Planned Obsolescence

It is not a question as to whether or not the Iran agreement will work, it is whether or not the rest of the world provides a peaceful place for Iran. A war can only exist if there are two that consider each other enemies. 

It was important Europe, Russia, China and the USA all had a vested interest in the agreement. Every major country involved in these talks have vital interests in the region. It all has to work and the agreement is a catalyst to a lasting peace. 

One of the worst cases of failed agreements was the invasion into Iraq. It caused an enormous shift in the USA's trustworthiness. The world has a chance to garner peace and make it work. The USA cannot simply wait and place another president in office that seeks reasons to war. 

It is important the entire global community embrace this agreement with Iran and bring the country into a desired peace. We know the region is capable of it. The Sunnis, Shia and Kurds accept each other in domestic peace. It is time to bring war to an end. Pandora's Box and Slippery Slopes are some of the best reasons to end hate and promote peace. This agreement is important, but, the timeline to ten to fifteen years into the future is to secure a stable and prosperous Middle East. 

When reflecting on Iran and the current war environment, it is easy to appreciate Iran's ability to defend their own people. Without the Shia militia, Iraq would have been lost. Iran is capable of being a strong ally.

I can't speak for him, but, I can know how I understand him. 

His emotional distance from the attacks of September 11, 2015 requires some degree of empathy. If one doesn't experience empathy how can one return the emotion.

We are not fully mature in emotional competency simply because we exist. Emotional competency comes with a full experience of life and how love is given and received.  

July 14, 2015
By Syreeta McFadden

I first read (click here) James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time 20 years ago, and it saved me. At the time I was living in Morningside Heights, a neighborhood to the south-west of Harlem. The months before I picked up that book had built in me a kind of dread I couldn’t name, spurred on by a constellation of events that were all designed to remind me of “my place”. I had just finished a year at Columbia University as one of just a very few black students there....

I really don't care to hear any politics over this agreement. The Iranian Revolution occurred in 1979. There is every reason to believe this should never have occurred. This tells the world something about the current government of Iran.

The US Republicans are simpletons. They will yell and scream that Iran will have nuclear weapons in ten years. It is nonsense.

Iran has yet to be known by the world. It is the country's scholars that have carried the will of the people to the negotiation table.This is not only a historic agreement, but, defied all odds it exists at all.

I sincerely believe Iran will come into a new world identity. Iran's neighbors need to reach out to the government diplomatically to extend this agreement to end hostilities and bring Iran into the fold of allies that is seeking to protect the peaceful people and their nations. Now is the time when Iran needs to come to terms with it's current status of defense and realize there is an alliance of Arab countries that want peace. 

Lifting the sanctions is easy. Asking for trade relations is even more simple. But, to bring this agreement full circle to hold peace in the palm of their hands and know all of the Middle East is of the same will and esteem is nothing to be ignored. 

Iran and the Arab Alliance have a common enemy. It is time for Iran to appreciate the countries in the Middle East and bring an end to Daesh. It would be a profound understanding the Shia of the Middle East have lived through decades of fear to come into the 21st Century without it. There is no need for any Shi'ite to fear other peoples and nations. 

The conflicts between the Shi'ites and Sunnis has to stop. Iran has come this far, it is time it make a few more steps to bring security to it's country. The Iranian people deserve to be protected in peace. It would be wrong for Iran to continue to believe any Shia are in danger when there is a simple solution.

Eric Garner was selling cigarettes that he paid taxes on, for a $1.00.

Eric Garner was piecing together a lower middle class life in order to elevate his children. He was paying for activities in their school. He was looking forward to supporting them in college. I can only imagine the cruel thoughts going through the mind of Mr. Garner as he lay in the street being strangled by six police officers. It wasn't one, it was all of the police officers. They were all on the same high horse. Not one of them stopped the death of Eric Garner. 

The Garner young people have a task before them. They need to finish the schooling their father wanted for them. They need to make him proud. I am sure their father will be dearly missed. They won't be able to get past the empty chair at their graduations and other special moments in life, but, they can be proud of him and his dreams for them.

July 14, 2015
By Kevin Conlon

(CNN) Almost one year to the day (click here) after he died at the hands of New York City police officers -- an episode that fueled months of racially underscored anti-police protests across the nation -- the family of Eric Garner accepted a pretrial settlement from the city Monday. 

Garner's estate, which filed a claim against the city in October 2014 for damages related to his death, will be paid $5.9 million, according to a city official. 

"Following a judicious review of the claim and facts of this case, my office was able to reach a settlement with the estate of Eric Garner that is in the best interests of all parties," said New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, whose office is charged with settling claims against the city....

The Executive Branch of the US Constitution has significant power. The Presidency means something.

This post has been updated now that the Obama administration has reached a deal with Iran.

