Former Governor Jon Huntsman won the Republican Debate.

He was the ONLY Republican with anything relevant to say.  He was the ONLY Republican that had a view for the USA based in the 'reality of today.'  He sincerely loves this country, has a profound respect for its citizens and seems as though he would be accessible enough to influence 'by the will' of the people.


The other candidates didn't have a clear vision, at all, for the country based in the 'reality of today' and were completely rhetorical and ideological in their statements.  


The 'idea' that 98 of 100 scientists believe the Earth is experiencing a unique climate crisis spawned by human influence was not good enough for Governor Perry.  He wants to study it more because the science is undecided.  That is not correct.  The science of the 'Climate Crisis' has scientists honing 'the perfect definition' of it, but, that should not be mistaken for disagreement.


I sincerely thought Former Governor Jon Huntsman was the only candidate based in reality with answers that were attainable for the USA.

I have seen it all now. President Obama is being presented with "The Heavy Wet Blanket" award by the GOP Senate.

Does the Republican Senate do anything with brevity.


I watched C-Span as not even a half hour ago the House passed the trade bills which were stalled since January.


Nearly immediately after Senator Lamar Alexander came out to the podium with his cohorts to announce that the trade bills have been sitting on the President's desk since forever and all he had to do was sign them.


Senator Alexander simply lied.  


Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 15 • Number 29 • 7th September 2011


Major movement (click title to entry - thank you) could be on the horizon for Washington’s trade agenda as Congress returns from its August recess, with one trade-related bill - the renewal of the lapsed Generalized System of Preferences - tentatively scheduled for a vote in the US House of Representatives later today. The renewal is expected to be the first step in a complicated legislative process to pass three major US FTAs, along with a worker aid programme, by early October....


On C-Span between the two events, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid talked about the emergencies and FEMA funding that was needed to rebuild 200 bridges in Vermont.  He stated the largest office building there is underwater.  He pointed to the Governors of New Jersey and Virginia stating opposition to additional FEMA funding is the wrong path for the country.;


Senator Reid stated currently there are 3 million acres of prime US farmland underwater.  He stated there were 200 lives lost by a tornado in Joplin, Missouri and the funding needed to rebuild that community was vital.  He stated he was looking forward to the President's address tomorrow evening, but, he wasn't aware of all the details and would not comment.


The Senate Republicans are repulsive, exude sincere DIS- respect for the needs of the American people and enjoy mockery of the President rather than addressing the nation's concerns.  The only Republican Senator that bothered to speak in any real terms regarding changes needed to bring down the national debt was Senator Cornyn  when he stated the Tax Code needed to be reformed.  I hope he lives up to his promises and considers the Simpson-Bowles findings for the new method of tax for the IRS.


When Mitch McConnell and his cohorts get serious about the legislative agenda before them so this country actually turns around, it might be too late because it will be after the 2012 elections.  All we can expect from Senate Republicans are high-jinks and nothing more.  If the American people return these men to their Senate seats then they have no real respect for their country or its constitution.  

One other thing about Iraq. (click title to entry for article below - thank you)

The Iraq Central Government is requiring the military help to control THE KURDS, not the Shi'ites.  The Shi'ites are conveniently lead by a controversial figure whom was denied "Freedom of the Press" by the USA.


The Kurds are not that shadowy.  They are more 'warm and fuzzy' than the Shi'ites.


And the al Sadr camp?  The one with the Peace Ayatollah isn't interested in Iran's interference.  


JUST FOR THE RECORD.


So, if FOX is going to 'fear monger' and set the USA up for the next Iraq War they should get their 'bad guys' correct.  It is the warm and cuddly Kurds in the north that are the problem children this time.


Got it?

Al Sadr Rages Against Iran (click title to entry - thank you)

By: Meir Javedanfar

31/03/2008

Feeling the heat of the recent offensive against his forces around Iraq, , who has long been suspected of receiving support from the Iranian government, decided to publicly condemn  the Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
His verbal attack was an unprecedented turn of events for the young Shiite, who for the last year has been traveling to Iran on several occasions to complete his theological studies in order to become an Ayatollah himself. Western security sources have long suspected that these trips have also been used in order to receive financial assistance from Iran, and to coordinate the Mahdi army’s military and political strategy with the leadership in Tehran.
There are important reasons behind his offensive against Khameini....

"Maria" manifest very close to where "Katia" began and changes the storm dynamics of Katia.

September 7, 2011
1930.14z
UNISYS Water Vaport GOES East Satellite (click title for 12 hour loop - thank you)

Katia

33     26.50    -65.10 09/06/09Z  110   950 HURRICANE-3

34     27.00    -65.90 09/06/15Z  105   954 HURRICANE-3

34A  27.30    -66.40 09/06/18Z  100   963 HURRICANE-3

35    27.60    -66.70 09/06/21Z   90   963 HURRICANE-2

Maria

1    11.80  -37.00 09/06/21Z   30  1008 TROPICAL DEPRESSION


There is every indication Katia will be another near shore storm followed by Maria.  The turbulence in the Gulf of Mexico will never make Texas.

