On January 20th Trump will be inaugurated while Ms. Conway is attempting to plow the road to compromised USA national security.

Americans should have a profound appreciation for the double standard at work with Trump and I am not just talking women. 

He denies reports by the FBI about compromised status, while embracing Director Comey's irreverent rantings about Secretary Hillary Clinton. Trump runs a populist campaign based in anti-establishment values and wins; but; now as verbalized his nominations and policies are anything but anti-establishment.

Donald Trump is a national security issue. His increased irreverence for USA law only proves his administration is anything but trustworthy.

Dylann Roof was sentenced to death in Charleston yesterday. (click here) What do the White Supremacists in the Trump White House have to say regarding this sentence?

Donald Trump should not be denying Russia is attempting to force certain performances by the Trump White House, but, should be the best informant the CIA and FBI have.

Compliance with USA national security is not a political witch hunt. The problems Trumps 24/7 campaigning will bring to USA national security cannot be understated. Trump should be stating any and all information pertinent to national security in his possession as being made available to the CIA and FBI.

This issue is a two sided sword. One edge states Russia has an advantage and the other edge provides a "Hoover-esque" power within the intelligence agencies. Congress is the security within the country. What the intelligence agencies knows the USA Congress should know as well to the point there is no leverage of power over the Executive Branch.

I find Comey's outspoken critique that caused Hillary Clinton her election loss curious and Hoover-like. Comey exercised power over a presidential candidate. That is even more of a concern to me because of the compromised status of 'The Vote' in this past election.

January 11, 2017

Russia has denied claims its intelligence agencies have compromising material about Donald Trump.

Dmitry Peskov, President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, (click here) said the allegations were "pulp fiction" and a "clear attempt to damage relations".

The unsubstantiated claims say his presidential campaign secretly communicated with Moscow. They also say Russia has information about the US president-elect involving prostitutes.

Mr Trump has condemned the reports.

The president-elect tweeted: "FAKE NEWS - A TOTAL POLITICAL WITCH HUNT!"

Later on Wednesday, he went on to write: "Russia has never tried to use leverage over me. I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH RUSSIA - NO DEALS, NO LOANS, NO NOTHING!"

Mr Trump is due to hold a news conference on Wednesday, nine days before he takes office.

It was meant to be about his attempts to separate himself from his business commitments, to address concerns about conflicts of interest.

But it now comes at an awkward time for the Republican president-elect.

Last week, US intelligence agencies released an unclassified report saying Russia ran a hacking campaign to influence the US presidential elections.

Separate reports circulating in US media now say Moscow has damaging information about the president-elect's business interests and salacious video evidence of his private life....

The USA needs to understand the standing of it's allies as well. The national security of the USA involves many levels of knowledge. The country simply cannot be compromised in any manner.

The knowledge and depth of information the USA accumulates is far more than "good walls makes for good neighbors." Information of security reaches into those that serve government to protect the SOVEREIGN STATE OF THE USA.

The new Secretary of State will be working with our allies. The CEO of Exxon Mobile is about to dive into international agreements, including trade, that can compromise the security of the USA. Think about it. The agreements cannot be compromised by underhanded contract dealings.

What the USA is facing with the Trump administration is the introduction of the plutocracy to set government standards. It's ridiculous the changes that will take place to facilitate Wall Street and oppress the American people.

Trump can act to secure the country or compromise it. The choices to such decisions should be obvious and in full disclosure of the American people.

January 11, 2017
By Choe Sang-Hun

Seoul, South Korea — A special prosecutor (click here) investigating the corruption scandal that led to President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment summoned the de facto head of Samsung for questioning on Wednesday, calling him a bribery suspect.

The de facto leader, Jay Y. Lee, the vice chairman of Samsung, will be questioned on Thursday, according to the special prosecutor’s office, which recommended that he also be investigated on suspicion of perjury. Mr. Lee effectively runs Samsung, South Korea’s largest conglomerate; he is the son of its chairman, Lee Kun-hee, who has been incapacitated with health problems.

He is expected to be asked whether multimillion-dollar donations that Samsung made to two foundations controlled by Choi Soon-sil, a longtime friend of the president, amounted to bribes, and what role, if any, he played in the decision to give the money. Investigators at the special prosecutor’s office have questioned other senior Samsung executives as suspects about the bribery accusations....

...Last month, Mr. Lee testified at a National Assembly hearing that he was not involved in the decision by Samsung to make the donations. He also said that the donations were not voluntary, suggesting that the company was a victim of extortion, not a participant in bribery....

It is ludicrous for any hearing of nominees to go forward without completing the LAWFUL submission of all ethical documents.

The reason such laws exist is to protect the public trust. How is any Senate committee member suppose to know what questions to ask if a nominee for the presidential cabinet was never in government before?

