This could be a real opportunity for the Virginia Governor to lead Virginia's 7th out of an extremist tilt to assist the state to move the ball further down field in Washington, DC. 

By ASHLEY PARKER
JUNE 9, 2014
...A candidate running for the Democratic nomination in Virginia’s Eighth Congressional (click here) District, which includes the suburbs outside Washington, Mr. Beyer said in a radio ad that the president was “absolutely right” about health care, and that is just the start.
“In Congress, I’ll fight all efforts to repeal Obamacare, because making sure millions of Americans get affordable health care is the right thing to do,” he continued.
And his television ads check through a host of progressive positions — reproductive rights, equal pay, “common sense” gun laws and a carbon tax....

The Supreme Court didn't like the idea states had to participate in the Affordable Care Act's medicaid expansion. That expansion can be legislated differently to bring Medicaid to more people in the country, but, it would take a majority in the US House to do it.

The court stated medicaid could not be denied if a state didn't participate. States outside the Affordable Care Act still receive Medicaid monies. They simply don't receive the expanded version for two years prescribed by the ACA.

The most obvious legislation is to bring 'free' Medicaid to each state for two years with the option to 'try and buy.' If the additional expansion of Medicaid proves an enhancement to the state's economy and increases the health of the people, the state can continue to receive the expanded Medicaid in the future with somewhat higher federal participation. Certainly, if nothing else, the monies left over from the refusal to expand Medicaid by some states can be used to pay for an additional percentage of participating states in their third and fourth years post ACA. It will require a Democratic majority in the US House to do that.

The reason to relegislate the expansion is the obvious need of those left to flounder in the real world without it. In Florida, there was a case of a hard working mother of three children that left a spouse behind as well when the lack of health care caused her death. There is every reason to readdress the Medicaid expansion.

Charlene Dill would be alive today if her family received the Medicaid available in the ACA expansion. Her three children would still have a mother and her spouse would have a co-bread winner to the household.

Why were the immigrant children such an issue lately?

Dave Brat, (click here) who is challenging House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) in Tuesday's primary, believes Cantor betrayed his district on amnesty and shares the blame for surge in illegal immigrant children flooding into the country. 

"One you announced that kids are welcome, they're going to head in," Brat said on Breitbart News Sunday of Cantor's support for giving the children of illegal immigrants amnesty and citizenship because he believes it is one of the "founding principles" of the country. ...

Eric Cantor was the Tea Party that was suppose to be in charge of keeping Speaker Boehner in line. Remember? Cantor was always a threatening presence to the Speaker.

There is nothing more terrifying to the Tea Party than "Border Babies." I do mean terrify. It goes like this. A Border Baby is going to grow up American and become President and take over the country. That Border Baby will turn the USA into a Muslim Holy Land, hence, laws banning Sharia Law.

Border baby' boom strains S. Texas
More illegal immigrants are pouring into the state to give birth

By James Pinkerton

September 24, 2006

Rising numbers (click here) of undocumented immigrants from Mexico and Central America are streaming into Texas to give birth, straining hospitals and costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, health officials say.

Doctors and health officials say they are overwhelmed by both the new arrivals and those immigrant mothers who already are in the state. Even Houston's feeling the pinch. An estimated 70 percent to 80 percent of the 10,587 births at Ben Taub General Hospital and Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital last year were to undocumented immigrants, administrators say.

Also feeling the strain is Starr County, an already poor South Texas county that has the region's only taxpayer-supported hospital district....

Immigrants "want a U.S.-born baby" and know that emergency room staffers don't collect any money up front, said Dr. Mario Rodriguez, an obstetrician in Starr County.

"The word is out: Come to Starr County and get delivered for free. Why pay $1,000 in Mexico when you can get it for free?" Rodriguez said....

It is a long standing hatred drummed up after September 11th. Remember the big fuss and the demonstrations about the Mosque in Lower Manhattan near ground zero. It was sacrilegious according to the right wing extremists. That hate lingers and lingers. Here it is again. 

It is part of the dogma of Muscular Christianity.

Wiki:

Muscular Christianity (click here) is a Christian commitment to piety and physical health, basing itself on the New Testament, which sanctions the concepts of character  and well-being.

The focus of hatred of Muslims stems from the Crusades. It is all part of a serious hatred that will not abate simply because there are anti-hate laws. As far as the right wing extremists are concerned there is a rightful place for the fear and hatred. That rightful place is based in history and real life experience.

There is a talk radio host affiliated with Dobson's Focus on the Family that coins himself as a "Muscular Christian." I can't recall his name at the moment. He means it. He lies about everything and facilitates the hate. In a recent issue with Bergdohl he stated the reason the parade was cancelled in his home town was because they won the war.

This entire idea of 'muscular' which of course is about the masculine authority (fighting spirit) of the christian family has been around awhile now.

Author Examines the Preacher's 'Muscular' Style (click here)
by STEVE INSKEEP
November 24, 200212:00 AM ET

All the designer gun laws written to stem violence aren't working, are they?

