Representative Sensenbrenner voted for the 25 year extention of the Voting Rights Act in 2006.

To ensure that the gains made (click here) by minorities during the Civil Rights Movement were not jeopardized, Jim introduced legislation to extend the Voting Rights Act for 25 years, which was later signed into law.

I have disagreed with Rep. Sensenbrenner, but, he does have a history of extending citizen's rights.


This is him speaking at the 2008 Rally for the Americans with Disability Act. (click here)

Representative Sensenbrenner is consistent in his view of the rights of citizens. He was also on the front lines of The Patriot Act when it was first passed. I have to wonder with all the problems with the NSA does he still see it all the same way.

Rep John Lewis (D-GA) (L) and Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) (R) testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee July 17, 2013 in Washington, DC. Lewis and Sensenbrenner testified during a full committee hearing on 'From Selma to Shelby County: Working Together to Restore the Protections of the Voting Rights Act.' (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) 

by Laurie Kellman, Associated Press
July 17, 2013 at 5:09 PM
 
“The Supreme Court (click here) said it’s an obligation of Congress to do this. That’s a command of a separate but co-equal branch of government to do that,” Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., told reporters Wednesday after urging the Senate Judiciary Committee to get moving on the issue. The law, he said, should be passed before the congressional elections. He added that House GOP leaders are open to the task, but they have to see a draft first, it must address the court’s objections and be “politically acceptable in both houses” of Congress....

Americans unaffected by civil rights legislation, including that of the disabled, don't appreciate the nobility of those that do come forward to create a level playing field through legislation. I can't deny this forthright willingness by Rep. Sensenbrenner to be one of the first to speak to the need for new legislation is admirable. His advocacy for the least among us has been consistent. 

The US Attorney General and President Obama should consider him an ally in writing the legislation necessary to preserve our democracy. This isn't a political problem for him or his district. This is something they believe in. 

I believe the RNC Chairman took issue with Rep. Sensenbrenner's statements in support of the ruling of the Supreme Court. It just goes to prove, the RNC does not respect the elections and those elected so much as demand all Republicans to act to carry out rhetoric that is harmful to Americans. I find Priebus disrespectful of the people Rep. Sensenbrenner represents. That is a shame. The Representative deserves an apology. 

Speaker Boner is pathetic. The President doesn't have to consult with anyone unless the War Powers Act is to be called up.

Syria needs to be disarmed from it's missiles and chemical weapon delivery systems. The United Nations can easily make the plans to remove the missiles and bury them in the sand. The UN can also place seals on the chemical weapons stores and manufacturing plant until it can be removed. 

Reuters  |  Posted: 08/26/2013 6:14 pm EDT

WASHINGTON, Aug 26 (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner (click here) told the White House on Monday that it must consult with Congress before any response to the Syrian government's apparent use of chemical weapons.
"The speaker made clear that before any action is taken, there must be meaningful consultation with members of Congress, as well as clearly defined objectives and a broader strategy to achieve stability," Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck said in a statement. (Reporting by Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Sandra Maler)...

There isn't going to be a war. Syria needs to be disarmed from causing problems. The United Nations also has to be given places throughout the country for humanitarian aid.

Boner doesn't have the information the President has. It is CONGRESS that has to consult with President Obama. 

There isn't going to be another war, unless, Assad is stupid enough to start one. It won't last long either.

China needs to work on it's business model for agricultural areas. The focus should be sanitation. It is important.

By Tim Sandle

Aug 24, 2013 in Health

...In April 2013, Nature News reports,(click here) researchers took throat and cloacal samples from 1,341 chickens, ducks, geese, and other birds. In addition, the scientists collected more than 1,000 fecal and water samples from live poultry markets, wetlands, and farms. The conclusion was that many birds found in live poultry markets were infected. 

Study coauthor Yi Guan, a flu researcher at the University of Hong Kong, told The Guardian that the Chinese authorities should consider closing live poultry markets: "Moving live poultry markets out of urban areas may reduce the frequency of contact between infected birds or contaminated environments and humans, but there is a range of interventions that could reduce the risks of these markets being hubs for transmission and reservoirs of infection." 

 The avian influenza virus H7N9 infected more than 130 people in China, causing more than 40 deaths. Chinese scientists later confirmed that the avian flu virus H7N9 can spread through the air; and it can possibly be transmitted from human to human... 

