At last. I know my country and there are deaths that are violent and unnecessary.

471 US1 (1985)
Tennessee vs Garner, et.al.
No. 83-1030
Argued October 30, 1984
Decided March 27, 1985

A Tennessee statute provides that if, (click here) after a police officer has given notice of an intent to arrest a criminal suspect, the suspect flees or forcibly resists, "the officer may use all the necessary means to effect the arrest." Acting under the authority of this statute, a Memphis police officer shot and killed appellee-respondent Garner's son as, after being told to halt, the son fled over a fence at night in the backyard of a house he was suspected of burglarizing. The officer used deadly force despite being "reasonably sure" the suspect was unarmed and thinking that he was 17 or 18 years old and of slight build. The father subsequently brought an action in Federal District Court, seeking damages under 42 U.S.C. 1983 for asserted violations of his son's constitutional rights. The District Court held that the statute and the officer's actions were constitutional. The Court of Appeals reversed....

The activists have a law. The activists are undoubtedly correct. The prosecutors are very wrong. Why so many are disregarding this decision is outrageous.

Held:
The Tennessee statute is unconstitutional insofar as it authorizes the use of deadly force against, as in this case, an apparently unarmed, nondangerous fleeing suspect; such force may not be used unless necessary to prevent the escape and the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others. Pp. 7-22. [471 U.S. 1, 2]

(a) Apprehension by the use of deadly force is a seizure subject to the Fourth Amendment's reasonableness requirement. To determine whether such a seizure is reasonable, the extent of the intrusion on the suspect's rights under that Amendment must be balanced against the governmental interests in effective law enforcement. This balancing process demonstrates that, notwithstanding probable cause to seize a suspect, an officer may not always do so by killing him. The use of deadly force to prevent the escape of all felony suspects, whatever the circumstances, is constitutionally unreasonable. Pp. 7-12....

This federal decision supersedes any state or local law. These police forces and prosecutor's offices are operating on unconstitutional grounds.

JUSTICE WHITE delivered the opinion of the Court.

This case requires us to determine the constitutionality of the use of deadly force to prevent the escape of an apparently unarmed suspected felon. We conclude that such force may not be used unless it is necessary to prevent the escape and the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others....

The parents and spouses and families including children; have recourse though the federal system in the appellant courts. The local authorities have and are conducting unconstitutional police work. There is NOTHING that justifies '...I felt threatened.' That is hogwash. There has to be significant threat, not simply '...I felt threatened."

In using deadly force to prevent the escape, Hymon was acting under the authority of a Tennessee statute and pursuant to Police Department policy. The statute provides that "[i]f, after notice of the intention to arrest the defendant, he either flee or forcibly resist, the officer may use all the necessary means to effect the arrest." Tenn. Code Ann. [471 U.S. 1, 5]   40-7-108 (1982). 5 The Department policy was slightly more restrictive than the statute, but still allowed the use of deadly force in cases of burglary. App. 140-144. The incident was reviewed by the Memphis Police Firearm's Review Board and presented to a grand jury. Neither took any action. Id., at 57.

Garner's father then brought this action in the Federal District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, seeking damages under 42 U.S.C. 1983 for asserted violations of Garner's constitutional rights. The complaint alleged that the shooting violated the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution....

...The Court of Appeals reversed and remanded. 710 F.2d 240 (1983). It reasoned that the killing of a fleeing suspect is a "seizure" under the Fourth Amendment, 6 and is therefore constitutional only if "reasonable." The Tennessee statute failed as applied to this case because it did not adequately limit the use of deadly force by distinguishing between

felonies of different magnitudes....

It was a seven to two decision and Justice White wrote the majority opinion which included Sandra Day O'Connor and Thurgood Marshall. (click here)

710 F.2d 240, affirmed and remanded.

WHITE, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which BRENNAN, MARSHALL, BLACKMUN, POWELL, and STEVENS, JJ., joined. O'CONNOR, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which BURGER, C. J., and REHNQUIST, J., joined, post, p. 22.

