The Space Program has been good for the USA. This was a remarkable mile stone.

Tomorrow is proving to bring a safer set of values to vehicles, rather than an economic 'ideal' of recycled space craft. Exploration and discovery aren't 'economically' motivated venues. Crews are not expendable by even 'fractional' margins.

The Constellation Program is NASA's initiative to return humans to the Moon -- this time to stay. It includes a constellation of new space vehicles: a new crew exploration vehicle, Orion, to carry crew and cargo; two new launch vehicles -- the Ares I rocket to carry Orion to low earth orbit and the Ares V heavy lift rocket to launch the Earth departure stage, a lunar lander, and lunar surface exploration vehicles and habitat modules. (click here)

The 'advance' of humans into space should not have been abandoned.

There is, however, decension regarding exploration beyond Earth even amoung those that work within the Space Program. It is felt by some in NASA, that the 'solar winds' of the Sun ("Sol"), will not allow deep space exploration by humans. It is a debate that should be known to all citizens of the USA. Space is a void in many ways, but, it is not a complete void.

But, to simply stop the curiosity and the inquisition has harmed the ambitions of the USA. Sometimes the inquiry is more important than the lack of it.

The most incredible and little discussed fact of July 21, 1969, was the world's reaction to the moon landing. The world stopped. People gathered around any television or monitor they could find, regardless of country or city, to view the first human step onto Earth's satellite. We were more 'human' together at that moment than ever before in history. I believe the astronauts of Apollo 11 accomplished something no world leader has been able to achieve before or since. That was nearly more interesting than the accomplishment.

It is still a uniquely American achievement. No other country has been able to match it or has even tried.

He placed his left foot on the surface at 2:56 UTC July 21, 1969, then spoke the following:

“That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind."

More Republican Exploitation of the American People STOPPED - Salazar Protects Grand Canyon Watersheds From New Uranium Claims and Exploration

Bush/Cheney buoyed their economy with any exploitation available of the people of the USA. Three were no limits to the danger they were placing the American people in the path of, they didn't care. They wanted money, nothing else. An economy at any cost isn't necessary and certainly isn't the highest priority of the Obama Administration.

What isn't being counted in the media are the lives being changed and saved by the current Democratic Administration and Congress.


This remote and unspoiled, 294,000-acre monument is a geologic treasure, containing Paria Plateau, Vermilion Cliffs, Coyote Buttes and Paria Canyon. Elevations range from 3,100 to 6,500 feet.
Located on the Colorado Plateau in northern Arizona, Vermilion Cliffs National Monument includes the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness. The monument borders Kaibab National Forest to the west and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area to the east.


Aspen in the Kaibab National Forest



Order Temporarily Bans New Uranium Claims and Exploration Across 1 Million Acres of Public Land Surrounding Grand Canyon National Park (click title to entry - thank you)
GRAND CANYON, Ariz.— Conservationists are applauding a notice issued today by the Obama administration to temporarily place 1 million acres of public lands surrounding Grand Canyon off limits to new mining claims and exploration or development of existing, unpatented claims. The order complies with a June 2008 resolution by the House Committee on Natural Resources enacting the same protections across the same area. The protections do not affect three existing mines in the area slated for reopening or the exploration of existing patented claims.
Uranium prices have caused sharp increases in new uranium mining claims, exploration, and permitting to reopen old mines on public lands surrounding Grand Canyon National Park. Uranium development threatens to damage wildlife habitat, industrialize iconic wildlands, and contaminate surface water and groundwater feeding regional water wells, seeps, springs and the Colorado River — prompting concerns from former Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the Southern Nevada Water Authority, the Arizona Game and Fish Department, the Navajo, Hopi, Havasupai, Hualapai, and Kaibab Paiute tribes, Coconino County officials, and independent geologists.
“Secretary Salazar’s decision secures a much-needed, but temporary respite from thousands of new uranium claims around the Grand Canyon,” said Grand Canyon Trust spokesman Roger Clark. “For permanent protection, Congress now needs to pass the Grand Canyon Watersheds Protection Act.”
Today’s order aligns the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management direction with the 25 June 2008 resolution by the House Committee on Natural Resources, which directed the secretary of the interior to enact an “emergency withdrawal,” banning new claims and exploration across the 1 million acres for three years. The Center for Biological Diversity, Grand Canyon Trust, and Sierra Club filed suit against the Department of the Interior and Bureau of Land Management in September 2008 for authorizing uranium exploration in violation of the withdrawal. The groups are evaluating how today’s action affects that pending litigation.
“We are pleased to see Secretary Salazar take this action to protect the lands around Grand Canyon and the Colorado River, which provides the drinking water for millions of people downstream,” said Sandy Bahr, chapter director for the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter. “Our waters and special places such as Grand Canyon deserve strong protections.”...