Donald Trump has laid out his nominees and submitted them to the US Senate. It is now time for the nominee to submit all necessary paperwork to allow the US Senate Judiciary Committee to do their work.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, (click here) Senior Adviser to President-elect Trump: Judy, as I understand it, some of the materials just aren’t — have not been complete in the process.

And so there is no reason to delay hearings that we expect will cover the substance of the duties that each of those men and women would have in those respective departments and agencies.

In addition, it’s my understanding that some of the designees have been requested to turn over tax information that has not been part of the regular course of action in the past. So I’m not sure where that stands, but we really need a fully functioning government next week as we have the transition of power from President Obama to President Trump....

The idea the Trump administration can steam roll over top of standards of government is reason for impeachment.

Every nominee needs to comply with USA FEDERAL LAW and submit necessary documents to be reviewed by the US Senate Judiciary Committee. The process set up is to provide information to the US Senate to facilitate voting for or against the nominee. If any Trump administration nominee submits to a hearing without completing the lawful process, he or she should be automatically rejected for office.

The governance of this nominating process is through a long standing law, "The Ethics in Government Act of 1978." (click here)

How current is this? Recent updates to this law include the years 2012 and 2013. (click here) There is nothing out of sync with reality.

The changes of 2012 and 2013 modified the law to end the online publishing of information. It was justified in that online information created a national security problem.

April 7, 2013
By Mark Gongloff

...The STOCK Act change (click here) does not apply to the president, vice president, members of Congress or candidates for Congress. Obama and Congress loudly passed the original STOCK Act last year after reports in the Wall Street Journal and elsewhere, along with academic studies, noted that lawmakers with access to market-moving information were suspiciously lucky in the timing of their stock trades. One widely-cited estimate suggests congressional portfolios outperform the broader market by 12 percent annually, though there are reasons to doubt that figure.

The rationale for changing the law was that its disclosure requirements created a national security risk, according to a study ordered by Congress and completed by the National Academy of Public Administration. Federal employees’ unions had objected to the law from the start, saying it could put federal staffers at risk....

This is not Trump World anymore where "The Boss" is allowed to do as he pleases. These are long standing procedures of government that are necessary and correct.

Who Is Required to File: (click here) 

The law requiring public disclosure of personal financial information applies to the President, the Vice President, all Members of Congress (as well as candidates for President, Vice President, and Congress), federal judges and justices, and to high-level staff in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the federal government....

Besides the USA demanding disclosure of elected officials, there are other governments that demand those doing business with them disclose certain information. Hello? There is a reason for government processes and I suggest those in the proposed Trump administration adhere to them and/or EXCEED them to prevent any threat to the USA national security.

1. What compromising information could Russia have about you? (click here)

Top US intelligence officials provided Trump on Friday with intelligence that Russian operatives claim to have compromising personal and financial information about the billionaire real estate mogul and incoming President, several US officials told CNN....

Another ideological law. Why are the Republicans building walls if law does the job?

The USA Republicans do not recognize human rights in the way the rest of the world sees it. They don't think there should be water in the desert where illegal immigrants are crossing, etc.

July 29, 2015

(Washington, DC) – A proposed United States Senate (click here) resolution to support the criminal prosecution of migrants in mass, rapid-fire hearings would perpetuate unfair processes, at great human and financial cost, Human Rights Watch said today.

Senate resolution 104, scheduled to be considered in the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on July 29, 2015, states that the program, called Operation Streamline, has been a success and that refusing to prosecute “first-time illegal border crossers” would undermine that success.

“Operation Streamline is an unproven, wasteful program that has criminally prosecuted tens of thousands of unauthorized migrants each year,” said Grace Meng, senior US researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Many are convicted of a federal crime for wanting to return to their families or for fleeing persecution and seeking refuge.”

Under Operation Streamline, dozens of defendants at a time are charged, plead guilty, and ultimately convicted and sentenced of the federal misdemeanor of illegal entry, all within a matter of hours and sometimes even minutes. US Customs and Border Protection claims that the program reduces recidivism by deterring migrants from trying to enter the US illegally again. Although the program was originally touted as a “zero-tolerance” program, the Border Patrol sectors in which Operation Streamline is currently active have differing policies as to which unauthorized migrants should be criminally charged and which should go through the usual administrative removal process....

Operation Streamline is used under the definition of ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT and the fact these are not citizens, but, foreign criminals at the border by the simple act of crossing the border. 

That is basically correct, however, if every country in Europe never allowed German Jews to cross their borders there may have been a complete genocide to extinction.

The people that cross the border are victims of their reality and sometimes their governments. They are looking for a chance to work to achieve QUALITY OF LIFE that is not available in their homeland. The deprivation of human rights is a valid reason to allow illegal immigration, it is called asylum. 

The reason "Operation Streamline" is a violation of human rights because it does not allow for asylum and/or refugees.

I think I can draw a conclusion that Senator Sessions is motivated by ideology.