July 14, 2015
By Amber Phillips

Pretty soon, Congress (click here) could have an up-or-down vote on President Obama's nuclear deal with Iran.
But don't let your lawmaker fool you: It's not written in stone that Congress has the right to approve or disapprove of major international negotiations. It's not even a law.
The dirty little secret of U.S. international negotiations is this: Exactly how our government approves of most of this stuff is decided on a case-by-case basis.
Depending on what the president calls a deal with another country -- is it a treaty? an executive agreement? -- and the political movement du jour, a deal like the one with Iran could need a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate to be approved or could slide by without any vote at all.

Hyeonseo Lee, the North Korean peacemaker. She asks for us to appeal for the North Korean people.

As a child growing (click here) up in North Korea, Hyeonseo Lee thought her country was “the best on the planet.” It wasn't until the famine of the 90s that she began to wonder. She escaped the country at 14, to begin a life in hiding, as a refugee in China. Hers is a harrowing, personal tale of survival and hope — and a powerful reminder of those who face constant danger, even when the border is far behind.

As per usual, the political media in the USA is unable to find the correct words for the VERIFIABLE AGREEMENT. 

It is not a deal that has been negotiated with Iran. It is a verifiable agreement that is expected to pass the UN Security Council to become a UN Resolution.

The USA looks forward to the end of misunderstandings with Iran and a return of US citizens.

July 13, 2015

A third hearing (click here) in the trial of jailed Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian on espionage charges took place behind closed doors in Tehran on Monday, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported.
The first and second hearings of Iranian-U.S. citizen Rezaian were held behind closed doors on May 26 and June 8 respectively at the Revolutionary Court in Tehran. Rezaian has been in Tehran's Evin prison since his arrest in July 2014. "The trial will continue and when the verdict is issued we will announce it to people,” judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said, according to the semi-official ILNA agency....

Iran needs to join the Middle East Coalition to end Daesh. It cannot do it alone.

The Shi'ite militias in Iraq have joined the Iraqi military to reduce the imposition of Daesh; there is no reason similar alliance can't exist to end the threat of Daesh.

Iran is not used to thinking of itself as a part of a larger Middle East and it is time that goes forward. Iran cannot defeat Daesh alone. The greater Middle East has no plans to use the opposition of Daesh to victimize any Shia population within their countries. 

Nasrallah is correct to call for consolidation with Iran, however, to exclude that consolidation as a great force in alliance with sovereign governments is a terrible error. 

There is a renewed interest in peace with Iran by the major powers of the world, the Shia should recognize this as a chance to join coalitions of peace that will insure the place of the Shi'ites in the region. Iran needs to see their place in the Middle East differently from the past. It is important Iran seek stability and peace. The celebration of Eid is a perfect time to change the relationships between Iran and other countries. 

This new relationship between Iran and the world should be seen by countries such as Jordan and Saudi Arabia to resolve all countries act to end the threat of Daesh. The Arab Coalition should consider talks with Iran as a method to stabilize the region. 

The Shia Crescent can be a new strength to the region to end instability and violence.

July 14, 2015

Recently, Foreign Affairs (click here) magazine ran an article on the growing ties between Iran and the Taliban. Ahmad Javid, the author of the article, points to a number of reports that document Iran’s ongoing effort to recruit and train Taliban fighters. Iranian policy in this regard, according to Javid, is alarming.

Of course, it is not as if this is the first time Iran is meddling in the internal matters of other countries. Earlier on two occasions, the international forces in Afghanistan did seize shipments of Iranian ammunitions and weapons intended for the Taliban. 

Javid argues that the shipments in 2007 and in 2011 were big enough, therefore, the Iranian authorities must have known about them. Commenting on Iran’s policy, former US army General David Petraeus said he believed that Iran was not oblivious to the fact that its help to the Taliban would not change much, but it sought to make the American task in Afghanistan a difficult one.

Iran was driven by its security concerns. In fact, the objective is primarily to make the Americans bleed rather than to help the Taliban return to power. In the past, Iran opposed the Taliban rule in Afghanistan lest they joined forces with Jundallah, a Sunni group that operates inside Iran. In 1998, Iran was about to launch an attack against the Taliban. Moreover, Iran supported the United States’ effort in 2001 to bring down the Taliban regime....

July 14, 2015
By Elizabeth Drew

Those having trouble making sense (click here) of the American presidential election need not worry. It doesn’t make sense. Indeed, the ongoing campaign is the weirdest contest for the country’s highest office in modern times, owing not just to the number of candidates — there are currently 14 of them, with two or three more expected soon — but also their nature.

The usual question posed to presidential aspirants is: Why are you running? This year, the answer seems to be: Why not? As long as one is not too attached to one’s dignity, there is little to lose and a lot to be gained from running. A failed presidential campaign, even a disastrous one, can lead to higher speaking fees, richer book contracts, or a television gig. Newt Gingrich and Mike Huckabee both failed to win the Republican nomination, but secured seats on cable talk shows....

