Constitutionally, (click here) New Jersey’s chief executive is one of the most powerful governors in the United States. In addition to overseeing the departments, agencies boards and commissions that make up the executive branch, the governor signs bills into law and can call the legislature into special session. The governor has the power to grant pardons and is the only person with the authority to call in the National Guard.

The Governorship in New Jersey strongly parallels that of the Executive Branch of the USA government in DC.

The Assembly can bring impeachment charges but the Senate is the court of impeachment in New Jersey, where the charges are tried.

Political speech is not impeachable. I would think the NJ Legislature would be smarter than that. SO. Considering that political speech is not under oath and not a misdemeanor or felony the NJ Legislature is conducting a great deal of political speech as well, aren't they?

The Democrats in New Jersey are actually doing the work for the Republicans. They don't want a challenge by the Governor in 2016. It would violate their hierarchy rules. 

Media and citizens can complain and sign petitions, but, impeachment based in political speech isn't something actually can happen.

 By Star-Ledger Editorial Board
 January 31, 2014 at 4:19 PM
January 31, 2014 at 6:58 PM
 

Forget about the White House in 2016. (click here) The question now is whether Gov. Chris Christie can survive as governor.
David Wildstein, the man who ordered the George Washington Bridge lane closures, is now pointing the finger directly at Gov. Chris Christie, saying the governor knew about the lane closures in September when they occurred.
That directly contradicts Christie account at his Jan. 13 press conference when he made this statement: "I had no knowledge of this — of the planning, the execution or anything about it... I first found out about it after it was over."
If this charge proves true, then the governor must resign or be impeached. Because
that would leave him so drained of credibility that he could not possibly govern effectively. He would owe it to the people of New Jersey to stop the bleeding and quit. And if he should refuse, then the Legislature should open impeachment hearings....

Then Democrats wonder how they end up with the Tea Party. Even when the Governor put his political future on the line for New Jersey it wasn't enough.

January 2, 2013 3:25 PM
TRENTON, N.J. (CBS/AP) — New Jersey (click here) Gov. Chris Christie is fuming over the House’s decision to not hold a vote on Tuesday on the Superstorm Sandy relief package.
Christie was just one of several New Jersey and New York elected officials, from both sides of the aisle, who lambasted Boehner’s decision to not hold a vote; demanding he reverse course and allow a vote as their constituents continue to struggle with the aftermath of the devastating storm. President Barack Obama also called for an immediate House vote.
Speaking at a news conference Wednesday afternoon, the Republican governor said the only group to blame for decision is the House’s GOP majority and Speaker John Boehner....

This is not Superstorm Sandy. It is Hurricane Floyd making landfall over North Carolina. 

Do you know how much federal aid North Carolina received after Floyd? NOT A DIME. Not one thin dime.

So while New Jersey Democrats bemoan their loss in the Gubernatorial race and having a Governor that was rather popular, I really don't want to hear how SLOWLY the monies are rolling in for Sandy Relief. I really don't. I have every empathy for homeowners that need relief, but, the legislators need to get off their asses and go to Washington and find out what can be done to improve the cash flow out of DC. Standing in front of a camera and complaining isn't going to get it done.

Following Floyd, North Carolina had to raise taxes in order to rebuild. Do I think NJ has it hard? Think about it.

New Jersey needs to be grateful for the emergency monies to fight over, because the rest of the country never had a Christie. 

ODENNIS PATTERSON 

Associated Press

Oct. 5, 1999 7:48 PM ET

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) _ North Carolina needs a staggering $5.3 billion (click here) in federal aid for its long recovery from Hurricane Floyd, Gov. Jim Hunt said Tuesday.

Hunt went to Washington to lobby Congress and the White House for $2.2 billion in immediate aid to help farmers and homeowners and to begin rebuilding damaged highways and bridges.

That's in addition to $1 billion Hunt already has requested, and he said he plans eventually to seek $2.1 billion more for long-term recovery and planning.

``It's worse than anyone imagined,'' Hunt said.

In Washington, Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said a farm-assistance package approved by the House last week won't be nearly sufficient to cover North Carolina's needs. It includes just $1.2 billion for all weather-related losses nationwide this year.