Law's practice at the level of Attorney's General is not suppose to be motivated by ideology. The practice of the law at this level is supposed to be based in fact.

Everyone in the country can come up with theories of violation of law, but, if it is not based in fact it is not prosecutable. The voter ID laws are excellent examples of designer laws based in ideology and not fact.

When the law practices OPPRESSION as is the case with the Voter ID law, the USA is no longer a democracy.

There are a few voter fraud cases from time to time and none rise to the level of numbers that change an election. The fraud was determined so the vote was intact. There is not ONE case of voter fraud that has brought about wrongful elections in the USA. The problem with Voter ID laws is not simply they oppress the electorate; it does so without valid concern.

Laws have effect on Americans and their behavior. The Voter ID laws does have an effect in oppressing the vote. That oppression is measurable. It exists.

The idea a law will exist for every human action and emotion PERCEIVED to be unlawful is completely unrealistic because it would provide oppression of Americans' free will. Americans will be asking themselves if the next action they take will put them before a court and possibly jail.

That level of oppression exists in places that allow a very broad net to be cast to control the population.

Law is suppose to be justified to prevent impacts on Americans as well as laws that prosecute. The Voter ID law is oppressive in the face of very few cases of voter fraud. There are millions of voters casting their ballots and the fraud cases are somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 per year. That number is high, too.

Voter ID law casts a broad net that victimizes Americans and estranges them from their very constitutional foundation. Voter ID enters the area of ideology and not valid law, but, it does exist and it exists because some ideologue somewhere thunk it up and harnessed hubris to drive it into law.

This administration elected in November 2016 will be heavy in hubris. The idea Voter ID is law and Jeff Session allows ideology to drive his political success; there is trouble for the democracy, not the USA, but its' democracy. The sovereign USA will exist, but, the democracy is not going to be part of that sovereignty with more and more broad net laws viewed as valid with an Attorney's General such as Jeff Sessions.

Judges have stated, "If the people want Voter ID they have a right to have it." That is grossly "W"rong!

Senator Mike Lee is wasting time on politics. There is no substance in his questions based in Law 101. He is dealing in innuendos and not fact.

THE FBI has already stated, inappropriately close to a Presidential election, there are no facts leading to prosecution of "The Clintons."

The Clinton Foundation is lead by the Clinton Family. They do not take salaries when carrying out their position in the international non-profit.

Now, there may be a need for a Special Prosecutor for the Trump Family conflict of interest in coveting the Oval Office. Why though. Do I believe such prosecution will never be held. It is called corruption. 

As a tabloid interest, the Trumps receive salary for their mixing of business and pleasure and self-directed wealth.

Storms in California come with mixed blessings. Enjoy the beauty of Earth. It is free.

A break (click here) in a series of storms moving across California highlights the snow covered White Mountains looming over US Highway 395 in Crowley Lake.

The higher elevations are looking good. There is not overwhelming accumulations. The danger in any state to observe SNOW MELT and realize it's volume and potential in flooding.

In the past snow melt was seasonal. However, in this climate crisis, there can be warmer air that brings early snow melt. This POTENTIAL exists and needs to be realized as policy to protect Americans and their homes.

Skiers should enjoy any new snow pack. Kindly check with destinations before embarking on a trip. Keep an outing happy and not tragic. Common sense. Contact the ski resort or public ski hill and/or the state police and state weather services. Thank you.

WHITE OUT CONDITIONS ARE REAL.

New organizations can keep the public abreast of conditions when skiing is on the agenda.

Ski resorts and public ski hills can provide news media with pertinent information. If one makes it easy for the public to enjoy this land it will happen and expand the economy.

There is flooding in areas of the State of California. Some people, approximately 97,000, are without electricity. They need attention to return their lives to normalcy.

January 10, 2017
By Joseph Serna and Paige St. John

The latest round of a powerful series of winter storms (click here for video) barreled into Northern California on Tuesday, bringing white-out conditions and blizzard warnings for the Sierra Nevada and closing Interstate 80 and U.S. 395.
Forecasters warned of wind guts topping 150 mph, drifting snow, and zero visibility at high elevations.
There were also fears of more flooding, with new warnings issued for the Napa and Russian rivers.

The impending storm is expected to bring up to 7 feet of snow to higher elevations. By the end of the week the total for the year could already be up to 20 feet. That means a generous addition to the Sierra Nevada snowpack, whose spring and summer runoff are a precious water supply for California cities and farms....

Well, it took completely obliterating the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) to begin to turn the corner on California's drought, but, it is a beginning that grows exponentially by itself. Once water vapor is deposited in drought areas as solid (snow) or liquid (rain) it will begin to rebuild moisture in the AIR. That water vapor will begin to build clouds and the water cycle has a chance of growing into normal conditions. This is a good start. Let's hope the exponential recovery from drought continues. 

A message from Mozilla.