July 14, 2015
By Reuters 
 

TUNIS — Tunisia’s interior minister (click here) said security forces had almost wiped out an Islamist militant group linked to Al Qaeda during a crackdown launched after two deadly attacks on tourists.

Clashes last week killed leaders, including two veteran Algerian militants, from the Okba Ibn Nafaa brigade, blamed for an assault on the Bardo Museum in Tunis in March, minister Najem Gharselli told reporters late on Sunday.

The North African country has come under growing international pressure to show it is in control of militants after a gunman also killed 38 holidaymakers at a beach hotel in Sousse last month, an attack claimed by the Daesh group.

“After we killed some of their leaders in [the central region of] Gafsa a few days ago we have now destroyed 90 per cent of Okba Ibn Nafaa,” the minister said.

Okba Ibn Nafaa, allied with Al Qaeda’s north African wing, was among the most active of hardline groups that emerged after Tunisia’s 2011 “Arab Spring” uprising ousted autocrat Zine Al Abidine Ben Ali....

July 15, 2015
By Reuters

ISTANBUL — Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (click here) kicked off long-delayed talks on forming a coalition government on Monday after firing a warning to opposition parties not to question the role of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the political process.

Opposition parties have signalled they want Erdogan to keep out of daily politics if they join any coalition government — a direct challenge to the president, who wants to turn his largely ceremonial role into a powerful executive post....

Saudi Arabia is resolved to protect all it's people, including the Shia. In that terrorism will never have a foothold in the kingdom. Iran needs to stop demanding the Houthis rise in opposition to it's Yemen government. Houthis are dying in significant numbers. Iran has to require peace in all it's international relationships. Protecting the Houthis by exposing any assault is more important than attacks that result in their deaths.

June 5, 2015

Terrorists (click here) have failed to understand the Kingdom and its people. They have underestimated the strength of the forces they are trying to confront. They have misjudged the Saudi people. In the second bombing of a Shiite mosque last Friday, they sought to sow their stock-in-trade. They sought to sow terror. But instead, they have reaped the cold anger of every decent man and woman. They have also discovered the resolution of all who live and work in the Kingdom. 

They have sought to create discord and suspicion. Instead they have brought forth a mighty wave of determination, determination to preserve the unity and safety of the Kingdom and each and every one of its citizens.

The May 29 attack on the Al-Anoud Mosque in Dammam was another heinous crime, coming just one week after the suicide bombing at Al-Qadeeh, Qatif, which killed 21 worshippers attending Friday prayers. This time the authorities were prepared. There are no “soft targets” in Saudi Arabia any more. Though three innocent people died in this latest attack, the men of violence had hoped for a far bigger butcher’s bill. And they were disappointed....

July 13, 2015
By AFP

...The rival General National Congress (GNC) (click here) is based in Tripoli and was set up by a militia alliance, including Islamists, known as Fajr Libya, after it seized the capital last August.

The two sides have been locked in months of thorny negotiations brokered by UN envoy Bernardino Leon who has struggled to clinch a deal on a national unity government and hold fresh polls.

The GNC boycotted Saturday's ceremony in the Moroccan resort of Skhirat, saying Leon's draft deal was not "satisfactory" and calling for "modifications".

Nevertheless, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was "encouraged" by the initialling of the accord, a UN statement said.

"He looks forward to the speedy conclusion of the full agreement and its implementation," a spokesman for the UN chief said.

"This act is a clear demonstration of political will and courage and brings the country one step closer to resolving the current institutional and security crisis."

There is a problem with the truce between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis in Yemen. It appears, at the very least to Saudi Arabia, the Houthis are using the truce to rearm and plan a further assault. Any truce doesn't have a chance if there is continued arms build up. The Houthis have to prove they are honoring the truce to build trust and not further aggressions. Saudi Arabia is justified in it's defense of the truce to prevent further militarization of the Houthis.

July 13, 2015
 

...The southern fighters (click here) managed to push back the rebels in the coastal Ras Amran area, west of Aden, according to General Fadhel Hasan, a spokesman of the Popular Resistance.

"We have seized control of the area that represents the western entry into Aden," he said, adding that the group "received sophisticated weapons from the coalition".

But the rebels prevented a convoy of desperately needed relief aid travelling from the western port city of Hodeida to enter Aden, said local relief activist Adnan Al Kaf. 

Clashes also persisted in the central city of Taez and in the southern Shabwa province, where the Popular Resistance said 21 of its fighters were killed in three days of clashes. 

The UN-proposed humanitarian truce technically went into effect at 2059 GMT Friday and is supposed to run until July 17, the last day of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan....

There is a real chance for global peace.

The "Axis of Evil" speech has been dissolved. 

I congratulate all the parties involved.  

July 14, 2015
By Justin Fishel and Molly Hunter

U.S. led negotiations (click here) between Iran and six world powers have concluded with a final, historic agreement that will temporarily cut off Iran's pathway to making a nuclear bomb in exchange for the relief of crippling economic sanctions levied by the U.S. and United Nations. 

