Karl Rove has predicted on his "White Board" the next President would be a Governor.

"Let's think about that for a minute."

I don't want ALEC writing the laws of the USA. I believe that is true of many Americans besides me. 

Governors that are members of ALEC. These are only a few. (click here for entire list)

• Governor John Kasich (Ohio), identified by ALEC as involved in its formative years
• Former Governor Frank Keating (Oklahoma)
• Governor Bob McDonnell (Virginia)
• Governor Rick Perry (Texas), ALEC member as of 1990, and received the "Thomas Jefferson Freedom Award" from ALEC in 2010
• Governor Scott Walker (Wisconsin)

Never once did ALEC state anything about health in relation to greenhouse gases.

...These changes (click here) threaten America's health and welfare for current and future generations. Public health risks include:

• More heat waves and drought
• Worsening smog (also called ground-level ozone pollution)
• Increasing the intensity of extreme events, like hurricanes, extreme precipitation and flooding
• Increasing the range of ticks and mosquitoes, which can spread disease such as Lyme disease and West Nile virus

Our most vulnerable citizens, including children, older adults, people with heart or lung disease and people living in poverty may be most at risk from the health impacts of climate change.

I don't know why ALEC would be so avoidant of addressing health concerns, there were plenty of organizations about with established research. As a matter of fact in California the American Lung Association has three bills passed to combat greenhouse gases.

The American Lung Association in California (click here) was instrumental in passing two landmark bills that will significantly reduce fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions:

• AB 1493 – requires car companies to make cleaner cars with extremely low emissions of greenhouse gases for 2009 to 2016 model years.
  Advanced Clean Cars standards - adopted in 2012, requires car companies to produce even cleaner vehicles from 2017 to 2025, including a requirement that approximately 15 percent of vehicles sold in 2025 be powered by zero emission technologies.
  
• AB 32 – sets the nation's first cap on greenhouse gas emissions. The law requires California's emissions to be reduced to 1990 levels by 2020 – a 25 percent reduction.  This law also establishes a system to monitor progress and make sure that the emission reductions are made on schedule.

A current focus of the American Lung Association in California's fight against climate change is in protecting California's clean air leadership that has resulted in key life-saving pollution reduction programs.

This is what ALEC siad:

This is probably the only time I ever agreed with ALEC. I don't think a Wall Street game should be made of greenhouse gases. I realize people use them anyway and that is fine. Such initiatives for Global Citizens is a matter of conscience. I understand that. 

But, my heart of hearts has told me one thing and one thing only, REGULATE. Simply served straight up regulations. Let there be no doubt or any math that has to determine the EXCHANGE of carbon credits. Easy, without a doubt regulation.

 

There are about eleven other "Whereas" before these. 

 

...WHEREAS, (click here) state regulations of carbon dioxide emission standards for motor vehicles is tantamount to a state version of federal fuel economy mandates that reduces consumer choice by restricting production of larger, heavier vehicles that provide more utility and passenger safety; and
WHEREAS, states can best encourage greater implementation of innovative technologies through market based consumer incentives and support public/private partnerships that promote the development of advanced technologies; and

WHEREAS,

the President’s Global Warming Initiative stresses the importance of science in guiding policy and actions that are consistent with the need to maintain healthy economic growth. It also places increased emphasis on improving the state of climate science, so that policy actions are consistent with our state of knowledge.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED

that the American Legislative Exchange Council supports the free market principles contained within the President’s initiative as a cost- effective and scientifically guided national program to address the climate change issue.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED

that the American Legislative Exchange Council is opposed to mandatory or “voluntary” carbon dioxide emission standards and the use of greenhouse transferable credits as a tool for environmental policy or regulation.

I have a little story of my own.

Today power plants are allowed to dump unlimited amounts of carbon pollution into the atmosphere — there are no rules in effect that limit their emissions of carbon dioxide, the primary driver of global warming.

Now, for the first time, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is developing new rules, or standards, that will reduce carbon emissions from power plants. These standards, known as the Clean Power Plan (click here), are being developed under the Clean Air Act, an act of Congress that requires the EPA to take steps to reduce air pollution that harms the public's health.