Dear Friends, (click here)

Over the next few days, President-Elect Trump's key cabinet nominees will be facing questions from members of the U.S. Senate and moving towards confirmation votes for their roles. These hearings offer the first real opportunity to pin incoming cabinet members down and to hear where they stand on important questions about your privacy and security.

Why it's important:

It's critical that we demonstrate strong public support for privacy and security and that we build accountability for any actions that may undermine the security of users online. What's more, by simply paying attention, we can create more space for leaders to step up and safeguard our digital privacy. 

Here's a snapshot of the views of key players: 

• Senator Jeff Sessions, the nominee for Attorney General, has argued that law enforcement investigations should be able to compel companies to defeat their own encryption — putting their users at risk. (1)
• Senator Dan Coats, the nominee for Director of National Intelligence, has previously supported a bill that would have forced companies to provide special access (in other words a backdoor) to encrypted data when compelled to do so by a court. (2)
• Representative Mike Pompeo, CIA Director nominee, has said that: "the use of strong encryption in personal communications may itself be a red flag" for law enforcement. (3)
• General John Kelly, nominee for Department of Homeland Security (whose department would play a leading role protecting the country from cyber threats) is not on the record about encryption and other crucial issues. We'd love to find out more about his approach to such crucial issues in his department.

What you can do:

With so many hearings happening at the same time on the same day, highlighting the stances of the nominees on privacy and encryption will be a challenge. But it can be done! Each hearing will be streamed live online and there will be a real-time conversation happening on Twitter using the hashtag #SenateHearings.

Join this conversation today — add your opinions, ask your questions, speak up about privacy and security to make sure this critical issue gets the attention it deserves.

For an easy start, feel free to retweet Mozilla now, or post a tweet directly from your account.

Thank you so much,

Ashley Boyd
Vice President, Advocacy
Mozilla

P.S. Not on Twitter, but still want to do something? Call your Senators via the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Let them know that these issues are important to you, and that you'd like for them to stand up for privacy and strong encryption as the new administration begins. 

Sources:
1. Wired, November 18, 2016.
2. National Public Radio, April 14, 2016.
3. Motherboard.Vice.com, November 18, 2016.

Senator Sessions holds a radical view on authors of regulations when interpreting the law.

Sessions concerns about Cass Sunstein

...But it is a matter of real importance. (click here) Persons who produce these regulations are nameless and faceless denizens of the bureaucratic deep. They possess enormous power. As a prosecutor, I prosecuted cases. At the DEA, many of the drug regulations enforced by the Drug Enforcement Administration are based on regulations they pass, not what was actually required by the Congress of the United States. Major policy decisions are often set forth in that fashion, including environmental regulations, health care regulations, and reimbursement rules and hospital requirements. Financial institutions can be done through regulations and controlled through them. Truly, there is a concern about the disconnect between the democratic accountability we are known for in our country and this process of administrative regulations....

It is a political viewpoint and has never been proven.

Senator Session holds odd points of view mired in GOP Rhetoric. There have never been prosecutions of clerks writing regulations derived from law. If there are issues with regulations written from law it goes to the courts for interpretation. This point of view held by Senator Sessions is ingrained in GOP rhetoric and bias.

In regard to health care for women is the idea Senator Sessions will challenge "Roe v. Wade" as unconstitutional. Take that for fact and falls in lie with the advise he will give to President Elect Trump in his choice of US Justice replacing the Late Justice Scalia.

When it comes to Roe v. Wade; it is not about being Pro-Life, it is a matter of being Pro-Quality of Life. Pro-Life/Anti-abortion does not care about quality of life and drops woman and their families at the door step of poverty. Considering this fact also realize Republicans work to reduce benefits to the poor and victimize them with claims of laziness and immorality.

Oppression of poor, including women and their children, is viewed most accurately when considering the cost of raising a child to their potential.

January 9, 2017
By Tribune News Services

Expecting a baby? (click here) Congratulations! Better put plenty of money in your savings account.

The Department of Agriculture says the estimated cost of raising a child from birth through age 17 is $233,610, or as much as almost $14,000 annually. That's the average for a middle-income couple with two children. It's a bit more expensive in urban parts of the country, and less so in rural areas....

The American poor love their children as intensely as the middle class, upper class and hideously wealthy. The difference with the poor is the potential for their children to obtain education that will realize their potential. Currently, the working poor still have little to no way out of poverty. Since the law that turned welfare to work made no provision to insure the middle class was attainable for these people. The current minimum wage is not only oppressive, it is victimizing to the point of helplessness.

Besides any objections registered with this nominee, one has to reflect on the fact Senator Jeff Sessions solely endorsed Donald Trump as a candidate for the Presidency. This is a loyalist nominee.

January 9, 2017
By Adam Serwer

Thirty-five years ago, (click here) the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Southern District of Alabama played a crucial role in ensuring that the lynching of 19-year-old Michael Donald by two members of the Ku Klux Klan was investigated and punished.