The world needs to surround this agreement and build on it. This agreement is an overlay to the relationships that will come from it.
 

Iran has agreed to significantly reduce its stockpile of enriched nuclear material and cease further enrichment, effectively extending the time it would take Iran to build a bomb from a few months to one year, over to 10 years. Upon verification that Iran is keeping its commitments to dismantle much of its nuclear program, major economic sanctions will be lifted, effectively releasing more than $100 billion in frozen Iranian assets. That undetermined point in time is now known as "implementation day." 

Europe has an intense interest in peace when it comes to the Iranian nuclear program. I would think countries negotiating trade agreements with Iran after this historic agreement will also build solid reasons for Iran to end their nuclear program forever.
 

Negotiators also agreed that a long-standing arms embargo on Iran would be lifted over time, one of the major sticking points in the talks and a decision that will be seen as a major concession by the United States. The nuclear accord states that five years from now Iran will be able to buy and sell conventional arms on the international market, and in eight years it will be allowed to do the same with ballistic missiles....

Peace can be built on trade. With Iran belonging to the Non-Proliferation Treaty there is every reason to believe economic strength will develop the incentive to peace. War never solves the need for economic strength, it destroys it. The Iranian people have chosen wisely in their elections for a President that have lead them into the future. It is up to the world and the Iranian people to continue to build on this historic agreement. The future now invites peace and it should be pursued with vigor.

I am proud of the USA's role in this agreement. Tomorrow has promise for the Middle East, it should not be taken lightly. The people of Iran has spoken. Our people need to respond in kind. Opening relationships with Iran will help solve many problems that isolation never could.  

The P5+1 have developed a main document and five very detailed technical appendices.

Dr. Ernest Moniz is at the center of this agreement and will be vital in creating an understanding of it's depth to Congress. I look forward to hearing from him regarding the technical details.

The negotiations has been working on a UN Security Council Resolution that all members have consented. The agreement is expected to be unanimously agreed to by the Security Council. The IAEA will have access to report the steps taken by Iran to fulfill the agreement. 

All major power are involved; China, France, Germany, Russia, the UK and the US have come to a historic agreement. This agreement should never be squandered for politics. The implications of the agreement are far reaching. All the major powers have concluded their participation, this is an international agreement and requires a sober approach.

The Mexican - American War took place before Asia knew it existed. That happened after the California Gold Rush.

The Mexican-American War (click here) (1846-1848) marked the first U.S. armed conflict chiefly fought on foreign soil. It pitted a politically divided and militarily unprepared Mexico against the expansionist-minded administration of U.S. President James K. Polk, who believed the United States had a “manifest destiny” to spread across the continent to the Pacific Ocean. A border skirmish along the Rio Grande started off the fighting and was followed by a series of U.S. victories. When the dust cleared, Mexico had lost about one-third of its territory, including nearly all of present-day California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico....

That is major plunder.

President Xi Jinping and his Mexican counterpart Enrique Pena Nieto celebrate after they signed a joint declaration in Mexico City on Tuesday. Photo by Yao Dawei / Xinhua

June 5, 2013
By Zhu Zhe

China and Mexico, (click here) two of the world's emerging powers, "relaunched" their partnership, strengthening it with the signing of a dozen agreements on Tuesday — the first day of President Xi Jinping's three-day visit....

Rather than a 'near border' war with Mexico, a summit with Mexico's allies could bring more clout to ending the drug cartels. Seriously. Any near border war is not the best path forward. If Mexico's allies joined forces the drug cartels could be vanquished with the current Mexican government sustaining a sovereign power.

There has been some improvements in Mexico's economy and standard of living in recent years. The problem is the cartels are still powerful and disruptive to insure domestic peace. A lot of people die in Mexico every year because of the violence. 

One other thing. The countries that share the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea were coveting a near border war while "W" was in office. 

It was getting a little scary, because, "W" sent US submarines into close proximity of Cuba. Supposedly it was to try out new radar. The radar that causes hearing loss and ultimately death to whales because they echo-locate.  But, the tensions were real. It is better today. At least President Obama meets with them regularly now. Oddly, the first gift President Obama received during his very first visit was a book presented by Venezuelan's Late President Chavez. I read the book. It is interesting. Central and South America is missing a lot of silver. 

But, any President of the USA should do everything possible to find common ground and improved economy with improved quality of life to countries at near border proximity. It is the moral thing to do. 

Quality of life would vastly reduce any USA border crossings.

Think about it. 

I want a Scott Walker Bobblehead Doll. Let me know when he finally says something.

There is a 3D machine where a bobblehead of anyone can be generated. I think it would be easier for Scott Walker to simply make those rather than speak with a steady bobbing head.