...A police officer may arrest a person if he has probable cause to believe that person committed a crime. E. g., United States v. Watson, 423 U.S. 411 (1976). Petitioners and appellant argue that if this requirement is satisfied the Fourth Amendment has nothing to say about how that seizure is made. This submission ignores the many cases in which this Court, by balancing the extent of the intrusion against the need for it, has examined the reasonableness of [471 U.S. 1, 8]   the manner in which a search or seizure is conducted. To determine the constitutionality of a seizure "[w]e must balance the nature and quality of the intrusion on the individual's Fourth Amendment interests against the importance of the governmental interests alleged to justify the intrusion." United States v. Place, 462 U.S. 696, 703 (1983); see Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648, 654(1979); United States v. Martinez-Fuerte, 428 U.S. 543, 555 (1976). We have described "the balancing of competing interests" as "the key principle of the Fourth Amendment." Michigan v. Summers, 452 U.S. 692, 700, n. 12 (1981). See also Camara v. Municipal Court, 387 U.S. 523, 536 -537 (1967). Because one of the factors is the extent of the intrusion, it is plain that reasonableness depends on not only when a seizure is made, but also how it is carried out. United States v. Ortiz, 422 U.S. 891, 895 (1975); Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 28 -29 (1968)....

The deaths occurring in the USA of unarmed black men is over reach and is illegal. There is no way an 18 year old black man should be wrestled with and/or killed for $12 cigarillos.

There is no way a 12 year old boy should have been buried today for having a toy gun in a park. The country has to examine the qualifications of their police including how well they balance their power against reason.

A child's situation is very different from that of an adult. As soon as a police officer yells out "Drop the gun." an adult would understand that. But, for a police officer confronting a child there is no way a child can process those words into a real life circumstance. 

Tamir Rice was 12 years old and playing by himself in the park with a BB gun. To a child play is innocence of any wrong doing. Tamir liked to pay with his gun. If someone came along and stated "Drop your gun," it would be confusing to ask him to do that. To begin with it was his gun, a toy he was fond of and one of status to his idea of play. The last thing a child will do is give up a toy they cherish to anyone. It's their toy. 

The toy was a toy to Tamir. He wasn't causing harm, there was no danger to anyone and he might have even enjoyed being an annoyance to passerbys. That is mischief and testing the limits of his behavior with others. There is nothing illegal about being annoyance, especially if a child. 

When a police officer shouts "Drop the gun," to a child there is no reasonable thought process within that child's life experience he can draw on to carry out the order from the police officer. Tamir was 'an innocent.' He had no thoughts of violence and didn't understand how he could have a role in any violence. To Tamir it was a day in the park playing with his gun and scaring little old ladies, etc. 

The idea a police officer can apply adult content to a circumstance of a child is absurd. Completely absurd. When social workers and medical professionals practice their trade they have to take courses to qualify as a professional. Those course outline the growth and development of EVERY AGE of person from birth to death. The individual is to be interacted with an understanding of their ability to relate to the professional. 

Ever hear of Play Therapy. That exists because a child cannot express themselves in adult terms, but, can draw and color more of their feelings and thoughts that can be understood by professional adults.

The entire circumstance of the American Black Community is outrageous and to think children die because police didn't know how to be a professional is unthinkable.

Thank you, Lawrence O'Donnell. You finally have The Last Word.

Good night.

Nothing here makes sense. Even the four EMTs were suspended following Eric Garner's death.

First the grande jury limited their focus to the one police officer administering the chock hold and then found no cause to indict.

There is something really wrong here. Very wrong.

July 21, 2014
By Josh Margolin and Mark Crudele

The four EMTs (click here) who responded to the scene where New York City cops had taken Eric Garner down after an apparent chokehold and he died an hour later have been suspended without pay while their actions are being investigated.

The Fire Department of New York, which handles citywide emergency medical dispatch, on Sunday barred them from responding to 911 calls. The latest move is by Richmond University Medical Center, which employs them. The hospital declined to explain the decision.

"The EMTs are suspended without pay while the investigation continues as they are placed on operational restriction," the hospital said in a statement announcing the move. "This restriction means they are not working at this hospital or throughout the 911 system. Richmond University Medical Center continues to fully cooperate as this matter is under investigation."...

I saw this online and I need to speak to it.

MARA VERHEYDEN-HILLIARD, via Sarah Sloan, ss at justiceonline.org

Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, (click here) executive director of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, is quoted in this piece by Steven Rosenfeld for AlterNet: “Abusive Cop Picked to Head Police Reform Commission,” which states: “Philadelphia Police Chief Charles Ramsey, one of two co-chairs apppointed by President Obama to head a commission on ways to demilitarize local police, is known for leading repeated bloody and abusive crackdowns on protesters when he was Washington, D.C.’s chief a decade ago, according to a civil rights attorney who won millions in damages for hundreds of citizens attacked by D.C. police.