That gruesome case has become newly relevant with the nomination of Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions to run the Department of Justice. Sessions was the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District when the Donald case was tried....

The nomination process of Senator Sessions is repeatedly protested during Senator Sessions statement. He simply waited until the protesting Americans were removed from the room and then continued his prepared speech. Never once did he recognize the interruption, but, simply quietly waited his turn to speak without interruption. In not recognizing Americans that feel strongly enough about his performance in government to risk arrest to be heard he has ignored their reason to protest. He should have addressed their protest in answering their statements. Those Americans are just as important to be heard as Senator Sessions is to be heard in his statement.

...The principal duties of the Attorney General are to: (click here)

• Represent the United States in legal matters.
   
• Supervise and direct the administration and operation of the offices, boards, divisions, and bureaus that comprise the Department.
   
• Furnish advice and opinions, formal and informal, on legal matters to the President and the Cabinet and to the heads of the executive departments and agencies of the government, as provided by law.
   
• Make recommendations to the President concerning appointments to federal judicial positions and to positions within the Department, including U.S. Attorneys and U.S. Marshals.
   
• Represent or supervise the representation of the United States Government in the Supreme Court of the United States and all other courts, foreign and domestic, in which the United States is a party or has an interest as may be deemed appropriate.
   
• Perform or supervise the performance of other duties required by statute or Executive Order.

Senator Sessions in his vote regarding water torture shows the leanings of calling USA law interpretative to specific situations. That is not possible in applying laws. Laws are written by the legislature. If the US Army had objections to the laws of the USA governing waterboarding it is up to the leaders of the US Army to make their argument known. There was nothing obstructing the US Army from addressing the legislature to ask for considerations differently. It is not up to Senator Sessions to make decisions that apply to the US Army simply based in politics.

June 22, 2015

By Howard Koplowitz

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., (click here) said he voted against an amendment last week reaffirming the prohibition on torture against enemy combatants because he doesn't think the FBI or CIA should be bound by the same rules on interrogations as the U.S. Army. The amendment, attached to a Defense Department spending bill, passed the Senate last week by a 78-21 vote.

"I believe the CIA and the FBI should be able to use all lawful procedures to interrogate individuals who are committed to the destruction of America," Sessions said in an interview with AL.com, adding that torture, including waterboarding, is already illegal. "I think the country is on a sound path to curtailing abuses, but we don't need to go so far that an individual who's maybe associated with a group of people who are plotting to blow up Manhattan - that that person can't be interrogated lawfully but not just according to the Army manual."

Sessions was referring to the Army Field Manual on Human Intelligence Collector Operations, which sets the rules for how Army personnel handle prisoners of war. The Alabama senator said the drafters of the manual, which sprang out of the Geneva Conventions following World War II, wrote it without being able to envision modern terrorist threats....

The US Army revised it's Field Manual regarding Human Intelligence Collector Operations in September of 2006. You'll excuse me, but, these regulations were written after the attacks of September 11, 2001 which included the Pentagon and members of the USA military. I think the US Army was dedicated to protecting Americans, well after understanding the deaths of September 11, 2006. The vote occurred June of 2015. Senator Sessions response to the law and his vote was completely based in politics and this picture.

HE LIED about the US Army for his own purposes. There are no reasons to believe he would not use the Office of the Attorney General for his own purposes as well.

FM 2-22.3 (FM 34-52) 

HUMAN INTELLIGENCE

COLLECTOR OPERATIONS

HEADQUARTERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
September 2006
DISTRIBUTION RESTRICTION: Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
NOTE: All previous versions of this manual are obsolete. This document is identical in content
to the version dated 6 September 2006. All previous versions of this manual should be destroyed in accordance with appropriate Army policies and regulations.

This is the only picture Senator Sessions should have had in mind when he voted.

Among the most crucial roles (click here) of the United States military in the global War on Terror is the collection of human intelligence from prisoners of war, unlawful combatants, and others. On the heels of controversy over some of the techniques used to extract information—such as waterboarding—the Department of the Army completely revised its interrogation guidelines. The result is this book, the United States Army’s human intelligence collection playbook, which gives instructions on the structure, planning and management of human intelligence operations, the debriefing of soldiers, and the analysis of known relationships and map data. The largest and most newsworthy section of the book details procedures for screening and interrogation, which permits a specific number of interrogation techniques, described in Chapter 8 as “approach techniques.” These techniques, described in great detail, carry such names as Emotional Love, Mutt and Jeff, False Flag, and even Separation. A must-read for today’s military buffs, U.S. Army Human Intelligence Collector Field Manual is also a valuable resource for anyone seeking strategies to employ in the gathering of information.