...I put my head inside, (click here) and it took a 180-degree picture of my head. 
One week later, I got a small package in the mail containing a figurine that featured my face sculpted onto a model of a character I can only describe as the blonde long-lost half-brother from Raiden from "Mortal Kombat."'...

A new campaign slogan for Scott Walker, "I am the rhetoric king." Producing Scott Walker Bobblehead Dolls would improve the Wisconsin GDP. And that is good advise he can have for free. Better than Kohl's Kash.

 This is a report from "Chase." (click here)

This is the accomplishment of the "Wuss from Wisconsin." The Wisconsin GDP is in negative to near zero numbers.

Wisconsin continues to fall in job creation. Even all the deadly mines Walker opened up doesn't help.

March  19, 2015
By John Schmid and Kevin Crowe

...the state's national ranking (click here) fell from a revised rank of 31st three months earlier, in the previous release of quarterly jobs data, which covered the 12 months through June 2014. In that period, Wisconsin created 36,732 private-sector jobs.
Wisconsin continued to trail the national rate of job creation, as it has continuously since July 2011. The United States created private-sector jobs at a rate of 2.3% in the latest 12-month period, twice Wisconsin's 1.16% rate, the data show.
"Given the historical relationship of employment in Wisconsin versus the nation, I would have expected Wisconsin growth to be faster," said Menzie Chinn, an economics professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Among its peer states in the Midwest, Wisconsin tied with Iowa for last place. Both states created private-sector jobs at a 1.16% rate....

Scott Walker doesn't have any policy points to make. He has been practicing AUSTERITY since he took office as Governor. The state is failing. No one should be surprised.  

He loves Kohl's. I just don't think Kohl's love him.

...A breakdown of Thursday's numbers show Wisconsin trailed the nation's job-creation average among retailers, a sector that includes cashiers and clerks, as well as construction and a combined sector called health care and social services. In the leisure and hospitality sector, which includes wait staff, hotel clerks and baristas, Wisconsin lost jobs while the nation added them at a 2.6% pace....

It doesn't matter what is viewed in the "Chase" report; Wisconsin seriously lags behind the USA averages. An average includes the Wisconsin data. Got that? The USA averages includes the Wisconsin data. What does that say about the rest of the country when it far exceeds the Wisconsin average. 

Hillary says, "Put familes first."

She gave a great speech that just ended. She has ideas. They are her ideas. Her approach to the USA economy is fair growth, sustained growth and collaboration between all citizens to benefit the best outcomes for the American people.

Each of her ideas is self supporting to work and not disappear. She is focusing on the entire spectrum of citizens, but, much of that focus is on young Americans that were left behind in past Republican economies. 

It will work. She has some great statistics.

The youngest Americans; the newborn to five years old when provided quality child care and read to by parents and caregivers alike results in twenty five percent higher incomes as an adult. Wow. That is a really good perspective. It makes sense as it comes from a lady that has been a child advocate all her career.  

She spoke about college debt and the ability of Americans to achieve their dreams. She states the college debt puts a drag on the USA economy and has to be evaluated for a better outcome for America and those that trusted their focus in education to provide a great life. Young Americans were promised a future if they educated themselves and now they are burdened in ways they cannot reach for the American Dream.

She states while technologies provide new jobs and opportunity, the USA cannot ignore the blue collar workers and their importance to the economy. No longer will American labor be polarized between tech advances and labor. The importance of American labor has to be a long term strategy and not a short term profit to hedge funds. She sees long term investment as the key to a sustainable economy and upward movement of the middle class. She is correct. The strength of the middle class is based in long term strategies of wealth. She also sees profit sharing as a method to build on a sustainable middle class and stability for investments.

She sees a daily responsibility to protect and grow the American middle class. She states her daily priority to the middle class will bring alive the impacts of policy and how it effects the economy and a stable and thriving middle class. 

She wants to hold responsible the individuals that have caused banks and organizations to break the law. The fines will remain for business practices that include working with drug cartels, but, the CEOs allowing such practices will face prison as well. 

She wants to raise the income of Americans. Stated was the concern of empty promises of Republicans such as Marco Rubio who believe reducing taxes on the Americans paid $3 million per year will result in economic growth. The tax cuts Senator Rubio proposes will result in $300,000 less in taxes to the US Treasury that will increase the national deficit and national debt.

Hillary Clinton wants to reform the tax code, but, with reform that will build the economy such as a $1500 tax credit for each person a business hires and trains into sustainable jobs. She points to the fact Republicans, like Rubio, respect the demands of high paid lobbyists while the Middle Class has no lobbyist to bring equity to them as they work their jobs. 

She made a statement that caused me pause, but, she is correct. The people that benefit most from unions are men. To date a full one third of inequality among men is caused by the destruction of unions. In recognizing the important place men have in their households there will be no more undermining of bargaining power that is used to reduce wages. The attacks on union bargaining power is mean spirited and unguided that causes damage to the men of the middle class. 