Congressional leaders have suggested handling Hurricane Floyd losses in a separate supplemental appropriations bill next year, but Hunt said North Carolina can't wait that long.

``We have to have the money this year,'' Hunt said.

Floyd, blamed for at least 48 deaths in North Carolina, is expected easily to surpass Hurricane Fran, which caused $6 billion in damage in 1996, as the state's costliest natural disaster once insurance claims and local government spending are counted. Floyd drenched eastern North Carolina with 20 inches of rain on Sept. 16, flooding 27 counties.

Agriculture losses alone, including 30,500 drowned hogs and 2.8 million dead poultry, will exceed $1 billion, officials said. Floyd also destroyed 3,680 homes and damaged 12,000 others, and more than 500 people remained in shelters Tuesday.

The flooding's effects likely will be felt across the nation at Thanksgiving, state agriculture spokesman Jim Knight said Tuesday. North Carolina is the nation's largest producer of sweet potatoes, and half of the state's crop was ruined.

``That is the one crop that consumers may see a price adjustment on,'' Knight said.

Meanwhile, officials in 21 counties mapped plans Tuesday to spray mosquitoes breeding in the pools of water left by Floyd.

``If you're somebody who's lost a whole lot, you're trying to clean up, and you've got mosquitoes landing on you at 25 to 100 a minute, it's an endeavor we just have to undertake,'' said Debbie Crane, a spokeswoman for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

State officials also decided to drop many coastal areas from an advisory warning people to avoid contact with some rivers, sounds and ocean waters, and announced that shellfishing would be reopened in many estuaries beginning Wednesday.

I am finished being polite and patient. I thought holding your feet to the fire ended with Bush.

Governor Christie is caught up in a feeding fenzy because of his position reflected in this video. People are afraid of his strength.

In all the days since any complaints by others in New Jersey there was a lot of survival politics by Christie. I take it the US Attorney hasn't concluded anything yet. 

Maddow's show is completely gripped by this issue as if the world stopped turning. I find it outrageous. 

Governor Chris Christie is so scary there needs to be continuous control of his image to the public to drive him out of office. This is not appropriate news coverage. The appropriate news coverage is to televise the meetings of the New Jersey legislature in order to find out the progress of the investigation. 

I just checked the world hasn't stopped turning yet, even though it is slowing because of global warming.

Japan fishing vessels become very aggressive and endanger life of the crew.

My first thoughts are Maritime Law and Ambassador Kennedy. Sea Shepard is in four countries. The USA is one of them. 

US HEADQUARTERS (click here)
PO Box 2616
Friday Harbor WA 98250
USA
Tel: +1-360-370-5650
Fax: +1-360-370-5651
E-mail: info@seashepherd.org

Agence France-Presse 
Sunday 2 February 2014 00.10 EST

Anti-whaling group says Japanese ship rammed its vessel Bob Barker in the Southern Ocean in an 'unprovoked attack'

Anti-whaling group (click here) Sea Shepherd said on Sunday that one of its ships was rammed during "aggressive" and "unprovoked" confrontations with the Japanese in the Southern Ocean.

Sea Shepherd said one of its vessels, the Bob Barker, was struck during a co-ordinated attack by the Japanese fleet's three harpoon ships as they tried to drive the campaigners away from the factory ship Nisshin Maru.
"The Bob Barker was hit by the Japanese whaling fleet's harpoon vessel, the Yushin Maru No 2, as the harpoon vessel crossed in front of the bow of the Sea Shepherd ship," the group said.

"The assault is an attempt to deter the Sea Shepherd ships from their current position, blocking the slipway of the Nisshin Maru, preventing the whalers from loading whales poached from the southern ocean whale sanctuary."...

To listen to Jason Furman at the White House Briefing today, the CBO is bizarre.

White House Briefing with Press Sec. Jay Carney (click here)

Spokesperson Jay Carney briefed reporters and answered questions at the daily White House briefing. Jason Furman, the chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, began the briefing with comments on the CBO’s report on the economy.

Bizarre is my word. If any work by the CBO is this bizarre, the people that generated it need to go. They aren't doing a good job.