“‘If the president’s idea of reforming policing practices includes mass false arrests, brutality, and the eviscerating of civil rights, then Ramsey’s his man. That’s Charles Ramsey’s legacy in D.C.,’ said Mara Verheyden-Hilliard … speaking of the ex-D.C. chief and current Philadelphia Police Commissioner. ‘Obama should immediately rescind his appointment of Commissioner Ramsey, who is a mass violator of civil rights and civil liberties.’...

I commend Ms. Verheyden - Hilliard for coming forward with this information. I believe it to be important and she as well as her spouse should submit this information along with any other pertinent information to the commission.

In regard to Chief Charles Ramsey. You have to pick someone and considering how wide spread this problem is in the country there is a very good chance every law enforcement officer has something on their record to berserk the image of perfection.

March 23, 2010
By Theola Labbe' DeBose
When Carl Messineo and Mara Verheyden-Hilliard (click here) sued the District on behalf of hundreds of protesters arrested by D.C. police, their strategy all along was to do more than win a large settlement for the demonstrators.

They wanted to teach the city a lesson....

The husband and wife team are incredibly dedicated and I congratulate them on every case they won.

Below is an article regarding Chief Ramsey.

September 8, 2001
...D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey, (click here) talks about security issues and this weekend's anti-war protests on Friday, Sept. 28 at Noon EDT.
Several thousand protesters will take to District streets this weekend as anti-globalization protests have taken a new form as anti-war rallies. Working with other law enforcement groups, the D.C. police will help maintain order among protesters and anti-protesters this weekend.

What I liked about this article in realizing the character of Chief Ramsey is that he was willing to talk to people. He didn't mind explaining things to folks. That is a good thing, but, it is no longer post 911. It is thirteen years out from those attacks and the USA is different. The people are reflecting on privacy problems with the NSA and new type of communication devices. No matter how much the political right wing wants to keep the terror alive it isn't actually a chronic problem. There are some startle problems like decapitated Americans in Syria and the new Ebola outbreak, but, after the startle goes away Americans can see their folly in over reacting.

The fact that Chief Ramsey came down hard on protesters in 2002 and 2004 doesn't surprise me. There was a lot of stuff going on at the time. Police were investing things like "Peace Fesno," a group in California. There were also sharp shooters on roofs whenever peace protesters were marching. In a method to counter balance the fear of sharp shooters and keep a safe margin in check, there were helicopters flying above and recording the pictures of the march. The years of Bush were nothing but oppressive. In addition to sharpshooters there was the occasional National Guard tank responding to a peace demonstration. It definitely was a time Americans began to be aware of what privacy and freedom was all about as they gave it up willingly, including body scans in airline terminals.

To believe there is some liberal police chief that didn't participate in any of the oppressive measures in play at that time would mean looking through unemployment rolls to find them there.

I am grateful for the commission President Obama has begun. It is vitally important to do this work for the country. Chief Ramsey's memory and service as a police officer didn't start in 2002. He has been involved in policing for a long time and remembers days in this country when it was far different. He also witnessed the program under Bush that militarized the country's police. 

I am sure there are going to many people involved in submitting information to this commission including the public. The commission hasn't begun to address this issue yet and is still in their early days of organizing. I am confident with so many involved both from the public's participation to those that will be assembled for the commission work itself there will be a thorough report complied and provided to President Obama. I am sure the commission will assemble all kinds of numbers of pre and post 911 up to current to valid facts that coordinate with the tragedies we are witnessing as a country.

Most of all there are Americans like Carl Messineo and Mara Verheyden-Hilliard so will scrutinize every fact and word of the final report. We are counting on you to help the country get it right. I am not worried. Sincerely not worried. We need to begin, because, the commission will be in process for only 90 days only.

A similar circumstance existed when Arnold Schwarzenegger was running for Governor.

However, Ahnold was able to overcome it. It was viewed as a relationship problems when he wasn't married and a body builder.

December 3, 2014

By Laura Bradley

...In the whirlwind of outrage around Bill Cosby, (click here) many people have asked why, given how long ago the first rape allegations against him became public, no one called him out sooner. But 30 Rock appears to have done just that—it just took most of us five years to get the joke.