These historic standards are a centerpiece of the president's Climate Action Plan and represent the most significant opportunity in years to help curb the growing consequences of climate change.

In 2003, I was involved in all sorts of environmental and species activities. I also was a Conservation Chair for a Sierra Club. I served in the State Working Group to write the By Laws and Constitution of the first Conservation Council for North Carolina. I was the person that prepared the final submission that would become the basis of the Conservation Council. It was becoming an autonomous activity of the state organization. It took nearly six months or more to complete all the meetings and come up with the wording for the two documents. We met about every two weeks until it was finished.

That is not even the story I was thinking about.

While I was involved in Sierra Club, "The New Source Review" came up as it does every five years under "The Clean Air Act." It is to report any new sources of emissions pertinent to the law. I took part in that review in 2003. I first prepared a 24 page testimony. Mine are usually long with references that are not on a separate page. So, the references are made directly in the text so there can be no mistakes. Not very long to type (Smith, 2000, pp. 114 - 115). That sort of thing. 

Besides the 24 pages of written testimony I traveled to Raleigh and gave 5 minutes of testimony at a time provided to me by appointment. It was recorded by two gentlemen from the EPA to be played and recorded into the final analysis of The New Source Review. I believe the date was May 2nd.

It was about a month or so later, then President George W. Bush walked out to speak to journalists in the Rose Garden. I nearly hit the floor when I realized his EPA had become upset by my words in testimony only a few weeks before. He stated, "There is on such thing as global warming and carbon dioxide could never be a toxic gas."

You see, those were my words; "Global warming is real and carbon dioxide at high levels is a toxic gas." My testimony was most probably the first time anyone had enough guts to put CO2 in "The New Source Review." Traditionally, it was about NOX and SOX and ozone, things like that. I just added one more, that's all.

See citizen testimony is very important. It carries weight when the Committees get the information that was generated by the EPA when they gather information under laws like The New Source Review. It was not long after that Senator Barbara Boxer started to talk about CO2 and the need for regulations in her committees regarding the environment. 

The ball was rolling and there was nothing "W" could do about it except Huff and Puff and stomp his feet. 

So, here we are now with 11 years having passed and the EPA finally has regulations for CO2.

Yep.

ALEC said to simply withdraw from Regional Climate Initiatives

Just like that without any authority or valid science or respect for the electorate and taxpayers; the state legislatures are suppose to withdraw from a climate initiative years in the making having spent millions. 

The organization called ALEC is draconian to good governance and dismantles any decided laws that benefit the citizens of countries. All of a sudden the states in the USA are suppose to simply DROP OUT of decided governance.  

ALEC is anti-American. 

WHEREAS, (click here) there has been no credible economic analysis of the costs associated with carbon reduction mandates and the consequential effect of the increasing costs of doing business in the State of ______;

 WHEREAS, forcing business, industry, and food producers to reduce carbon emissions through government mandates and cap-and-trade policies under consideration for the regional climate initiative will increase the cost of doing business, push companies to do business with other states or nations, and increase consumer costs for electricity, fuel, and food;

WHEREAS, the Congressional Budget Office warns that the cost of cap-and-trade policies will be borne by consumers and will place a disproportionately high burden on poorer families;

WHEREAS, simply reducing carbon emissions in the State of ______ will not have a significant impact on international carbon reduction, especially while countries like China, Russia, Mexico, and India emit an ever-increasing amount of carbon into the atmosphere;

WHEREAS, a tremendous amount of economic growth would be sacrificed for a reduction in carbon emissions that would have no appreciable impact on global concentrations of CO2;

WHEREAS, no state or nation has enhanced economic opportunities for its citizens or increased Gross Domestic Product through cap and trade or other carbon reduction policies; and

WHEREAS, Europe’s cap and trade system has been undermined by political favoritism, accounting tricks and has failed to achieve the carbon reduction targets,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the legislature of the State of ______ urges the Governor to withdraw [state] from the regional climate initiative.

Approved by ALEC Board of Directors in 2010.

The cost? There is an entire industry dedicated to making meetings meet the standards of those that attend.