...10:47 a.m.: Reynolds students (click here) are now talking about what they heard and saw:

• The gunman wounded a teacher, then was trapped in a bathroom.
• The confusion that occurred about the number of gunmen at the scene apparently happened because two students were found carrying guns when authorities did a pat-down.
• A 14-year-old boy who was in the gym said he heard a loud noise. He and his friends thought something had fallen. It was a gunshot. 

10:39 a.m.: As parents waited at the Fred Meyer parking lot for their kids to arrive on buses from the high school, many talked about Todd Rispler, the lone teacher injured in the shooting. Nikki Vance, the mother of a junior at the school, said Rispler has taught at the school since at least 1999. She said he is a great coach. "He is one of those coaches that encourages and takes real pride in his students," she said. "I don't know anyone who doesn't like Todd."...

Universal background checks can't pass the US Congress.

Seven states have the toughest gun laws in the country and they have the lowest death rate.

"The Brady Campaign" (click here)

New Jersey has the highest population density in the country. Because of that reality the state has maintained stringent control of guns for decades. New Jersey is considered fifth in gun deaths in the nation and third in controlling guns into getting into dangerous hands.

Gun control works. It simply does. The only way to control gun deaths is to control guns.

I don't want to hear from the NRA how guns are supreme to human life and the right to live that life. We already know who the gun nuts are and they are criminals. They want to water down every gun law in the country because they have a philosophy of self-defense. They aren't interested in self-defense, they are interested in anarchy and dismantling the federal government. 

District of Columbia v. Heller - 07-290 (2008) (click here)

 1.(f) [...]

United States v. Miller, 307 U. S. 174, does not limit the right to keep and bear arms to militia purposes, but rather limits the type of weapon to which the right applies to those used by the militia, i.e., those in common use for lawful purposes. Pp. 47–54.

  2. Like most rights, the Second Amendment right is not unlimited. It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose:  For example, concealed weapons prohibitions have been upheld under the Amendment or state analogues. The Court’s opinion should not be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms.

The laws in states that obviously don't have success in preventing violence simply disobeys this precedent and allows guns in schools, parks, restaurants and any other public venue with the 'idea' having guns everywhere prevents deaths anywhere. 

It is not possible to have guns everywhere. Guns are expensive and expose the majority of Americans to make choices between gun purchase and paying the food bill. It is not reasonable to think Americans can own guns in the same way they pay the water bill. 

There is no statistic proving if there are guns present there are no deaths. Quite the contrary, the suicide rate among men result because of the presence of guns primarily.

Suicide is the third highest killer among the young in the USA. (click here) Where do we find homicide - suicides in the USA? Where do we find them most often involving violence against other young people? That's right schools. And what do we know? Suicide is the third highest reason for death among the young. And what is the favorite method of suicide? In 50.5 percent of the deaths in the USA of men that commit suicide it is guns. 

When are gun laws in the USA going to finally reflect what we know rather than what is politically correct according to the wealth merchant, the NRA?

How is the clean up of the contaminated rivers in North Carolina and Virginia resolved?

Don't place anyone one "on the dole." No inclusive environmental groups to oppress by legislating their ability to sue when the states closes down the clean up.

The clean up needs to be conducted through the authority of the US EPA Superfund capacity and the US Army Corp of Engineer dredging methodology.

Duke Energy is to be responsible for ALL THE CLEAN UP including any reimbursement to the EPA's Superfund and the US Army Corps oversight. 

End of discussion.

When a third party is overseeing the clean up it completely dissolves any and all conflict of interest. We know there is an inappropriate relationship between the NC Governor and Duke Energy. Any involvement by the State of North Carolina government that not only looked the other way, but, is being investigated for actively demoralizing DNR to the point of manipulating fines and outcomes; is gross malpractice of any judicial right to relief by the people of NC and Virginia.

There is no 'agreement' with the state governments that can be called anything but corruption. This is The Clean Water Act and it has federal jurisdiction. There will be no agreement between anyone in these circumstances that will hold water. Excuse the pun. This is a federal issue and there is no resolving it without the proper jurisdictional authority and oversight. Anything short of that reality is pure corruption, skirting the issue and seeking to dissolve Duke Energy of wrong doing.

WHERE IS THE NEW LEGISLATION FROM NORTH CAROLINE ENFORCING THE CLEAN WATER ACT to prevent this from ever happening again? It doesn't exist. Why? Because the state will dissolve the agreement as soon as it is signed and will not return to court to enforce any standards and the clean up will end. Now, why would an administration as corrupt as the McCrory administration ever sign legislation or write an executive order that demands enforcement of federal parameters as set by The Water Act?

North Carolina's executive administration is already in violation of the federal laws and the federal laws are still law of the land. In invoking substandard outcomes in the past, present and future, it is a foregone conclusion the McCrory administration are a bunch of zealot anarchists. The Clean Water Act is the law of the land, no different than Rowe v Wade, The Clean Air Act and The Endangered Species Act. These governors are anarchists and allow such behavior by their state legislators. They not only allow it by their signature to legislation that is illegal they encourage as seen with The Voting Rights Act.