The Nation  

August 26, 2013 1:00 am

Health officials along the Cambodian border have been instructed to look out for bird flu. (click here)

Public Health Minister Pradit Sintavanarong said yesterday that the number of victims of the deadly H5N1 virus was reportedly still increasing in the neighbouring country, and the disease could cross the border into Thailand via the transportation of poultry and fighting cocks, as well as the migration of wild birds.

He instructed the Disease Control Department and health officials in Trat, Sa Kaew, Chanthaburi, Buri Ram, Si Sa Ket, Surin and Ubon Ratchathani to tighten emerging-disease surveillance, and closely monitor suspicious human illnesses and deaths in their areas.

According to the World Health Organisation, 17 people have been killed by avian flu in six countries around the world including Cambodia so far this year, while 24 people had fallen ill.

By Tim Sandle

Aug 24, 2013 in Science

...A newly discovered strain (click here) of bird flu (the H7N7 virus) has the potential to jump from chickens to mammals, based on a new research study.

The avian influenza virus H7N7 (genetically close to the H7N9 virus), which has been found in Chinese live poultry markets, is capable of making the leap from poultry to mammals. Currently this strain of bird flu, unlike its deadly H7N9 cousin, has only been associated with infected chickens and no natural cases in mammals have yet been detected. To show that an inter-species jump is possible, Chinese scientists conducted laboratory tests where the H7N7 virus, taken from infected chickens, was used to infect ferrets. Ferrets are often used as a model for human flu transmission...

The Bird Flu is spreading and Nepal has taken incredibly determined steps to stop it among it's farmers before it reaches the people. I am wondering if Nepal is in more need of humanitarian relief.

2013-08-25 11:41 PM

Last Updated At: 2013-08-25 11:41 PM

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE (click here)

BHAKTAPUR: The government has culled 9,90,981 fowls and chicks from several farms in Bhaktapur since the bird flu was first confirmed in the district.

According to Bhaktapur District Bird Flu Control Section, 5,23,921 fowls and 1,56,726 chicks have been culled from as many as 439 poultry farms since the government declared Bhaktapur a crisis-hit zone on August 15.

Bird flu was first confirmed in Bhaktapur on July 26. As many as 1,91,063 fowls and 1,19,271 chicks were culled before the district was declared crisis-hit following the flu confirmation.

Chief at the section, senior veterinary Dr Buddhiman Khaling, said 2,89,299 eggs, 49,206 kg chicken feed and 810 kg meat were destroyed as of this evening.

Meanwhile, the government is yet to completely get rid of the disease even 12 days after it targeted to complete its task of ridding Bhaktapur of the flu within the 10 days....

Goldman seeks claw back. What a powerful word that is, "The Claw Back." I guess that means being bearish on Wall Street has it's' upside.

Yes, indeed, investors are going to realize their monies once Goldman gets to the bottom of this self-generated computer glitch and the mighty employees will topple like trees in any clear cutting.

By Laura Marcinek - Aug 26, 2013 12:00 AM ET
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) (click here) placed four senior technology specialists on administrative leave after a programming error caused the investment bank to send faulty stock-options orders last week, the Financial Times reported.
The newspaper cited a person familiar with the events and didn’t disclose the names of the four employees. Michael DuVally, a spokesman for New York-based Goldman Sachs, declined to comment on the FT report yesterday.
An internal system that Goldman Sachs uses to help prepare to meet market demand for equity options inadvertently produced orders with inaccurate price limits and sent them to exchanges, a person familiar with the situation told Bloomberg News after the Aug. 20 mishap.

The malfunction caused unintended options orders to flood U.S. exchanges, roiling markets and shaking confidence in electronic-trading infrastructure. Two days later, Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. halted trading for three hours after an unrelated failure left some investors without stock quotes. Last year, Knight Capital Group Inc. almost went out of business after the firm flooded U.S. equity markets with erroneous orders...

It would seem as though many are out of control at Goldman.

Published: Saturday August 24, 2013 MYT 6:50:00 AM
Updated: Saturday August 24, 2013 MYT 6:52:23 AM 

NEW YORK: A New York-based Goldman Sachs(click here)  managing director was arrested and charged with raping a 20-year-old woman while on vacation in the up-market Hamptons resort in New York state. 