As a side note, I found this interesting:

Who will replace Senator Jeff Sessions when the Alabama Governor decides on his replacement? (click here)

November 23, 2016
by anker

This may sound cynical, but Luther Strange could very well be the pick of Governor Bentley BECAUSE, the choice of Strange would get him off the impeachment case and possibly delay the investigation long enough to "run the clock out" on the investigation.  Remember, Mike Jones, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, stopped his investigation at the request of Strange.

Bentley gets to serve out his second term scott free as governor and Strange gets a leg up on running for Sessions seat in 2016...how comfy...

Senator Sessions is a Class 2 Senator and was re-elected in 2014. His replacement would be a Senator until January 3, 2021 without being elected initially. His replacement would then be eligible for re-election.

On such a day as the governor may direct, (click here) unless vacancy occurs between 2 and 4 months before the next regularly-scheduled general election, in which case it is held at that election. If vacancy occurs within 60 days of the next regularly-scheduled general election, a special election must be held on the first Tuesday after 60 days have elapsed since the vacancy occurred.

The Democrats should hold Donald Trump to every promise he made to his electorate.

FILIBUSTER the funds for the southern wall until there is submission by Mexico a payment method that will pay for it. When President Elect Trump met with the Mexican President his electorate wanted to know what was being arranged for Mexico to pay for the wall.

Then candidate Trump stated, "This was only our first meeting and the cost of the wall will come later."

NOW, the American people are expected to pay for the wall without any indication there is payment methods from Mexico to pay for it. The Mexican payment method has to be written into the bill before the funding is issued by Congress.

This is ridiculous. A foreign power that has oil being pumped from the ground isn't going to pay for a wall that will prevent ILLEGAL aliens from crossing to the USA sovereign land.

Ridiculous!

January 10, 2017
By Debra Killalea

He has raised eyebrows in China (click here) over comments made on trade, Taiwan and North Korea.

And while Beijing has hardly been thrilled about US President-elect Donald Trump's comments regarding the Asian powerhouse, he will have much bigger issues on his plate than China.

That is the view of China expert Professor Greg Austin, a researcher at University of NSW, Canberra.

He warned the path to good diplomacy between the US and China would not always run smoothly.

Asked what a Trump administration would mean for the US-China relationship, Prof Austin said there would almost certainly be strained relations between the two powerhouses.

"I predict there will be many hiccups because of Trump but no major earthquakes," he said....

There have been statements about Trump's plans for infrastructure and tax policy and how it will increase the national debt. I think the American people need to start now and hold him and Congress responsible for their statements to the electorate that put them in office.

The American electorate listened to rhetoric to determine the candidate with the best outcome for their health care.

Critics can point to the Dems or the Republicans for false statements regarding the ACA, but, in the final analysis the electorate has proven they are brainless to their own best outcomes.

THIS IS HEALTH CARE PEOPLE!

January 10, 2017

Washington (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump (click here) says that President Barack Obama's health care law "will fall of its own weight."

House Speaker Paul Ryan says the law is "in what the actuaries call a death spiral."

And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says that "by nearly any measure, Obamacare has failed."

The problem with all these claims: They are exaggerated, if not downright false.

As congressional Republicans prepare to repeal the health law, they are working to portray it as a mess of Democrats' making, and themselves as the ones who will clean up that mess.

In the process they are exaggerating the law's very real problems, according to health care experts, who largely believe that the Affordable Care Act's troubles with high prices and lack of competition could be addressed with bipartisan solutions....

Republicans, who've gained political advantage from campaigning against the law since its passage in 2010, aren't interested in playing along. Instead they've denounced the law and made the case to repeal it, although there are signs some are getting cold feet now that the reality is upon them....

It was the quintessential place to raise concerns with the industry.

The Cecil B. DeMille Award is an honorary Golden Globe Award bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for "outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment".

This is Mr. DeMille on the set of "The Ten Commandments"

A born showman, (click here) a master director, producer, and screenwriter. One of the single most important influences in the history of film. When citing the career of Cecil B. DeMille, there is no shortage of accolades, and no end to the wonder.

Ms. Streep was most correct in raising concerns. It was the exact place where the industry, including the press, should have been reminded about the brevity of their profession and practice and not just the rewards.

It might be noted, the concerns were noted without raising the name of the most offensive.

Election infrastructure is critical to insure a valid election. But, the problem of "One Voter, One Vote" is also in critical need of identifying as a valid concern that would require a re-evaluation of the Electoral College.

If the country is ever suppose to move forward with a majority vote, there needs to be a cyber security infrastructure that is closed to the internet. The "One Voter, One Vote" concept would require a dedicated polling frequency with enough protection to insure a valid vote. The country wants to move to a "One Voter, One Vote" and it should be considered. The only way to secure such an infrastructure is to license a company such as Apple to create a definitive security with rotating encryption software to prevent hacking. 

Additionally, a re-evaluation of the two party system should ensue and provide secure cyber for their parties.