The chart below (click here) shows the 10-year growth rates in actual and potential GDP since 1949 (the first year that data are available).

She didn't stop there in recognizing the impact of bad policy of both genders.

Secretary Clinton states women are responsible for $3 trillion in growth in the current economy.

She pointed to the fact there was a significant contribution by women, but, the fact is plain; the USA has fallen in GDP. When third in the world, the USA has dropped to 96th today. The USA has a strong economy, but, still isn't enough to spawn sustainable growth that insures the employment of all Americans. Over the decades before the USA has lost GDP and not gained it. She sees her collaborative effort stabilizing any fall in GDP while turning the corner on permanent economic growth for the USA.

Hillary Clinton completely rejects old rhetoric as ideology that simply hasn't produced the economy the USA needs. She states this is 2015 and what might have worked in the past isn't work today and Americans know that. 

She sees the American middle class growing with affordable child care, continued vigilance and policy that will focus on health care and education from Pre-school to graduation from a university. She stresses the importance of early engagement of our youngest people because by age three a person's brain reaches it's maximum function. She wants to see brain research to continue because it benefits the youngest and oldest Americans. 

She lauds the effect of women on our country and how important fair pay will improve their outcomes. She sees President Obama's initiatives as important, but, they need to be expanded to include brevity of the American Dream to Americans and real incentives for savings. According to Hillary women should have options if they choose to work after child birth. Paid leave is important, but, also options of the type of work should include broad potential for women.   
Former Secretary Clinton views our minorities as the most victimized among us. The minorities in the USA have the burden of impoverishment with far higher statistics in unemployment and economically stranding them to lose ground on income and wealth equality. 

She demands immigration reform and addresses the Undocumented as important Americans. She states the current population of Undocumented works very hard to earn their way in the USA. Once they are provided a way to citizenship their contribution of $7 billion over ten years to the USA economy will leave the Republicans wondering why the country didn't bring them aboard more than a decade before. 

I am quite sure while my notes are extensive to a well thought out speech regarding the economy under the Clinton presidency, there is much I left out. But, to summarize, the Clinton Administration will bring about a well defined middle class that is sustainable and able to achieve the American Dream. She sees education beginning at pre-school through life long learning a preparedness strategy for a very healthy people and their economy. She wants to destroy income and wealth inequality. Basically, she sees income inequality as Un-American (my words, not hers). Her speech really did portray income inequality as a moral issue the USA cannot fail surmounting.

The Clinton Administration would break down barriers to opportunity at every turn and focus on thousands of lost dollars to a middle class family because women are paid poorly. She sees a huge difference between the economy of opportunity she maps out and the old rhetoric of Republicans that continues to give preference to the wealthy without a single dollar of tax relief for the middle class. She also views the rhetoric as self-inflicted wounds. There will also be active enforcement of laws when it comes to the financial sector and the manipulation that occurs on nearly a daily basis. The regulators are going to have to do their work and enforce the law.

Recovered monies from law breaks will go to special funds to improve infrastructure in the USA and/or refund checks to citizens that all too often shoulder the burden of the financial sector criminality. 

Hillary Clinton views trade as an asset to the USA economy and not a drag on it. She wants a higher bar to trade agreements and when that is not meet by the other country the USA will walk away from any agreement. She sees the USA building things that will market well in international markets. She also sees USA research and development as key to new products that will market domestically and internationally such as precision medicines.

The American Family is to be valued by the Clinton Administration whereby they have a good income that insures the American Dream with education for children that will bring about better of quality of life in the long term with good jobs when they enter the work force. 

I liked it. I also believe it is real. She isn't handing out old fashioned rhetoric, but, instead a call to collaborate and growth which includes fairness.

Scott Walker enters the ranks of Jeb Bush by violating campaign laws.

The first step to end Citizens' United is to enforce campaign laws. The entire idea money can preempt the law is a violation of the public trust. Sweeping it under the carpet will only escalate the dynamics of the Supreme Court decision. That isn't obvious?

July 13, 2015
By Jordyn Phelps

Scott Walker (click here) made it official today, breaking the news that he is a Republican candidate in the 2016 presidential race first in a Facebook post this morning before a formal announcement event in Wisconsin later today. 

“I'm in. I'm running for President of the United States because Americans deserve a leader who will fight and win for them," the two-term Wisconsin governor says in the Facebook post, which includes a video in which he argues that his track record as governor sets him apart from the rest of the Republican field as a proven leader who has succeeded in winning elections and taking on big policy battles.... 

Baby faced Walker has been raising monies since the end of January 2015. Six months of financing priorities before announcing his intentions of a run for President. Campaign rules mean nothing? Really? Political anarchy. Anarchy is treason.

The Republican defense, "Bush is still fund raising from long before his announcement, since when am I a scapegoat. I want to compete that means money. When Bush returns his illegal donations, I'll do the same."