What the CBO report is stating is the slave labor economy of the USA will be relieved and Americans quality of life will be improved. That quality of life improvement is suppose to hurt the economy.

That the wrong conclusion. The new quality of life achieved by Americans with the passage of the The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is dissolving the slave labor of Wall Street. That is the correct conclusion.

This report is completely out of line. It does NOT take into account all the dynamics provided by the ACA. That reality is pointed out by Mr. Furman.

Mr. Furman rather patiently (I would never have that much patience with this report) explained that Appendix C was worth reading. So, I'll read it. But, I don't believe this report was appropriate, well thought out or valued quality of life of Americans.

The ACA gives citizens choice in life. They aren't locked in to LOSING economic strategies in order to have health insurance. That swings both ways. The INDIVIDUAL in the USA can decide that working 60 hours in order to pay for health care insurance and/or having one job to keep health care while working another to make ends meet; is not necessary anymore.

Americans can now purchase health care insurance. That FREES them up to seek better paying jobs that might not have health insurance offered. It allows MORE choice in living standards. It might mean a Mom can be with her children more while Dad changes jobs to make more money or vise versa.

This report wants to ENFORCE the status quo mercilessly. It demands Americans are STRANDED in life in order to maintain health insurance. That is exactly what is not suppose to happen. 

The ACA is the opportunity for entrepreneurs to move into their own business while purchasing health care insurance rather than being anchored to employment for that purpose. We know for a FACT that the most stable economy in the USA, resilient to economic collapse is the Small Business with less than 19 employees. Now, if an American has the means to move into a Small Business while purchasing health care, both the individual and our economy is better for it. 

The ACA allows CHOICES in quality of life. That is American. That is something all Americans strive for. This report is egregious, grossly ill prepared and has the nerve to list table after table after table of OLD USA economies dating back to 1975 or something like that. The economy we face today in the USA has never happened SINCE 1975. In order to even find a USA economy that resembles today, one has to go back to the Great Depression. Health care insurance wasn't available then, so that tosses out that comparison.

The preparers overreached to the 'idea' they were seeming to explore and found they had no relevant data, but, they were so entrenched and invested in the study they published it anyway. These folks need to be out of the government and in the COBRA market ASAP. 

That is some of the most hateful assessment I have ever read coming from the CBO.

By David Morgan and David Lawder
Feb 4 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama'shealthcare law (click here) will reduce American workforce participation by the equivalent of 2 million full-time jobs in 2017, the Congressional Budget Office said on Tuesday, prompting Republicans to paint the law as bad medicine for the U.S. economy....

They don't know that. Who is the CBO to say Americans are going to stop working to support their families in order to keep subsidies in health care?

The idea Americans will PLOT to keep healthcare subsidies is some of the oldest 'mind speak' I recall from any research by the CBO. Where in the name of did they ever get the idea Americans would not want to work in order to keep healthcare? That is ridiculous.

The very ill Americans that cannot afford healthcare are usually not in the work force. They have other health insurance, including, some with Medicare. But, to say Americans will cut back on their income to keep subsidies, in this day and age when over 15% are in poverty is outrageous. I am absolutely astounded by that assessment. 

That entire idea sounds like partisan politics, not real world assessment. The assessment ASSUMES Americans will prefer to keep subsidies rather than earn more and that the idea Americans are lazy is correct. That is about as lousy as a government agency gets in ridiculing the people of this nation. 

Where is the TEND LINE, the REGRESSION LINE, based in research that states same? Because the Health Care Law only went into effect as of January. There is no research. This study is engineered by PERHAPS IF, than actual facts.

..."It's not that the businesses are cutting those jobs," said Jason Furman, who chairs the White House Council of Economic Advisers. He said the CBO report showed an impact on labor supply rather than demand for workers from employers....

Did the CBO get help from Psy-Ops? All of a sudden the CBO can predict the behavior of Americans. Really? If the CBO is this good to predict the behavior of Americans, there is a place for each of them on Wall Street after they are fired from their jobs at the CBO.