This week's Drought Monitor seems delayed. Perhaps due to the holiday.  But, maybe some 'lame Republican' in the House has done something stupid because they actually have coveted the US Drought Monitor as a political threat.


Ah, yes, the devil is in the details.  The GOP needs to simply sell their constituents the idea that what they are seeing is not really there.  Both the Republican politician and their constituent are good at that.  


Lee may have inched the humidity index a small bit over east Texas.  As Lee swung NNW like it actually did and came closer to Texas the storm was diminished in velocity and why it never really took a lower central pressure.  As "Lee" hovered over East Texas the water vapor disspated / evaporated.  That is a good thing.  But, Texas's land and air are very, very dry and very hot so that when these storms come inland near or over Texas it will diminish in its capacity to actually deliver any substantial water to the land.  That is kinda good, because a torrential rain over Texas right now would be a bad thing.

In order for Texas to get back to 'normal' it would require a lot more than one hurricane to do it.  Most of the rainfall numbers along the east coast are still low as an overall rainfall compared to years when drought didn't exist.

The Iraqi Central Government is afraid of being undermined by its own privinces.

We have no business in this fight.  BRING THE TROOPS HOME.  We are not the militia for a weak central government.

..The government of Iraq's (click here) semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region has criticized a draft oil law approved by the Iraqi cabinet last month which would centralize control of most of the country's vast oil reserves.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) called on Iraq's parliament to reject the long-awaited law, saying it contradicted the "essence of the constitution".

The new hydrocarbons law is seen as crucial to the Opec producer's efforts to rebuild after years of war by giving investors more solid legal guarantees. It has been in the making for years but has faced opposition over who controls the world's fourth largest oil reserves.

Much of the opposition has come from Kurdistan, where the government has signed its own contracts with foreign oil companies that the central government in Baghdad deems illegal....

FOX News took a leak, or so they say, spun it to create controversy to feed their political goals and never bothered about the truth.  End of discussion.  FOX is so hungry for 'their own truth' they robbed the dignity away from CNN's Nic Robertson and the actual work he did in Libya in relation to Magrahi.  That is so irresponsible and only shows how much they do not rely on 'the truth' to insure their viewership.  FOX is tabloid journalism and nothing more.

No troop decisions as Iraq withdrawal begins (click here)

By DONNA CASSATA, Associated Press – 3 hours ago  

WASHINGTON (AP) — The scheduled withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq is on track, a Pentagon official said Wednesday, but the Obama administration has yet to decide how many troops might stay there on a revised mission to help train Iraqi forces.

"The drawdown has begun," Navy Capt. John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters. He referred to the departure from Iraq this week of about 700 members of a headquarters unit. Their departure marks the start of the withdrawal of the final 46,000 U.S. troops there.

Yet to be decided is the size and mission of any stay-behind contingent. The Iraqi government said last month that it is interested in negotiating the terms for a U.S. military group to continue training Iraqi forces beyond Dec. 31, when the last U.S. forces are to have departed under a 2008 agreement.

The administration is considering a number of options that could leave several thousand troops in Iraq to do training and possibly other missions....

Why not?

We don't belong in Iraq.

We never did.


Dig this, the Wall Street Journal is already announcing the next war in Iraq.  Murdoch knows no morality when it comes to human life.  Somehow the Murdoch media wakes up to a different Sunshine than the rest of the nation everyday.  The USA could never be a Hosni Murbarak.  It could never be hated.  It could never oppress, torture or kill innocent people for the sake of billionaires.  

MIDDLE EAST NEWS

SEPTEMBER 6, 2011

U.S. Eyes Covert Plan to Counter Iran in Iraq (click title to entry - thank you)

…Compounding the urgency is the planned reduction in the U.S. military presence in

Iraq by the end of the year, a development that many fear will open up the country 

to more influence from Iran, which also has a majority Shiite 

population….

What 'many' is that exactly.  We are not fighting 

Halliburton's wars anymore. 

• 
  

When cities need lobbyists 'to be heard' at their State Houses there is something grossly "W"rong this democracy.

That is the job of the elected State Representative and State Senator.  


Wow.

City budgets are that tight?  A lobbyist is a good investment?  There is something very wrong here.

…The hiring of a lobbyist, (click title to entry - thank you) which would be a first for Iowa City, would cost $25,000 to $30,000, Markus said. With Johnson County traditionally electing a Democratic delegation for Des Moines, the city manager says a lobbyist would help build bridges with Republican leadership, as well.