After all that is completed, costing billions and there are still vulnerabilities, then a change in strategy has to conducted rolling back any and all computer related election platforms. FAX machines have yet to prove an infrastructure risk and hard wired telephones have proven to be safe and secure with only a court order to qualify a wiretap.

As a matter of fact, the smaller parties should consider taking an approach that limits their security to FAX and hard wired infrastructure. Party internet cites can be for information only, except, for donations which are a matter of convenience of the citizen. After this election I would think any serious candidate would replace any type of electronic communication or be considered unpatriotic.

9 January 2017
By Scott Nicholas

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson (click here) has said election infrastructure should be recognized as a subsector of the existing government facilities critical infrastructure sector and be a priority for cybersecurity assistance and protection.

Johnson wrote in a blog post published Friday such determination will add election infrastructure, including centralized vote tabulations locations, communications technologies, polling places and storage facilities, as a priority on the National Infrastructure Protection Plan.

“Now more than ever, it is important that we offer our assistance to state and local election officials in the cybersecurity of their systems,” said Johnson.

“Election infrastructure is vital to our national interests, and cyber attacks on this country are becoming more sophisticated, and bad cyber actors — ranging from nation states, cyber criminals and hacktivists — are becoming more sophisticated and dangerous.”

The post noted that there are currently 16 critical infrastructure sectors that include 20 subsectors which may ask for cybersecurity assistance from the Department of Homeland Security including commercial facilities, communications, emergency services and information technology.

July 9, 2017
By Bethan McKernan

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (click here) has said he is prepared to negotiate on "everything" in proposed peace talks with rebels later this month, despite the shakiness of the current ceasefire.

Talks brokered by Syrian ally Russia and rebel supporting Turkey are supposed to take place in Kazakhstan before the end of January, but last week opposition groups said they had frozen the process in light of continued government strikes across the country.

In comments made to French media published on Monday, Mr Assad said that the nationwide truce had been violated by rebels several times. He also defended the army's push to recapture Wadi Barada, a rebel-held valley near Damascus where the main water supply to the capital has been turned off....

I am speaking out of turn since I don't know all the details about the demographics of Syria today as opposed to before the civil war, but, it is my opinion Syria is not governable without the rebel groups.

Most in the West don't understand Syria. To the West there is the idea there is one governing structure that controls a country's sovereignty. That is not, nor ever has it been the case in Syria. 

it is called the Shia Crescent, but, it isn't really a crescent, so much as a demographic.

All the Neocons want to say Iran is causing problems in the Middle East because they are backing extremists and terrorist organizations. That is true from a Western perspective, however, that is very, very false from an on the ground view of the Middle East, primarily where the Shia are concerned.

I have to take a call. Sorry.

Okay.

Let me set a scene from USA history. Okay? I think this will bring a far better understanding of Syria.

In the late 1890s and early 1900s there was great immigration of people to the USA. They came with their culture intact in their hearts and a will to live in peace with others out of the strength of their religious faith. Do to that time in USA history the country came to be called "The Melting Pot."

What if there was no melting (assimilation) by all these peoples that came to the USA with hopes of a better life. If you can imagine that then it is completely transposed over Syria.

I am going to go through this one more time. Assad is an Alawite. Alawites are Syrian. They comprise about 11 percent of the Syrian population. They also have a significant population in Turkey and northern Lebanon. One has to pay attention to the GEOGRAPHY of the sovereign ETHNICITY when discussing the Middle East.

Now, 11 percent of a population is not the majority, however, the leadership in Syria has been Alawite and that leadership has protected the Alawites in both Syria (along the coast) and in Northern Lebanon.

Now, how can President Assad be president of Syria and claim to also rule and protect the Alawites in Northern Lebanon? Lebanon is a sovereign country. Now, ask oneself how long Lebanon was met with violence that murdered some of it's most open minded, non-violent leaders. A long time. Beirut was always in the news media at one time because of the violence between the WARRING SECTS for control.

Interesting, Beirut which is the capital of Lebanon is very near Damascus, the capital of Syria. However, the area in Lebanon where Alawites are located is north of Beirut.

The AGENT for the Alawites in northern Lebanon is Hezbollah. Hezbollah is viewed by the West as a terrorist organization. It is not. Hezbollah is a military arm of the Shia. Hezbollah is not only a military arm of the Shia, it is a political party in Lebanon.

The West, including Great Britain, has a very bad habit of drawing lines and calling LAND within those lines a sovereign country. That is not the way people in the Middle East see sovereignty, especially in Syria.

Sovereignty in the Middle East is guided by God, Allah or however the ethnicity identifies it's higher power. Sorry if that sounds disembodied from god. ie: Palestinians and their nomadic heritage. The Palestinians are not the only nomadic people in the Middle East in history or today. 

Now, come forward from about 20 years ago and today Syria appears to be in complete disarray and suffering because it has no ruling power/leader. The civil war in Syria should never have occurred, BUT, then came "W." Let's not forget the 'idea' for democracy in the Middle East spawned the "Arab Spring."