I am going to tell a little story. You see, I was poor once, too. But, once I got into housing after being homeless with two children due to the fact their father, of whom married me before the children were born, turned out to be a dead beat dad. So, life got interesting when I worked so hard to put him through college. No we were not Mid-Life parents at all. Substance abuse changed the life he and I so carefully planned together. Meth. Hash. Alternative Lifestyles all impacted him in ways I could never imagine when we were so right for each other.

So, when I finally got into housing, the world changed. Within two months I received a call from a Social Worker who asked me if I would please go to the local technical school as there were programs to assist me if I wanted to return to work. This was long before the Welfare to Work Program. About 20 years before the Welfare to Work program. 

I was under no obligation to work or seek it or attend college or schooling or training. I could have hunkered down in my apartment and stayed there to raise the children until they were grown. But, I didn't. See, I was an American woman and I was promised something. I was promised a comfortable future if I did all the right things. I was Lower Middle Class from a hard working family. I attended public schools. I applied myself to learning. I was liked in school. My parents loved me. So, there was every reason for me to believe I could ACHIEVE, not only an income, but a nice life and one that would uplift my children out of poverty. 

Guess what? I did. I not only learned a profession, while I worked I returned to college to improve my status in the work force and it worked. I was one of the best of the best no matter where I went in life. I guess what? So, were my children. Those kids were great and they were liked by educators no matter the school or the grade. I not only raised my sons, basically alone, I leaned on the government system to demand their father, now my ex-husband, pay his fair share of their upbringing. I wrote every legislator along with friends that did as well. And after about a year or so of INSISTING my children had a right to being supported according to two incomes and not just the income I earned, then Senator Bill Bradley from New Jersey wrote legislation that would compel law enforcement and judges to arrest and set bail for child support offenders. It became a crime against the family not to pay child support. I DID THAT. I GOT MY FRIENDS TO DO THAT.

When the law went into effect, my ex was in arrears of over $24,000 US. I chased him down and when he was at his home with his second wife in the lazy boy armchair I sent the police to pick him up. I continued to do that until he was compelled to stay in a jail until a judge heard his offenses. Eventually, his wages were garnished and my children's lives improved.

From the day I went into housing that cost me $24.00 per month and my water bill, under Title what ever the number was, I never took welfare. Are you joking? $24.00 per month and I was going to take  welfare? No. I worked in a day care after my classes and my children went from a local clinic that existed from a Hill-Burton Grant to returning to the pediatrician that took care of them in the nursery when they were born. That pediatrician then attended to them until they became adults.

I don't want to hear how Americans are lazy. How they don't achieve. How a government agency ASSIGNS such characteristics to ANY American. I'm a white woman, too. 

The CBO has absolutely NO IDEA what the future holds for Americans. They don't know what is going to happen in the next year, the next five years, the next decade or the next century. 

The lousy bastards need to be fired!

"Education is a civil rights issue for children."

October 28, 2013
C-Span First Ladies

C-SPAN’s exclusive interview with former First Lady Laura Bush. In the interview she talks about her upbringing, meeting and marrying George W. Bush, their life together before the White House, as well as her reflections on her time as First Lady, including the 9/11 attacks and her causes. She also talks about what she’s been doing since leaving the White House.

In the C-Span "First Ladies" Interview, (click here) Laura Bush stated educating children from all walks of life have a civil right to an education in the United States.

I don't recall an American saying that before. Education of all children in the USA is a civil right. That was a statement I could respect. She was great in this interview. She is exceptionally proud of her own "First Ladies" meetings in Africa and also held in the USA. She invites First Ladies from all over the world, or in this case a continent to participate in the idea they are powerful women that can change a nation.

She has lost weight. To me a little painfully more than she should have, but, Texas women in their social circles tend to be slender. She seems very happy. She is somewhat different to me, but, her years in the White House were very dark times.

I found her statements about children's civil rights as something another lady shares with her. Former Secretary Hillary Clinton was on the front of attempting to achieve rights for children. I am thrilled First Lady Laura Bush and Former Secretary Clinton view the issue of education of our children so strongly. It creates hope our children will be valued, loved and provided a good education no matter the status of their parents or income level.

Children's rights under the law (click here)
by Hillary Clinton
Harvard Educational Review, November 1973, p. 493.

