jindal would never accept federal monies for Medicaid. Yeah. Right.

Close the port, I am tired of lives hanging in the balance of incompetents in the Louisiana State Government. I don't want anymore Louisiana deaths on my hands. I want NO federal money feeding these dangers to human beings. If the people of the USA are supporting the people of Louisiana through the federal system I want either an end to the dangers as supported by STATE REGULATION AND INSPECTION AND PLENTY OF STATE FUNDING AND/OR no more federal dollars to the state government. I do not want my taxes to go to the deaths in Louisiana supported by NEGLIGENT MANSLAUGHTER currently supported by the state government.

I want out! I want out of all of them. They don't care about people in the Gulf States that have sold out to petroleum industry. They have deregulated every aspect of decency and they don't deserve the monies they get from the federal government.

Gulf of Mexico Fact Sheet (click here)

End the pipelines!

These are the wind maps of the USA. Some of the best places in the country to place wind turbines that would also return shrimp beds and fishing lie along the Gulf Coast. The reason it is not being done is because of the plans for the pipelines and refineries.

From the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. It replaced Minerals Management Service. If the Gulf Coast wants to continue to deprive the people of a decent quality of life then they can do it by themselves.

Offshore Wind Energy (click here)

Offshore winds tend to blow harder and more uniformly than on land. The potential energy produced from wind is directly proportional to the cube of the wind speed. As a result, increased wind speeds of only a few miles per hour can produce a significantly larger amount of electricity. For instance, a turbine at a site with an average wind speed of 16 mph would produce 50% more electricity than at a site with the same turbine and average wind speeds of 14 mph. This is one reason that developers are interested in pursuing offshore wind energy resources. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) provides a number of maps showing average wind speed data through its Resource Assessment & Characterization page and through National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) MapSearch. 

Apr. 24, 2013 9:44 PM  
Local governing bodies (click here) have filed suit against BP, Halliburton and Transocean for tax and tourism revenue they say they lost as a result of the 2010 oil spill.
Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, school districts in both counties, the city of Pensacola and the Downtown Improvement Board filed the separate suits last week in federal court in Pensacola.
They say they they lost money after the Deepwater Horizon explosion on April 20, 2010, which dumped 4.1 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, soiled more than 1,000 miles of shoreline and ravaged the coast’s ecosystem....

...None of the governing bodies, except for Escambia County and the county’s school district, has received any money for to compensate for lost revenue after filing claims in the past three years, Barr said.

Escambia County settled a claim with BP in early 2011 for $1.84 million in lost revenue and tourism taxes. The same year, the Escambia County School District settled another claim for about $363,000 for money lost between May and September 2010 from local option sales tax revenue.

The suits were filed around the same time the state of Florida became the fourth state to sue for damages from the oil spill. Their suit was filed against BP and Halliburton in U.S. District Court in Panama City....