The USA military is not needed in Iraq. Iraq has plenty of 'regional' support.

...In a sharp attack on Iranian leaders last Friday (click here), former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani warned those in power to "abide by the will of the people" and heal the wounds of the recent crisis....


Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad (right) and former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in friendlier times (click title to entry - thank you)




Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (R) and Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Sabah al-Salem al-Sabah walk to attend the Third Expanded Ministerial Conference of the Neighbouring Countries of Iraq in Kuwait City, Kuwait, April 22, 2008. Egypt, Gulf Cooperation Council members, the G8 countries, five UN Security Council permanent members, the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Conference attended the meeting on Tuesday.(Xinhua Photo)












The 'new' economy to Iraq's central government could very well 'set it free' from the Autonomous Kurdish northern province. There is one aspect to any government in the region, the 'Holy Places' will always remain a source of security and economy.



French Prime Minister Visits Iraq to Talk Business (click title to entry - thank you)
By Edward Yeranian Cairo


02 July 2009


...French Prime Minister Francois Fillon is the first foreign leader to visit Iraq since US-led forces officially withdrew combat troops from Iraqi cities on June 30.


He told a joint press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that in the wake of the U.S. pullout, Iraq had "now entered a new phase."


Mr. Fillon arrived in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, with a large delegation of French officials and top French business leaders for a short visit. The French prime minister's office said several business agreements would be signed during the visit....









Al-Maliki, boosted by U.S. pullback, to call on Obama (click here)
By MIKE THARP
McClatchy Newspapers
BAGHDAD -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will meet President Barack Obama in Washington on Wednesday wearing several robes: the popular leader of an American ally, the prime minister of an increasingly independent-minded country, a follower of the same branch of Islam that's practiced in Iran and a political candidate.
The man who'd been the default compromise for Iraq's top post in 2006 has emerged as the strongest officeholder since Saddam Hussein.
He's tamed sectarian and other violence to its lowest level since the U.S.-led invasion six years ago. He's politely but firmly refused U.S. offers to help resolve a stalemate in his parliament. In handling security issues, he's told the American military, in effect: Don't call us; we'll call you....









We do not belong in the middle of a civil war. We don't belong in the middle of rising political ethnic rhetoric. It is wrong for any political leader to victimize any ethnic group to gain popularity within another. The USA cannot possibly villanize any ethnic group against any other.









In Iraq, Kurdish-Arab Tensions Simmer (click here for audio)
by Quil Lawrence


...The president of the autonomous Iraqi Kurdish region says ethnic tension is driving Iraq's Kurds and the central government in Baghdad dangerously close to confrontation.
Massoud Barzani, the Kurdish region's president, also tells NPR that whoever wants to get ahead in Iraqi politics does it by criticizing the Kurds....

Bush/Cheney placed trust in the "W"rong person. They trusted Musharraf. Bad idea.

...The deadliest fighting took place in the northern Swat Valley (click title to entry - thank you), where the army is wrapping up an offensive against Taliban militants. The military said in a statement it killed 12 suspected insurgents in a gunbattle near the town of Dardial, while one officer died. Two more militants were killed in the village of Ghul Shah....

Clinton says 9/11 ringleaders are in Pakistan (click here)
(AP) – 4 hours ago
NEW DELHI — U.S. officials "firmly believe" that al-Qaida leaders who planned and carried out the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, are hiding in Pakistan near its border with Afghanistan, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday.
At a news conference concluding three days of meetings, Clinton said Washington has told the Pakistani government what it believes about the location of al-Qaida leaders on its soil.
"With respect to the location of those who were part of the planning and execution of the attack of 9/11 against our country, we firmly believe that a significant number of them are in the border area of Pakistan," she said when asked about the U.S. view.
"We are actively looking for additional information that would lead us to them," she added.
The Pakistani government denies that al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and his senior lieutenants are hiding on its territory.
Bin Laden is believed to have fled into Pakistan from Afghanistan weeks after the U.S. military invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 in retaliation for the 9/11 attacks.

I thank ABC News for putting our country first and considering the POW status of one soldier their mission. Thank you.