In its third season, in an episode called “The Bubble,” Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) hatches a plan to bring back one of TGS’s big stars, Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan). He asks a Bill Cosby impersonator to convince Jordan to come back, since Cosby is “one of Tracy’s childhood idols.” Jenni Maier at Crushable noted on Tuesday that what transpires from there seems to evoke the rape allegations against Cosby, which by then had been public knowledge for several years:...

It is somewhat suspicious of the motives to bring this out of the dust bin as the USA is addressing the deaths of unarmed black men, however, Mr. Cosby was about to launch a new television program, so the outrageous is most important in understanding the motives. The women are correct to bring their complaints to the public in the light of a new program. Ten years ago this all would have been denied and dismissed. Times have changed.

The new Commission appointed is the only hope to change the fact police officers kill when they shouldn't.

December 3, 2014
By Josh Margolin

...Here are five things you need to know: (click here)

Location:

The case is being heard by a grand jury on Staten Island, officially known as Richmond County.

The District Attorney's office is well-regarded, but remains the smallest of the five D.A.’s offices in New York City. It is also the only office headed by a Republican, Daniel Donovan. Staten Island is the only borough of New York City where the Republican Party has any real presence whatsoever.

Historically, police officers from nearby boroughs such as Brooklyn and Queens live or have lived on Staten Island....

A jury of your peers. There is better than 50% chance there were families of police officers on the grande jury.

August 4 2014
By J. David Goodman
...For two weeks after the death (click here) of a Staten Island man in police custody, frustration simmered as the city awaited the results of the autopsy. The mayor offered sympathy. The police promised better training. But now, with the medical examiner’s conclusion that the death was a homicide, by chokehold and chest compression, the investigation — and most significantly, the question of whether to prosecute any police officers — rests in the hands of the Staten Island district attorney’s office.

It is a decision fraught with legal and political complications, all the more so because Staten Island is home to many police officers and, more than any other borough, is seen as sympathetic to law enforcement....

...Joel Berger, a civil rights lawyer who worked for the city’s Law Department, said that the criminal justice system was often ill suited to handle allegations of police misconduct. That can be particularly true in places like Staten Island, where support for the police is so strong. “There’s always the possibility, Staten Island being Staten Island, that they won’t indict,” Mr. Berger said....

This is wrongful death and absolutely negligent homicide. It has to be a civil case now. The system is unresponsive to any conviction of officers. It would appear to be systemic throughout the country. I don't know how much changed in holding police accountable during the Bush White House, but, my guess is much of the laws were reduced to nothing. It was after Bush was in office for a year or two after 911 the police nationwide started using bullet barrages against citizens.

The country is riddled with this now. The commission President Obama called for will receive evidence. All this has to be submitted to the commission. Especially helpful will be witnesses present with first hand information.

It is amazing how far a racist will go to defame the victim.

When Jermell Hasson (click here) agreed to let Riverfront Times take his photo for a story about Ferguson protesters, he had no idea someone would later turn it into a viral and inflammatory meme.

Hasson carried a sign in front of the Ferguson police station that read: "No mother should have to fear for her son's life every time he leaves home. #blacklivesmatter #stayhuman"

Months later, a doctored photo of him holding a sign that says, "No mother should have to fear for her son's life every time he robs a store," has gone viral....

This is the original picture. The reason the racist went to this extreme is because supposedly Michael Brown, Jr. was as heinous a criminal as the heinous death he suffered. It is suppose to equate the killing and raise the police to saintly success.

The racists that can only see the oppression of people of color didn't bother to realize any criminal record Michael Brown, Jr. had was as a MINOR. Remember, he was 18 when he was murdered.

Brown family attorney Anthony Gray (click here) also attended the hearing and said, ‘To bring up someone`s past as a child and to somehow say that has some influence as to how they behave two years later, I just think is very unfair and very contradictory to public policy of the State of Missouri.’

Gray believes the juvenile officer made it clear in court that nothing exists....

The law treats juvenile records as a sealed document when the person in question comes of age. The law does that for every racist and his or her children, too. Unfortunately for America, FOX News always taints the truth to mold it into public perception that drives them to the polls in elections.

This is a prime example of how FOX taints the public dialogue while driving racism into the category of legitimate. They protect the racist and makes those 'unachievable' dreams appear a high priority for elections. Thanks, this was a really good sample.

Challenge to MSNBC.

Will Rachel Maddow every where a red jacket during the holiday season?

Or maybe an elf hat.