The East Hampton Town Police arrested Jason Lee, 37, after responding to a disturbance at a house, the local police service said in a statement. 

Lee was arrested on a charge of first-degree rape and was released on bail on Wednesday, the statement said....

Ah, to be closer to Mitt after all. Surely the wrath of an ungodly climate will never reach Salt Lake City. Goloches 'R" Not Us.

By Paul Beebe | The Salt Lake Tribune

First Published Aug 22 2013 11:43 pm

Two nights before Halloween last year, (click here) a massive wall of sandbags surrounding Goldman Sachs’ steel and glass headquarters in lower Manhattan stood as the global investment bank’s last defense against a tide of storm water pushed inland by Hurricane Sandy. Across the Hudson River, 8 feet of water lapped against sandbags stacked outside Goldman’s tower in Jersey City, N.J.

More than 10,000 Goldman employees were cut off from their jobs by the massive storm as it swirled across the region, forcing the New York Stock Exchange to halt all trading operations, causing the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to suspend train service and cutting power to millions of customers....

What kind of advise exactly is Goldman handing out? Success or let's get ready for the Chinese?

Posted: Sunday, August 25, 2013 12:20 am

Katherine Calos

 

The Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program (click here) has awarded $400,000 to Virginia Community Capital, a community development financial institution that provides advisory services and loans to small businesses in underserved communities.
The grant is in addition to $4 million going directly to VCC’s loan fund so that more small businesses in low- to moderate-income areas may access additional capital....

Posted by Sherell Williams (Editor)
May 08, 2012 at 09:21 PM

On Tuesday, McDonnell (click here) will sign legislation to protect victims of sexual and domestic violence at the Annandale campus of Northern Virginia Community College

.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) will visit the Annandale campus of on Tuesday as part of his "Virginia: Growing Strong" statewide tour.
McDonnell will sign several pieces of legislation, including bills that would protect victims of sexual and domestic violence and human trafficking, at 2:30 p.m. in the after his morning visit to Fredericksburg Machine and Steel, according to a press release on his website....

The large investment banks that were bailed out in 2008 are proving to be unworthy of any trust of anyone, quite frankly. First there was the London Whale and now those that did trust Goldman did so with regret. 

Enough.

IPE July/August 2013
Special ReportInvestment Solutions
Pensioenfonds Vervoer, The Netherlands Assets: €11bn Location: 
Groningen, The Netherlands

The Dutch industry-wide pension fund for Dutch transport workers, Vervoer, was a nearly adopter of fiduciary management. But it is fair to say that its experiences have been mixed. It hired Goldman Sachs Asset Management(GSAM) as its first fiduciary manager in 2006, then terminated the contract in a well-publicised dispute over the extent and type of portfolio risks and possible conflicts of interest being undertaken by GSAM on its behalf. (click here)

Why did Vervoer choose the fiduciary route in the first place? “The main reason is that manager selection is not our core business,” says Patrick Groenendijk, the fund’s chief investment officer.“The case for fiduciary management is a strong one but much depends on how exactly it is structured.”Performance attribution indicates that 90% of portfolio return is a result of asset allocation; only10% due to manager selection. “You can easily spend90% of your time on manager selection and only10% on asset allocation, unless you subcontract the selection process,” says Groenendijk. For Vervoer,the decision to use a fiduciary manager was a result of distinguishing between ‘core’ and ‘non-core’activities....

....The role of custodian is vital in this arrangement. “We give control to the chief investment officer and pension board both at an operational as well as a strategic asset allocation level,” comments Wim van Ooijen, country head for Northern Trust in the Netherlands. As custodian, Northern Trust provides custody services directly to each of the segregated mandates run by the 25 managers selected by Robeco. “In addition through Northern Trust Global Advisers, we optimise the clients insight into asset interpretation and risk, not just at a mandate level but also at an aggregated level where strategic decision taking remains in the hands of the pension board rather than the fiduciary manager.”...

There aren't enough Foster Care Homes? Come on folks, we have them dying on front porches from gun shot wounds, let's get them placed.

Foster parents should be waiting for the next arrival. There should not be children in emotional trauma. This is not good.

Dr. Astrid Heger, center, talks with children's author Cornelia Funke, right, at the Chlldren's Welcome Center of the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center -- a key holding facility for young children awaiting foster homes. The county is struggling with a severe shortage of foster homes. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times / November 8, 2012)

By Garrett Therolf

August 25, 2013, 6:46 p.m.