Exclusive: Missing U.S. Soldier May Be in Pakistan (click here)
Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl Kidnapped by Taliban in Afghanistan

By MATTHEW COLE

July 20, 2009

The U.S. soldier kidnapped by Taliban forces in Afghanistan may have been taken across the border to Pakistan, complicating efforts to obtain his release, according to two people involved in U.S. and Afghan military efforts to locate him, and three Afghan soldiers captured with him....

Gunmen Kill UN Worker, Guard at Pakistan Refugee Camp (click here)
By VOA News 16 July 2009
United Nations officials said a Pakistani employee has been killed and his guard wounded during a kidnapping attempt in a refugee camp in northwest Pakistan.

U.N. officials said Zil-e-Usman was working at the Kacha Garhi camp near the city of Peshawar when gunmen tried to kidnap him and then shot him in the chest. The U.N. worker was rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. A guard working for another aid agency also was killed in the crossfire....

The prolonging of the Iraq Occupation by the USA military is causing increased casualties in Afghanistan.

NATO: British fighter jet crashes at Afghan base (click title to entry - thank you)
By JASON STRAZIUSO
Associated Press Writer
KABUL -- A British fighter jet crashed inside NATO's largest base in southern Afghanistan on Monday in the second major crash there in two days. Fourteen Afghan civilians died in two incidents, including three killed when German troops opened fire on their vehicle, Afghan officials said.
The Royal Air Force GR4 Tornado crashed inside Kandahar Airfield during takeoff at 7:20 a.m. Afghanistan time (0250 GMT; 22:50 Sunday EDT), said Capt. Ruben Hoornveld, a spokesman for the NATO-led force. The two-member crew ejected and were being treated for unspecified injuries at the base hospital.
The Tornado is the fourth aircraft to go down in Afghanistan in three days and the sixth this month. Military officials say there doesn't appear to be a common reason for the spate of crashes beyond coincidence....


US: 4 US troops die in Afghanistan (click here)
(AP) – 4 hours ago
KABUL — NATO says four more Americans have been killed in Afghanistan, making July the deadliest month ever for U.S. troops in this war.
A NATO statement says the four died Monday when a roadside bomb exploded in eastern Afghanistan. The statement does not give nationalities, but U.S. spokesman Lt. Robert Carr confirms all four were Americans.
At least 30 U.S. troops have now died this month — two more than the toll for June 2008, which had been the deadliest month for the American force in Afghanistan.
At least 55 international troops have been killed in Afghanistan in July, the deadliest month of the war for the NATO mission.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE.
Check back soon for further information.
AP's earlier story is below.

KABUL (AP) — NATO says four more American troops have been killed in Afghanistan.
A NATO statement says the four died Monday when a roadside bomb exploded in eastern Afghanistan. The statement does not give nationalities, but U.S. spokesman Lt. Robert Carr confirms all four were Americans.
No further details were released. A British soldier was killed Sunday in southern Afghanistan.
Those deaths bring to at least 55 the number of international troops killed in Afghanistan in July, the deadliest month of the war for the NATO mission.
At least 30 U.S. troops have died this month — three more than the death toll for September 2008 which had been the deadliest month for the American force in Afghanistan.
(This version CORRECTS that the previous deadliest month for US troops in Afghanistan was June 2008, not September 2008.)

Steady as it goes. Proof is in the putting. The Right Wing Attack is scaring Americans.

The economy is better. Jobs are preserved and there are new ones being generated. The Right Wing is on the attack and there is every indication they intend and have intended to do harm to the country. Americans are not safe under their guidance.

The FCC needs to examine the licenses of Talk Radio and pull some priviledges, because, what I heard today is simply unbelievably dangerous.

Let's start with some good news. It doesn't matter what indicator one looks at the USA GDP is up this quarter as compared to last quarter.

USA GDP

The Last Quarter of 2008 it fell (negative) at an astounding rate by 6.3% based on value of a 2000 USA Dollar.

At the close of the First Quarter of 2009 (ONLY 70 days after President Obama's inauguration) a definitive slowing of the recession was noted with a loss (negative) of 5.5% against a 2000 USA dollar.

The Obama Stimulus was more than necessary, it was vital and is having a significant impact. Not only that but we are also witnessing 'up spring' economies in Green Industries. The landscape of the American Economy is changing and it is taking place quickly. The Obama Stimulus was passed in February. In less than five months we are already seeing the NEW and vital focus to our economy and it is more than promising. The incredible aspect to this is there is far more to come. We are getting our country back on our terms. And what do we know about the USA economy, the wider the tax base the greater the income to the Treasury and the higher the capacity of the country to absorb debt. We are doing great.