Her focus on children having civil rights is not unfamiliar to the American dialogue. Some time ago we had a woman working for the rights of children, namely Former Secretary Hillary Clinton.

The basic rationale for depriving people of rights in a dependency relationship is that certain individuals are incapable or undeserving of the right to take care of themselves and consequently need social institutions specifically designed to safeguard their position. It is presumed that under the circumstances society is doing what is best for the individuals. Along with the family, past and present examples of such arrangements include marriage, slavery, and the Indian reservation system. The relative powerlessness of children makes them uniquely vulnerable to this rationale. Except for the institutionalized, who live in a state of enforced childishness, no other group is so totally dependent for its well-being on choices made by others. Obviously this dependency can be explained to a significant degree by the physical, intellectual and psychological incapacities of (some) children which render them weaker than (some) older persons. But the phenomenon must also be seen as part of the organization and ideology of the political system itself. Lacking even the basic power to vote, children are not able to exercise normal constituency powers, articulating self-interests to politicians and working toward specific goals. Young children in particular are probably not capable of organizing themselves into a political group; they must always be represented either by their parents or by established governmental or community groups organized to lobby, litigate, and exhort on their behalf. The causes of younger children have not fared well, partly because these representatives have loyalties diluted by conflicts between children's rights and their own institutional and professional goals.

Well, there is an idea. Hold the government responsible for not protecting citizen privacy.

by Krishnadev Calamur

February 03, 2014 3:41 PM
 

Revelations made by Edward Snowden, (click here) the former contractor for the National Security Agency, have strained diplomatic relations, prompted congressional hearings, and shed light on some aspects of global intelligence gathering. Now, they've resulted in the German government being sued for allegedly abetting in the NSA's activities within the country.

Two German groups, the Chaos Computer Club and the International League of Human Rights they were suing Chancellor Angela Merkel and other government officials for "illegal and prohibited covert intelligence activities."...

January 31, 2014
President Obama picked top cyber expert (click here) Vice Admiral Mike Rogers as director of the National Security Agency on Thursday, reports The New York Times. This choice recognizes the cyber war that the President has discussed in previous reviews of the NSA and his advisory panel's recommendations.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said he has designated Vice Adm. Mike Rogers as the new head of the NSA, and that the president has nominated Rogers to be the new head of U.S. Cyber Command. The NSA falls under the aegis of the Defense Department and as such Hagel can make Rogers’ appointment without congressional involvement. But the Senate must confirm Rogers to run CyberCom, a combatant command which means he’ll get a hearing.

‘I am pleased that President Obama has accepted my recommendation to nominate Vice Admiral Michael Rogers as commander of U.S. Cyber Command,’ Hagel said in a statement. ‘And I am delighted to designate him also as director of the National Security Agency. This is a critical time for the NSA, and Vice Adm. Rogers would bring extraordinary and unique qualifications to this position as the agency continues its vital mission and implements President Obama’s reforms.’...

Some things Americans should know about Vice Admiral Mike Rogers. He believes the future of warfare is on the internet.

Why would that be?

2. He Thinks the Future of Warfare Is on the Internet (click here)

Rogers won't only lead the NSA, he will also be at the helm of the sometimes less-publicized Cyber Command, the Pentagon's army of cyberwarriors. And not only he's a good fit for this position given his credentials, but he fits right into the Pentagon's newfound focus on cyberwarfare as the future of the American armed forces.

"The network must be treated as a weapons system as we continue the fight to maintain our advantage in cyberspace, and thus across the other four war fighting domains: sea, air, land and space," he said in a Q&A on the Feb. 2013 issue of Military Information Technology magazine, which dubbed him the "Cyberspace Warrior."

Not only does Rogers buy into the idea that cyberspace is the fifth domain of the military where the battles of the future will be fought, but he believes the Pentagon should continue investing in training and hiring cyber warriors....

Why would so much of future warfare be based in cyber security? The internet doesn't carry soldiers into battle, so...like...ah...what gives?

By Robert N. Charette

Posted 3 Feb 2014 | 18:49 GMT

Last week was a very quiet week (click here) in regard to reported IT-related system snarls, snags and snafus. With yesterday being ground-hog day here in the U.S., and in keeping with the spirit of the movie of the same name, I have decided to return once more to F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and its continuing software “challenges.”