So, today President Assad is coming forward and stating he is ready to negotiate with the rebels. I believe President Assad has an appreciation of HOW Shia leaders secure their people. Let me state that again. I believe President Assad has an appreciation of HOW (the same three letters of WHO) secure their people.

There is no one single leader that can control all the ethnicity in Syrian nor should any ONE try because that would be genocide. There is a way of governing Syria and the rebel groups are intricate to that governance. Al Nusra Front has been around for as long as I can remember, but, they are not a terrorist group, although the West identifies them as such. Al Nusra Front is a governing sovereign.

Long about now Israel (A member of The West) is cursing the idea there is not one governing structure and SHIA terrorist groups are not terrorists. Israel sees itself and always has as a sovereign country that has specific borders, even though their ideology demands those boundaries are fluid.

Did I say fluid? I did, didn't I. Hm? So, if Israel sees it's borders as fluid can it be called nomadic no different than Palestinians or simply a more comfortable term known in The West as an expansionist power?

So, back to Syria. 

President Assad is intricate to the sovereign protections of Alawites. That has been a fact for decades and involves his family. The Alawites always have their presence on Earth identified as secure through President Assad. He is not going anywhere. 

The rebel groups that are SOVEREIGNS in Syria have to be identified. They have to prove to be a sovereign with a benevolent presence among an ethnicity served by them in both security and day to day needs. Those sovereigns exist and are assisted by Imams and Clerics such as the Lebanon Shi'ite Cleric Nasrallah. I don't know why, but, Shi'ite Clerics tend to use a bully pulpit while the Imams and Ayatollahs are more resolved in their demeanor. It is interesting if one pays attention. 

At any rate, what Assad has to do is welcome the other sovereign leaders in Syria in a governing council. I don't see any sovereign being replaced by some ideology of The West, so much as recognized for their power and influence among the people. A peace council has to come together in recognition of their common reality and resolved to bring Syria peace and prosperity.

The prosperity part is the tough part. See, the UNDERLYING reason for Syria's civil war began with DROUGHT. 

March 3, 2016
By Elaisha Stokes 

The Drought that preceded Syria's civil war was the worst in 900 years. (click here)

...The drought caused 75 percent of Syria's farms to fail and 85 percent of livestock to die between 2006 and 2011, according to the United Nations. The collapse in crop yields forced as many as 1.5 million Syrians to migrate to urban centers, like Homs and Damascus.

The drought had displaced Syrians long before the conflict began," said Francesco Femia, president of the Center for Climate Security. "And what is frightening is that analysts who study the region completely missed it."

More hungry and homeless families in Syria's big cities created stress, said Femia. "There are only so many resources to go around."...

It is my opinion The West completely missed it because of a narcissistic idea men have control of Earth. It ain't so, especially when the country is Syria where many of the people live in poverty.

May 1, 2016
By Pavitra Dwibhashyam

Poverty in civil-war (click here) hit Syria is growing exponentially with a majority of the population now living below the poverty line, a report published by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia says. According to the report, the percentage of people below the poverty line has risen from 28% in 2010 to 83.4% in 2015. Extreme poverty has also increased from 14% in 2010 to more than 50% in 2015.

By the last half of 2015, a reported 13.5 million people were in need of humanitarian aid, of whom 12.1 million needed access to water and sanitation. More than four million of them were based in Aleppo and Damascus....

See, in The West people in poverty don't have power and are undeserving of it. Of course, one's living circumstances has nothing to do with it and the global economic collapse occurred because of the abuse of power of the wealthy, but, who's counting dollars?

So, in recognizing the peace among the sovereigns in Syria, there also has to be recognition the poverty rate in Syria in 2010 was 28 percent.

The USA left Iraq in 2009. The Arab Spring was early 2011 and has nothing to do with water replenishment. It is believed the Syrian civil war began May of 2011. The invasion of Daesh is a more diffuse beginning AND is not a sovereign. Daesh identifies with no particular ethnicity. It's members are global. So, Daesh is a militia and genocidal regime. They have no place at the peace table in Syria.

Today the poverty rate in Syria is over 84 percent in 2015. That poverty is profound and has to be addressed as one of the most important factors in the peace. There needs to be more sophisticated water sources in Syria because the climate crisis is not relenting. The people need water.

The Syrian children have to return to the very essence of the peace table and the future of the country. Syria must see it's children as the growth and future of the country, cherish them, nourish them and educate them to be great people capable of great things in peace.

With that said, I believe the Syrian peace table has great promise and after all the basic five pillars of the Muslim faith do not differ between any ethnic or religious identity. I wish all members of the peace process great success. I sincerely want this to work and the Syrian people finding common ground for mutual respect with a promise of tomorrow.

I would like to think the USA is going to play a vital role in solving the deep seated problems of poverty and water sources for the Syrian people.