Now, on to the Right Wing propaganda.

I regularly listen to the garbage that is put out by the Right Wing Talk Radio. However. When I listen it is through somewhat innocent ears. Those ears always figure these people actually have facts to back them up and they know somewhat of what they speak.

I gave them validity in their point of view, but, that changed today. They have convinced me they are harmful to Americans and incite anger without regard to the dangers such advocacy brings. I am dead serious when I state, the FCC needs to roll back the lies that harm Americans through these programs and they should do it now.

Getting away from the hate they have of Americans by advocating the lack of affordable health care for a nation of beseiged by a system that doesn't work; I would like to mention a 'talk session' today that advocated complete and absolute danger to Americans without an apology for the hatred it brought of OUR government.

It was a conversation about 'The Stimulus.' It went like this. "I went to a website that lists all the SPENDING of the Obama Stimulus. In there was a half a million dollars for a traffic light near a military base. Can you imagine that? A traffic light near a military base and it cost nearly half a million to install it. The Obama people actually call this a stimulus. Tell me how that is a stimulus." (The commentator was dead serious.) He went on. "That is not a stimulus, that doesn't stimulate anything. If you want to stimulate an economy you remove traffic lights, not erect them. When a traffic light is removed it causes stimulus to insurance claims, body shops and all sorts of cash flow."

I thought it was a joke. So I listened for the punch line. There was no punch line. Basically, this commentator was stating the best stimulus for the USA economy was to remove taxes from government and place the money back in the pockets of Americans to gamble with their lives.

It was like a veil of 'imagineering' was lifted. The commentator simply continued with his anger and rhetoric and invited those listening to join in and they did. I could not believe my ears and all the pieces started to fall into place.

Reflecting on the years of Bush/Cheney there were issues of higher arsenic levels in drinking water, more and more loosening of controls of pharmaceuticals and safety margins for Americans, the issues surrounding Vioxx and all those so called miracle drugs, the ever escalating dangers in our food supply and the increasingly disasterous industry called health care.

The fuel to the fire of the housing industry, the loss of natural areas for the sake of building and I mean building anything. It was done with the idea that people were expendible in any aspect of life. That citizens weren't important, the money that freely flowed through an economy of NEGLECT was important. Guns. The militarization of citizens, the idea that bullet barrages by our police would ultimately be necessary in an 'armed' society all came into clear view.

The degradation of our public schools, the ever increasing gap between the wealthy and the middle class which was creating a ever greater of impoverishment; including the inability to attend colleges. The placement of jobs overseas to increase the bottom line of corporations while the USA Middle Class slid from sight. All the neglect that was legislated by Republicans during the Bush/Cheney years all made sense. It wasn't 'a plan' for a better more economically viable America, it was impoverishing the people so they would have to struggle and survive.

No more government for the wealthy to SUBSIDIZE, but, only a Middle Class sinking lower and lower in their ability to survive the day and turning to the only 'government' driven economy that was left; the military. I don't want to demonize the military. Every country needs one, but, only in 'balance' with a healthy economy, not as the 'only' economy. Why not a forever war if that is all that was going to be subsidized by the government? Why not be the country that was attempting to destroy borders of other countries for their natural resources? I mean why not?

The point is that when the Right Wing 'rants' about how "W"rong the Obama Administrative is, they are simply ranting because they have lost control over their ability to 'decentralize' government to return money to their coffers. Their ranting has no basis in truth, it has no viability and it harms the American people.

The darnest thing is that they really do hate us. They really do hate the Americans that believe taxes are necessary, a healthy economy is one that is regulated to support the Middle Class and uplift those in poverty. They simply hate us.

The FCC needs to begin to eliminate the media of hate that propagates fear in order to maintain control. When a public is fearful of anything INCLUDING 'change' it brings them to the side of those that see the same 'fear' as legitimate and foster it for their own gain. There should be no media service that allows the degradation of government and endangers the public.

It was the sorriest broadcast I think I ever heard. Wow. Are my blinders off and I see no merit to their programming, at all, anymore. It is a darn shame the only way an opposing political party can exist is by 'imagineering' a Golden Ring on a Merry-Go-Round of fear, progagated by hate.