Walker is the most corrupt administration in the country. Corruption is stamped across his forehead. Mining, including a very controversial iron mine, has sprung up in the state as if tulips in the spring. The mining is a pay off for the cronies of Walker.

January 27, 2015
By James Hohmann

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (click here) has formed a fundraising vehicle that will let him step up a presidential campaign-in-waiting before a formal announcement in late spring.
The Republican recently filed papers to set up a 527 committee called Our American Revival and rolled out a new website Tuesday afternoon....

"Morning Papers"

The Rooster

"Okeydoke"

July 10, 2015

A Calgary bird (click here for video) who lost his feet to frostbite is now walking thanks to a pair of artificial talons created on a 3D printer.

Left with just stumps and unable to walk, Foghorn the footless rooster was discovered earlier this year by the city's animal and bylaw services.

Dr. Daniel Pang, an assistant professor in the University of Calgary's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, wanted to help when heard about the rooster's condition. Pang's area of research is in small animal pain and welfare....

"Good Night, Moon"

The Waning Crescent

26.6 days old

9.3 percent lit

Moments ago:

By Nadia Drake

Remember (click here) when we reported that Charon would probably turn out to be an astonishing world in its own right? Well, the newest image released by the New Horizons team suggests Pluto’s largest moon is absolutely that.

In the photo, shot from less than 5 million kilometers away, the 1,200-kilometer-wide sphere appears riven with enormous canyons — at least one of which is deeper and longer than the Grand Canyon, said planetary geologist Bill McKinnon of the Washington University in St. Louis in a statement. In addition, Charon’s surface is mottled with impact craters. That alone is not surprising (in fact, craters were one of the team’s top predictions for surface features on Charon), but the size and color are intriguing. One of the crater bottoms appears darker than the surrounding surface; whether this is because it’s made of different material or is simply less reflective isn’t clear yet. And then there’s that mysteriously dark region capping the moon’s pole....

I have to say that the idea Mars could be a habitable planet is a bit an over calculation. It does not have the sunlight as Earth does and what exactly do people believe they are going to grow for food even if an Earth atmosphere could be established. 

By the way such an environment requires gravity.

...One involves (click here) a grow-your-own approach to life support and nutrition. It turns out that if you grow 10,000 wheat plants, you can generate more than enough oxygen to breathe while removing the human waste gas of carbon dioxide. Better still, you have a partial source of nutrition. For a while, the Space Center had a team of four volunteers locked up in a hermetically sealed tube, subsisting pretty independently on this self-regenerating, hydroponically grown life-support system.

And that’s all great — until you factor in the possibility of crop failure....

The only valid reason to seek deep space is to plot a course to another planet in a different solar system with a sun that is not old and growing cold. I would think any residence on Mars would be temporary at best.

The way home.

The infamous "Blue Marble." (click here)

Pope Francis is calling us home. We have alienated ourselves from our natural world. Humans have proven to master knowledge and validate knowledge through a process of appreciation by peers. It is a most interesting balance of expertise to humility. One's knowledge gains value only when others of the same learning appreciates it.

Most scientists on Earth appreciate the knowledge the community has compiled in regard to a warming planet. If the good aspect of a warming Earth out weighed the bad results, there would be no contest. A warming Earth with greater benevolence would be a great achievement.

However, a warming Earth is more of a planet than life can tolerate. Earth is first a rock in orbit of it's sun. It is the benevolence of Earth's distance from Sol and it's gaseous atmospheric layers that creates Eden. 

One can believe in creation or believe in evolution or believe in both, but, regardless the responsibility for protecting Earth from harm of exploitation is the only path allowed by morality. 

Earth is our only home. We can pretend the sovereign state of a country will protect us from imbalances of Earth's processes, but, that would be a lie. A horrible lie with dire consequences. 

We can pretend the fantasy of space exploration will result in a viable option for life in the universe and an abandonment of Earth. But, what is life without the beauty of nature? How valuable is life in a capsule floating through space? What does that say about our species and it's willingness to squander Earth for wealth and power only to abandon it. 

Space exploration is suppose to be patient and full of caution. But, the tone of space exploration today is more about a hurried exit from a hot Earth and an appreciation of humans to destroy what is precious.

Earth first.

Frantic abandonment never.

Earth provides services to the biotic life of it's passion to exist.