Or maybe that musical elf hat Mika wore this morning. 

Or maybe a Santa suit. 

Last year, Mika and Joe wore their pajamas on the day after Christmas or New Years. One of those days.

This is the holiday season and if you believe in any god it is not the problem here. Atheism has a spiritual component to it, too. It is the spirituality of the individual that requires an uplifting feeling. If the Pope has the corner on that spirituality, more power to him. Literally. Who knows, maybe the ratings might go up if MSNBC actually finds passive ways to celebrate the holidays. Even the Jews have a Hanukkah bush starting December 16th.

Loosen up folks, politics can have it's happy quotient.

Ashton Carter has plenty of foreign affairs experience. The problem is not the nominee, it is the Congress.

Ashton Carter answers a reporter's question during a March 2013 news conference at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea.

December 2, 2014
President Obama (click here) is likely to nominate Ashton Carter as his next secretary of defense, CNN, The Associated Press, The Washington Post and The New York Times are reporting.

Carter served as the No. 2 defense official under Leon Panetta, and while he's relatively unknown to the public, he's regarded as having a great intellect.

NPR has not independently confirmed Carter's nomination.

In a profile, the AP reports that Carter "has bachelor's degrees in physics and medieval history from Yale University and received his doctorate in theoretical physics from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes scholar."...

Now this is leadership. Dismantle the Hastert Rule.

December 2, 2014

By Scott Wang, Rebecca Shabad and Christina Marcos

After two years of constant fighting, (click here) Republicans and Democrats are laying down their arms and working to strike deals in the hopes of leaving town at the end of next week.

While there are voices of dissent in both parties, congressional leaders appear to be coalescing around legislation that would fund the government through September, likely avoiding the shutdown fight that threatens to keep them working through the holidays....

Oh, one other thing the FACTS about the national debt and deficit points to the correct path for the country. Now. What do Republicans have to rant about when it comes to the ever shrinking national debt?

If Democrats would stop being on the defensive and listen to their party leader, namely President Obama, the achievements under this President are astounding. The economy is only the beginning. The extremism of the Republicans in regard to the national debt and deficit have no basis in fact.

Ah. But, they signed that promise about taxes and otherwise. Oops. 

Congressional leaders such as Minority Leader Pelosi and progressive leaders elsewhere such as Senator Bernie Sanders; should be proud of the passage to The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. 

Why?

Because the earliest trends noted in regard to health care is a reduction in costs. For as long as there has been health care insurance the real problem were health care costs. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is showing a reduction in health care costs at the introduction of the insurance pools. 

That reduction if it continues, which I don't know why it wouldn't, almost solve and may actually solve the imposition of Medicare on our overall national debt. The law is correct. The enforcement of it is vital. And the nightmare of $17 trillion or more national debt is changing with this law.

We have just gone through the worst recession ever in history. It is only dwarfed by the Great Depression. YET. There is all this forward movement of the economy and the reduction of the national deficit which in turn is reducing the national debt incrementally as the changes in economic growth and reduction of medical costs unfold. Think about that. President Obama has lead this nation from the worst economic disaster of our time. When I realize the scope and breathe of his leadership it is overwhelming.

There are very real reasons the Republicans fear him, depersonalize him, enter unrealistic criticism and make him appear fare less a leader than he actually is. If any Republican stated, President Obama's achievements have been incredible, it would destroy the party.

Oh. Yeah. Unrealistic hope?

One would think any political opponent would have an easy time proving the hopes the Republican candidates tout as theirs alone and achievable. That would be true. It should be easy. 

However, what makes Republicans believe they can achieve the unachievable?

In one word, God.

The Republicans still believe they can have everything they want so long as the laws of the USA reflect the reverence to God needed to fall into favor with the Almighty. Redemption.

The Republicans have a main line directly to the cloud network to employ God.

That is it in a nutshell. This entire political paradigm the right wing has manifested are the unanswered hopes of their religious beliefs. They have taken the redemption of any one personal soul to the entire of the USA and it's ability to conduct very realistic war, too. 

Hey, look, it works in Texas. Perry's supporters are completely religious extremists in their support of their candidates. So, no different in their redemption theory, if the country succumbs to redemption, they are among THE CHOSEN to make it to heaven.

These people are wackos, but, they aren't so crazy to realize there are majority of Catholic voters in the USA and while protestants and other faiths don't necessarily object to abortions, the Pope does. It is the Pope and other religious leaders in the Catholic faith that hold the most power over the elections to put Republicans into office.