   Last week, the Department of Defense's Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E), J. Michael Gilmore, publicly released his annual report on major U.S. defense acquisitions. Gilmore reiterated his frustration with the lack of reliability and supportability of software in major defense support and weapon system programs. While Gilmore’s report highlighted many defense programs' software problems, those related to the F-35 continue to hold center stage.

For instance, in October 2013, a new increment of Block 2B software—the block that provides initial combat capability—that was supposed to include many fixes to previously identified deficiencies, began flight testing, the report says. However, the DOT&E report goes on to say:...

There is nothing like preparing for a defensive posture that is stupid and incompetent. Anybody got a back-up?

It gets even more interesting, look at this. This is from the South China Morning Post. Now, when the Chinese people are given the same information as the American people, it should make everyone pause about China's capacity and quality of life, okay? 

China is a communist country. Before reading this below, remember some of the best hackers in the world are in China and have been hacking USA cyber security systems for at least a decade or longer. Those hackers used to only attack China's systems, but, the government gave them a job. So, what was once 'the voice of freedom' in China are now government employees rather than spending time in prison. Just a little color to understand the dynamics here.

The other part of this is, who started this mess? "Cause and Effect."

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 04 February, 2014, 5:36am

UPDATED : Tuesday, 04 February, 2014, 7:27am

Several initiatives by the US government (click here) regarding cybersecurity have been stopped cold or set back after the Edward Snowden affair broke, leaving the country struggling to respond to the daily onslaught of attacks from Russia, China and elsewhere, according to lawmakers.
US officials rank its cybervulnerability as a greater threat to national security than terrorism.

Snowden "has slowed everything down", said Congressman Mike Pompeo, who serves on the House Intelligence Committee, referring to the former National Security Agency contractor who leaked details of the agency's mass surveillance.

"All the things the NSA wanted to do are now radioactive, even though they were good ideas," said James Lewis, a cybersecurity expert at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.
The Obama administration has said it plans to release this year a list of voluntary best practices in cybersecurity for critical infrastructure, including electric utilities and chemical plants....

Isn't that what the American people wanted? To slow down and even stop the invasion of privacy? Yes? No? Scared now that China and the USA media is stating the USA is vulnerable. We were vulnerable before.

Isn't the real point that USA security cannot rely on automated systems like drones?

When the USA went into Iraq, people were scared to death they were going to be dead by WMD. Now imagine the rest of the world looking at the hideous behavior of Americans during that time and realizing THE TRUTH while Bush lied. It isn't about Saddam Hussein, it is about what the American people allow into their understanding about their well being in relation to what their media says and the government actually does.

Computer systems have always been an enhancement to US defense systems, but, they have never before been THE ANSWER to USA defense systems.

The way I see it, is that the more stupid the USA gets about computer generated war, including land based and water based drones, Robo-soldier; the more danger the USA faces by other nations. This discovery by Americans due to the reporting of a whistleblower brings a far greater paradigm to global war. It is an incredible pressure now to act in peace. The more dangerous the weapons and the more removed they are from humanity, the more countries will seek peace between each other.

Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaties occurred because of nukes. Nukes are the most dangerous and inhumane weapon known to the people of Earth. It is my opinion cyber war is the next nuclear war the world needs to develop treaties to prevent.

"Morning Papers - It's Origin" (Click here - Thank you.)

The Rooster

"Okeydoke"

"Good Night, Moon"

Waxing Crescent

23% Full Moon

4.7 Day Old Moon

..."I should mention the moon. (click here) A lot of people don't talk about the moon," he said. "On a full moon, the water rises on the water table, as well as the tides." 

Little and his fellow presenter, Hunter Wade of Devoto Gardens in Sebastopol, said their methods are based on conditions where they live, but dry farming is possible elsewhere. 

"Wherever you are deciding to dry farm," Wade said, "talk to the old-timers ... understand what crops people with dry farms historically in the area (produced)." 

Wade said he relies on coastal fog for his apple trees, which "sort of acts like a supplemental irrigation....