Markus has said a lobbyist would be able to assist with Iowa City's push for an Amtrak line to Chicago, securing grant money and encouraging legislation against apartments changing to cooperative status to receive tax breaks.

Council member Connie Champion called it a "smart move," and Regenia Bailey said it would give the city "a single point of entry" at the Statehouse.

"It's certainly going to give us better access to what's going on," council member Mike Wright said.

Coralville, Cedar Rapids and Des Moines are among the many cities that already have contracts with lobbyists….

Default on Supercommittee, Lobbyists are just going work overtime to undermine the process.

...Charged with finding (click title to entry - thank you) more than $1.5 trillion in cuts to the national budget by Thanksgiving, the twelve members of the bipartisan supercommittee are fast becoming a target for special interest groups hoping to keep their pet projects off the chopping block.... 


Cut military spending.  That's the way I see it.

Troops out now ! There is no reason to leave troops in Iraq. The Iraqi government can hire private contractors.

Leon E. Panetta, left, and Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III in Iraq in July. Mr. Panetta is said to support keeping troops there longer (click title to entry - thank you).


These Commanders always manage to wrangle MORE WAR out of the civilian government.  They haven't got enough to do that they have to create and lengthen the USA government's expenditure of a military presence.


It always happens, as soon as there is a new head to the DOD or there is a change of President, the military goes into overdrive to protect its territory.


There are plenty of mercenary forces in the world that would love to continue to train Iraqi soldiers.  The USA does not have to be there.


This is an outrageous demand by the military on a country that has its own problems of which the military ambitions of the past are among them!


What's the strategy?  Because a military presence without a sincere purpose or strategy is unconstitutional.  Being a mother-hen to a training force is bullshit.


I sincerely doubt Former Secretary Gates would allow any extension based on a training team.  This is the tail waging the dog.  Wasn't it the Former Secretary of Defense that said, (paraphrasing) "Any President that goes to war in the Middle East is crazy."  Something like that.  I doubt he would prolong any operation that was suppose to end ON SCHEDULE.


The US Military doesn't know how to keep a schedule?  They CAN'T GET THE JOB done on time and BUDGET?  They need to do better and they can train themselves to do better right here in the USA!

A moon without an atmosphere accepts the permanent tracks of astronauts on its surface.

…Nearly 40 years (click title to entry - thank you) after the last Apollo astronauts left the surface of the moon, a NASA probe in lunar orbit has returned new images of the places where they landed. Below is what remains after astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt explored on Apollo 17….

The problem with liberal guns laws in the USA is that the crazies always get the guns anyway.

CARSON CITY, (click here) Nev, Sept 6 (Reuters) - A man with an assault rifle opened fire at a pancake house in Nevada's capital on Tuesday, killing three National Guard soldiers and a civilian and wounding eight others before killing himself, authorities said.

The gunman, in what investigators said appeared to be a random burst of violence by a grocery worker with a history of mental illness, opened fire at a group of uniformed Army National Guard troops as they ate breakfast.

Besides the three Guard soldiers -- two men and a woman -- who were shot to death at the Carson City IHOP restaurant, two of the wounded were also active-duty Guard members. A civilian woman in the line of fire between the gunman and soldiers was killed as well....

...Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval ordered flags flown at half-staff until Friday at dusk in honor of the two National Guardsmen who were killed....

, include the fact no city can protect their citizens more than any other city in Nevada.  That's the law.

Pre-Emption (click title to entry - thank you)

     Nevada has a "Statewide Pre-emption" law, so counties and localities cannot pass gun laws that are more stringent than the state law. The NSRPA had a lot to do with getting this law passed in Nevada.  Clark County (Las Vegas area) had some laws which pre-date the pre-emption (they were "grandfathered") and are still in place....

...Registration of Firearms

     Clark County (minus Boulder City) requires registration of handguns only.  All other counties have no registration of any guns.  For Clark County, the first handgun purchase includes a 72 hour "cooling off" period.  A handgun registration card (commonly known as a "blue card" because of its light blued color) is issued for each registered handgun, and must stay with the gun.  Examples: If you take the gun to shoot at the range, you must take its blue card also.  If you loan the gun to a friend, you must make sure he has the card with it.  You may register your handgun at any branch of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (bring it to them UNLOADED AND IN A SAFE MANNER).  If you sell or give away the handgun, you are obligated to have the registration transferred into the name of the new owner.  If you wish to purchase other handguns, your "cooling off" period is waived if you have your blue card present.

Brady Background Check

     All counties implement the national background check through the Nevada Highway Patrol.  By State Law, any private party may access Nevada's background check system for the purpose of checking the background of a potential gun purchaser.  Currently, the check costs $25.00.  Call your local NHP if you wish to access this system....