CSLB San Marcos wildfire undercover sting from June 4, 2014

I found this reality of the California wildfires more than interesting. Scams to ensnare homeowners into contracts to repair the damage. Each illegal contract was in the thousands. And of course, regulating contractors is a big mistake. There should be no regulations at all right? Legitimate contractors made this exposure of fraud and abuse known so property owners could be protected.

The agreement McCrory administration has protected Duke Energy and has victimized the public.

June 9, 2014

By Michael Biesicker, Associated Press

Raleigh, N.C.

Environmental and wildlife officials (click here) in North Carolina and Virginia signed an agreement with Duke Energy Monday for the cleanup of toxic coal ash from the Dan River, which flows through the two states.

The agreement requires Duke to pay any "reasonable" cost associated with the Feb. 2 spill at its power plant near Eden, which coated 70 miles of the river in gray sludge. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is also a party to the deal....

...The nation’s largest electricity company has begun the task of vacuuming up large pockets of toxic ash that settled to the bottom of the river as far downstream as Danville, Virgina. Duke must also pay for the ongoing monitoring by government agencies of the spill’s impact on aquatic life.

The agreement places no cap on what the company might be required to spend. Duke said in April that it had spent $15 million on containing the spill and the immediate aftermath. But it reiterated in a regulatory filing to investors on Monday that it is unable to predict future costs for the cleanup, new laws passed in the wake of the spill or any environmental fines that might be levied against the company.

N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources spokeswoman Susan Massengale said Monday that the agreement provides "a process that attempts to avoid lawsuits by the parties," but does not bar the states from filing suit if the company does not uphold its commitments....       

What is the chance the states will file? The majority legislature in Virginia has just fallen to Republican influence in a scandal that will probably cost a woman a judgeship as well. Duke knows how to tie everyone up in knots, doesn't it? The so called agreement needs to be litigated.    

"They have lived in government housing since 1978," That is political rhetoric.

I am sure the Former Secretary knows what it is to pinch pennies, but, they do not know poverty. That is different. Both she and the former President have sought to end poverty in the USA. That is a fact.

This is not an aspiration book. This book was contemplated a long time ago. She was once asked after about two years as Secretary of State what she will do when she leaves office and she stated, "I am going to write." This was something she has longed to do and hasn't had time to do. This book was a long time in coming. 

...Hillary Rodham Clinton (click here) said Tuesday that she and former President Bill Clinton "fully appreciate how hard life is for so many Americans," seeking to refine remarks she made about the pair being "dead broke" when they left the White House.

At the same time, the former secretary of state dropped another hint that she might be leaning toward a second run for the presidency. Clinton said that she and her husband have "gone through some of the same challenges that many people have" and that they "understand what that struggle is."

In an interview on the day her book "Hard Choices" was being released, Clinton told ABC's "Good Morning America" that she and her husband left the White House roughly $12 million in debt at the end of his second term in early 2001. But she also acknowledged that "we've continued to be blessed in the last 14 years."...

But, true to form, the right wing is using the book for talking points. They have no ideas so they have to find their rhetoric where they can find it.

I should correct that, it isn't as though Republicans have no ideas, they simply have bad ideas based in crony politics. Privatizing SSI, vouchers for medicare, fracking. They have plenty ideas, they are just completely horrid ideas.

But one of the worse ideas was about the idea the Clintons have lived in public housing since 1978. That is hideous. It simply isn't true. It is maligning bullshit.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/government-politics/article513211/Hillary-Clinton-says-she-understands-hard-life.html#storylink=cpy

Time to leave Afghanistan. The withdrawal is long over dur.

Tue Jun 10, 2014 6:55am EDT

...The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) (click here) said the casualties occurred on Monday when the unit came into contact with enemy forces. It did not give the nationality of the dead soldiers.

Local police chief Ghulam Sakhi Roghlewanai said of the incident in Zabul province's Arghandab district: "The five killed were American soldiers who just returned from an operation when they were hit.

"ISAF troops were returning to their bases after an operation when they were ambushed by the insurgents. The air strike mistakenly hit their own forces and killed the soldiers."

A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, said insurgents had been attacking the foreign forces when the helicopters intervened and accidentally killed their own troops....

The soldiers were even involved in fighting when this occurred. They survived the ambush to be killed by their back up helicopter. ????????????????

They need to come home.

All the more reason to know whom comprises the militia, where they are and what they do with their time.

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- The married couple (click here) who police say killed three people in Las Vegas, including two officers, had been kicked off a ranch where anti-government protesters faced down federal agents earlier this year, rancher Cliven Bundy's son said Monday.

Ammon Bundy told The Associated Press that Jerad and Amanda Miller were asked to leave his father's ranch after being there for a few days this spring....