...Between May 28 and July 5, nearly 600 children were diverted to holding rooms as social workers scrambled unsuccessfully to find them homes, according to data obtained under the California Public Records Act.

Stays exceeded a state-imposed 24-hour legal limit in 117 cases, and dozens of children spent multiple nights in the holding centers before being placed in foster homes. By comparison, last August only one child remained in a holding room longer than 24 hours, and overall about a third fewer children were diverted to the centers....

Children with questionable health need to be placed in pediatric wards for health evaluations. It is unreasonable to ask a Foster Parent to place ill children among healthy ones.

...Placing a child often requires more than 100 calls by social workers, records showed....

This is child endangerment, the city is going to have to hire people and stop relying on volunteers.

...Officials acknowledged they don't always have enough personnel to promptly feed children or change diapers. The department recently issued an emergency plea for community volunteers to help in the holding rooms....

There is the issue of school age children becoming settled into classrooms so they have an opportunity to actually learn and all sorts of adjustment has to begin when a child is removed from circumstances of chance rather than assurance.

...The rate for children younger than 4 was recently boosted to about $680 a month, which is still hundreds of dollars below the estimated costs for foster parents.

"We need more homes and we need to pay them more," Browning said. "But the rates are set by the state, not the county, and that constrains us." The department is exploring ways to ease the financial burden of young children, such as providing free child care, diapers and transportation.

Browning said the county is entering new contracts with private, nonprofit foster care agencies to accept children 24 hours a day. Officials also recently agreed to pay the county's probation department $400,000 to speed up criminal background checks on relatives who are willing to take children removed from homes....

The county needs to evaluate all the 'qualifications' of becoming a Foster Parent as necessary to the mission of the program. I would think as long as a family member can provide protection and stability for a child, other than a history of substance abuse or violent crime, criminal background checks maybe unnecessary. Misdemeanors vs Felonies, etc. It is the home environment and the level of stability a family member can contribute as best. I would think a simple urine test at the time a child is placed might be a good measure until further qualifications can be carried out.

...There is one advantage to children passing through holding rooms, she said. With her program on site, for example, the USC center provides a venue for formal medical and mental health assessments of young children, which help ensure placements are appropriate and reduce return visits, she said. But her team isn't always given the time to fully assess foster children, particularly in complex cases that require extra resources, she said....

There is no reason why a child can't be admitted for medical observation and kept there until discharge. A Foster Child has medical coverage provided for them from the beginning. If upon the first 24 hours medical staff have sincere concerns for the well being of the child or the household the child will be placed in it demands further evaluation. It seems the LA system is a bureaucratic nightmare than a facilitated system of stability in placing the child. 

Most of the placement by Child Welfare Agencies don't happen overnight, that is what surprises me. Most of the families have a history of concern. There needs to be that reality built into the system. When a case opens that could mean it will receive further action and should have planning built into it from the start.

Any family member available and interested should be given the opportunity to become part of the families record for possible placement right from the start. If the Grandparents are the next venue of home stability for the child or children that should already be in the record and the Hospital Center isn't even necessary at that point. 

Ms. Cyrus has been making a bisexual statement for awhile now.

The tongue is a little more than Mic Jaggar exposed. 

Maybe if everyone just accepted Hanna Montana's expressed sexual identity, things might settle down a bit.

She is welcome to be as outrageously sexual as she wants to be, but, when it impinges on success it might be better to reflect on it a bit.

The chemical weapon stores in Syria is not safe. That is the point. It doesn't matter whom is using them.

The USA has allies in the region and Assad cannot secure the chemical weapons supply within it's borders. Russia has been no more successful in securing the chemical weapons either. It is too dangerous to ignore and Russia is ineffective with influence with Syria.

Updated at 8:19 a.m. Eastern
...Both the Syrian government (click here) and the Western-backed opposition Free Syrian Army agreed to cease fire in the suburbs to allow the inspectors to carry out their work, but the U.N. said in a statement that the lead vehicle was hit "multiple times by unidentified snipers in the buffer zone area," forcing the entire convoy to turn around and regroup at a checkpoint.
"As the car was no longer serviceable, the Team returned safely back to the Government check-point," read a statement released by a U.N. spokesperson. "The Team will return to the area after replacing the vehicle."
Reuters reported that the team had managed to reach the suburb of Mouadamiya after the delay, according to activists and a doctor on the ground....

