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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Friday, April 26, 2013
Sim Sengupta

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How to handle domestic terrorists?

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

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

Instructions to build bombs have been available for decades.

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

There is no bluffing going on.

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

The USA is not acting unilaterally either.

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

Why is Russia interested in STABLE political states?

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

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

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

Ya think? 

Or may ya don't.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Go straight to hell.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jun 22, 2005

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

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

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

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

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

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

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