69. Together with our obligation to use the earth’s goods responsibly, we are called to recognize that other living beings have a value of their own in God’s eyes: “by their mere existence they bless him and give him glory”,[41] and indeed, “the Lord rejoices in all his works” (Ps 104:31). By virtue of our unique dignity and our gift of intelligence, we are called to respect creation and its inherent laws, for “the Lord by wisdom founded the earth” (Prov 3:19). In our time, the Church does not simply state that other creatures are completely subordinated to the good of human beings, as if they have no worth in themselves and can be treated as we wish. The German bishops have taught that, where other creatures are concerned, “we can speak of the priority of being over that of being useful”.[42] The Catechism clearly and forcefully criticizes a distorted anthropocentrism: “Each creature possesses its own particular goodness and perfection… Each of the various creatures, willed in its own being, reflects in its own way a ray of God’s infinite wisdom and goodness. Man must therefore respect the particular goodness of every creature, to avoid any disordered use of things”.[43]

The first murder on Earth. Cain and Abel. This is by Pietro Novelli (click here)

70. In the story of Cain and Abel, we see how envy led Cain to commit the ultimate injustice against his brother, which in turn ruptured the relationship between Cain and God, and between Cain and the earth from which he was banished. This is seen clearly in the dramatic exchange between God and Cain. God asks: “Where is Abel your brother?” Cain answers that he does not know, and God persists: “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground” (Gen 4:9-11). Disregard for the duty to cultivate and maintain a proper relationship with my neighbour, for whose care and custody I am responsible, (Do unto others has you would have them do unto you.) ruins my relationship with my own self, with others, with God and with the earth. When all these relationships are neglected, when justice no longer dwells in the land, the Bible tells us that life itself is endangered. We see this in the story of Noah, where God threatens to do away with humanity because of its constant failure to fulfil the requirements of justice and peace: “I have determined to make an end of all flesh; for the earth is filled with violence through them” (Gen 6:13). These ancient stories, full of symbolism, bear witness to a conviction which we today share, that everything is interconnected, and that genuine care for our own lives and our relationships with nature is inseparable from fraternity, justice and faithfulness to others.


71. Although “the wickedness of man was great in the earth” (Gen 6:5) and the Lord “was sorry that he had made man on the earth” (Gen 6:6), nonetheless, through Noah, who remained innocent and just, God decided to open a path of salvation. In this way he gave humanity the chance of a new beginning. All it takes is one good person to restore hope! The biblical tradition clearly shows that this renewal entails recovering and respecting the rhythms inscribed in nature by the hand of the Creator. We see this, for example, in the law of the Sabbath. On the seventh day, God rested from all his work. He commanded Israel to set aside each seventh day as a day of rest, a Sabbath, (cf. Gen 2:2-3; Ex 16:23; 20:10). Similarly, every seven years, a sabbatical year was set aside for Israel, a complete rest for the land (cf. Lev 25:1-4), when sowing was forbidden and one reaped only what was necessary to live on and to feed one’s household (cf. Lev 25:4-6). Finally, after seven weeks of years, which is to say forty-nine years, the Jubilee was celebrated as a year of general forgiveness and “liberty throughout the land for all its inhabitants” (cf. Lev 25:10). This law came about as an attempt to ensure balance and fairness in their relationships with others and with the land on which they lived and worked. At the same time, it was an acknowledgment that the gift of the earth with its fruits belongs to everyone. Those who tilled and kept the land were obliged to share its fruits, especially with the poor, with widows, orphans and foreigners in their midst: “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field to its very border, neither shall you gather the gleanings after the harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner” (Lev 19:9-10).


72. The Psalms frequently exhort us to praise God the Creator, “who spread out the earth on the waters, for his steadfast love endures for ever” (Ps 136:6). They also invite other creatures to join us in this praise: “Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars! Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created” (Ps 148:3-5). We do not only exist by God’s mighty power; we also live with him and beside him. This is why we adore him.


73. The writings of the prophets invite us to find renewed strength in times of trial by contemplating the all-powerful God who created the universe. Yet God’s infinite power does not lead us to flee his fatherly tenderness, because in him affection and strength are joined. Indeed, all sound spirituality entails both welcoming divine love and adoration, confident in the Lord because of his infinite power. In the Bible, the God who liberates and saves is the same God who created the universe, and these two divine ways of acting are intimately and inseparably connected: “Ah Lord God! It is you who made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you… You brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders” (Jer 32:17, 21). “The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless” (Is 40:28b-29).


74. The experience of the Babylonian captivity provoked a spiritual crisis which led to deeper faith in God. Now his creative omnipotence was given pride of place in order to exhort the people to regain their hope in the midst of their wretched predicament. Centuries later, in another age of trial and persecution, when the Roman Empire was seeking to impose absolute dominion, the faithful would once again find consolation and hope in a growing trust in the all-powerful God: “Great and wonderful are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways!” (Rev 15:3). The God who created the universe out of nothing can also intervene in this world and overcome every form of evil. Injustice is not invincible.


75. A spirituality which forgets God as all-powerful and Creator is not acceptable. That is how we end up worshipping earthly powers, or ourselves usurping the place of God, even to the point of claiming an unlimited right to trample his creation underfoot. The best way to restore men and women to their rightful place, putting an end to their claim to absolute dominion over the earth, is to speak once more of the figure of a Father who creates and who alone owns the world. Otherwise, human beings will always try to impose their own laws and interests on reality.