Everyone needs to pay attention because the problems are very obvious. There is increased anarchy within sovereign nations throughout the region. The lessons from the USA invasion into Iraq cannot be overstated.

When the United Nation's Inspectors went into Iraq it was under the control of a sovereign authority with the ability to keep them safe. That was dissolved when Saddam Hussein was removed from the country's leadership. Following the removal of his authority, there was an upspring of anarchy that continues today. It is ethnic, it is religiously based and it is now the slippery slope that has gripped the region.

Diplomatic corps and UN inspectors are no long safe in the region. Some areas are more dangerous than others. When the UN Inspectors went into Syria and to the site where chemical weapons were released, there were snipers waiting for them. Don't do it again. There is no sovereign authority able to control the country, therefore, it has to be discerned anarchy is throughout the country and setting a very dangerous paradigm for other nations.

Syria has to be disarmed from it's chemical weapons and it's ability to deploy them with missiles for the safety and security of other nations. Russian has been able to do nothing to stop the potential to the spread of the danger. 

Look, Assad never signed the treaty every other nation did. He brought this on himself. If he can't control his weapons as he states, then someone has to. If Russia is unable, then who?

In one weekend in the USA.

Citizens are not at all happy with their government in North Carolina.

Generosity is illegal in North Carolina.

There folks are working with four well established churches that have health certificates for the preparation of food in their kitchens. 

This is Police Harassment and they were looking for arrests and not cooperation.
 

Maggie, Sarah, our church partner, and I speak with an officer.

Posted on August 24, 2013  
by Hugh Hollowell

This morning (click here) we showed up at Moore Square at 9:00 a.m., just like we have done virtually every Saturday and Sunday for the last six years. We provide, without cost or obligation, hot coffee and a breakfast sandwich to anyone who wants one. We keep this promise to our community in cooperation with five different large suburban churches that help us with manpower and funding.
Today officers from Raleigh Police Department prevented us from doing our work, for the first time ever. An officer said, quite bluntly, that if we attempted to distribute food, we would be arrested....

There is a high pressure system in the Pacific chronically pushing any water vapor east of the drought area. Earth's water vapor systems are completely dependent on the Coriolis Effect. The changes of air mass over land mass is very slow and places the biotic content of the planet in peril. It is either too dry or too wet for too long. 

If a hurricane forms in the East Pacific it would be a good thing if it can move north and not just west. The chances of that are very small.
 

Wildland Fire Incident
Report Date: 26-AUG-13

---

Burnt Area:	143,980 Acres (11% increase from yesterday)
Location:	Tuolumne County, CA (2 Miles NE of the community of Buck Meadows)
Cause:	Under Investigation
Incident Team Type:	IMT Type D
Team Leader:	Wilkins/Lawshe
Containment Status:	7% contained
Expected Containment:	Unknown
Fuels:	Brush, oaks and pine Extreme 20126104.00 6260OUTB

Zimmerman does his own Public Relations. It got him a not guilty verdict. He is still facing a civil suit and a Justice Department considering Civil Rights charges.

He knows where it is at. I am sure he can walk into any gun shop anywhere in the country and state if they don't cooperate with his 'image' he will be a detriment to theirs.

That is all this is. He is a very fearful man and that came through in his trial.

"Morning Papers" - It's Origins (click title to entry - thank you)

The Rooster

"Okeydoke"

"Good Night, Moon"

The waning gibbous

20.0 day old moon

71.8% lit

Monday, August 26 (click here)

The Moon rises around 11 p.m. now, about a fist-width at arm's length to the right of the Pleiades.

Perseus is up in good view in the northeast by late evening. By then you can catch Algol, Beta Persei, near the bottom of one of its eclipses: shining at only magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1. Mid-eclipse is around 11:54 p.m. EDT (8:54 p.m. PDT). Algol stays this dim for about two hours, and it takes several additional hours to fade and to rebrighten....

The Sagittarius Teapot and the surrounding rich Milky Way are highest in the south right after dark in late August. The brightest puff of the summer Milky Way seems to rise like steam from the Teapot's spout. All of the labeled objects here are good binocular targets under a dark sky. Click the image for a larger view.

Akira Fujii