Ask yourself, how many government officials at the federal level and even state for that matter, are Catholic?

Think about it in the context of how Republicans are elected. They carry the religious social beliefs of the Vatican, that's how.

Unrealistic hope is what drives Republican donors and voters.

The reason the antics of Republicans are beginning now is to drive the hope there will be enough political oppression so they have a 2/3rds majority to defeat any Presidential veto and carry out impeachment to place Speaker Boner in the White House. The Repuglicans, including Boner, will carry on like this until the 2016 elections. They believe flying in the face of a consistently growing economy (which by the way is SUPPOSE to be occurring with the up spring of small local economic growth), falling national deficit, reducing fiscal impact of Medicare and reducing permanent increases to the national debt); a dysfunctional government compromising the gains of the Obama Economy will bring voters to their side. 

They have amazing egos, don't they?

Small local economies have larger fiscal caches of money than companies in a collective assessment. However, that cache of cash and credit within a small business local economy is divided by the number of entrepreneurs. The ability of this economic growth to be a FLASH IN THE PAN ECONOMY is nearly zero percent of having 2008 happen again. 

We want consistent and sustainable growth in the USA. Flash in the pan economies are those of Wall Street bubble and bust.

Wasn't it President Obama who stated in 2009 the USA needs a stable and sustainable economy? Yes, it was. He has achieved yet another promise.

For the past three years President Obama has registered deficit reduction and will pass into a surplus before he leaves office.

Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Robust economic growth has helped push the U.S. budget deficit down to the lowest level since 2008, marking the sharpest turnaround in the government’s fiscal position in at least 46 years. Bloomberg View Columnist Peter Orzag and Evercore President and CEO Ralph Schlosstein weigh in on “In The Loop.” Orzag’s opinions are his own. (Source: Bloomberg)

"Medicare spending has, in particular, has decelerated dramatically..."

November 4, 2014
By Christopher Condon

...Robust economic growth (click here for video) has helped push the U.S.budget deficit down to the lowest level since 2008, marking the sharpest turnaround in the government’s fiscal position in at least 46 years.

The shortfall of $483.4 billion in the 12 months ended Sept. 30 was 2.8 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product of $17.2 trillion over the same period, according to data compiled by Bloomberg using Commerce Department figures. The figure peaked at 10.1 percent of GDP in December 2009....

Any government shutdown will toy with the economy has made and the increasing reduction in the national debt. Republicans don't know how to govern. They want to play politics and win elections.

The falling deficit and shrinking national debt is only occurring because of the economic growth realized by the Obama administration.

Government shutdowns are not governing, it is surrendering to the extremists and putting the country and the American people in peril. It is absolutely hideous to hear the Republicans talk about shutting down Homeland Security and any US agency contributing to the new immigration policy because they have been screaming about the "leaky southern border" in every election. If they defund Homeland Security there will be no one on the border to stop the leak. No border security guards. Nothing. No bridge agents to examine documents to determine if a person is entering illegally. 

If they defund Homeland Security, "the ISIS carrying Ebola" will succeed without interruption. The US House is completely dysfunctional with Speaker Boner surrendering to right wing extremism. This will not get any Republican elected in 2016. The nation will become disgusted with the antics and there won't be a fair hearing of the Republican, regardless of the candidate, in any presidential debate.

No Democrat should be running away from the national debt. The President's economy has been assaulting it on a regular basis. There is every indication the Obama Economy will result in a BUDGET SURPLUS no different than that of Former President Clinton at about the same time as the Clinton Surplus; the last year of his second term. President Obama needs to apply the surplus to the national debt through executive authority and/or SSI and Medicare to return the funds lost do to the Great Recession.

How is the economy contributed? At the very least through added revenues into the USA treasury. Then remove interest to be paid on the debt and there is some significant reduction to the national deficit and the national debt.

"One of the reasons there has been growing in the economy and a reduced deficit is because there has been no drama regarding any fiscal cliff...the national debt ceiling and the budget will present itself again in the spring...there has been consistent growth of the economy...the only thing interrupting that would be exogenous misbehavior by our politicians in Washington and there is an overseas threat as well.

There is no leadership in the US House. I doubt there will be any in the Senate after January. Why? President Obama's legacy. The fact of the matter is his legacy is well in place and it is the Congress that has the worst legacy on record.