Convention Industry Council (click here)

International Standards (click here)

It costs plenty. Most of these government working groups meet more than just once or twice. Their work begins years in advance of the actual final product that will be submitted for legislation and/or regulation.

The True Value of Government Meetings (click here)

These monies are not spent to benefit the politician, but, for the overall good of the people they serve.

How much money is spent on collaboration and meetings to achieve an outcome in government policy, especially when it is international?

North America 2050 (click here)

Summary: A diverse array of states and provinces launched North America 2050: A Partnership for Progress (NA2050) in March 2012. NA2050 participants committed to policies that move their jurisdictions toward a low carbon economy while creating jobs, enhancing energy security, protecting public health and the environment, and demonstrating climate leadership. NA2050 was a multi-state, multi-regional collaborative working toward mitigating the impacts of climate change and advancing clean energy, carbon capture and sequestration, and industrial energy efficiency benchmarking. C2ES served as one of five nonprofit advisory groups for the NA2050 partnership. As of 2014, NA2050 is no longer active.

History: NA2050 was the successor to the 3-Regions Initiative, which was a collaboration among members of the three North American regional cap-and-trade programs: the Midwestern Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, and the Western Climate Initiative.
NA2050 was composed of six working groups, which collectively facilitated dialogue among governments, private sector entities, NGOs, and academic institutions. Each working group provided topical support to participating jurisdictions based on members’ priorities. C2ES was lead advisor to the Industry 2050 Working Group and the Sequestration Working Group.

And ALEC said...

...WHEREAS, Congressman Geoff Davis [KY-04], (click here) Senator Rand Paul [R-KY] and many of their colleagues have introduced the REINS Act as H.R. 10 and S. 299 in the U.S. House and Senate respectively; and

WHEREAS,the REINS Act would require that Congress must pass a joint resolution of approval to be signed by the President for each new majorregulation proposed by the executive branch before it may be enforced against the American people; and

WHEREAS, the REINS Act also retains existing law permitting Congress to disapprove non-major regulations (5 USC 801-808) to ensure that Congressional accountability is present for every federal regulation; and
WHEREAS,the REINS Act effectively limits the scope of regulation-making permission granted to the executive branch; and

WHEREAS, the REINS Act’s required accountability will improve the quality of federal regulations by reintroducing the importance of input from elected representatives into the regulation-making process; and...

The REINS Act is unconstitutional. Does ALEC care? No.

"The REINS Act" - Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act - R.E.I.N.S.

Shown Here:
Introduced in Senate (02/26/2013)

Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act of 2013 (click here) or the REINS Act - States that the purpose of this Act is to increase accountability for and transparency in the federal regulatory process.
Revises provisions relating to congressional review of agency rulemaking to require a federal agency promulgating a rule to include in its report to Congress and to the Comptroller General (GAO) a classification of the rule as a major or nonmajor rule.
Requires a joint resolution of approval of major rules to be enacted before such rules may take effect. Provides that if a joint resolution of approval is not enacted by the end of 70 session days or legislative days, as applicable, after the agency proposing the rule submits its report on such rule to Congress, the major rule shall be deemed not to be approved and shall not take effect. Permits a major rule to take effect for one 90-calendar day period without such approval if the President determines it is necessary because of an imminent threat to health or safety or other emergency, for the enforcement of criminal laws, for national security, or to implement an international trade agreement.
Sets forth the congressional approval procedure for major rules and the congressional disapproval procedure for nonmajor rules.... 

The Republicans have an agenda in regard to regulating the Executive Branch. The current attack on The Undocumented is just more of the same. The Executive Branch is responsible for writing regulations from the laws passed by the Congress.
 

With the success of the EPA at the Supreme Court, ALEC had a fit.

Resolution in Opposition to EPA's Regulation of Greenhouse Gases from Mobile Sources (click here)

To read through ALEC's plans to defeat and or reverse the EPA's Supreme Court Decision it is completely obvious the ideas are contrived out of 'Playing with Words.' It has no basis in fact. Why does this organization get away with manipulating the laws of the USA?

June 23, 2014

By  Robert Barnes

The Supreme Court on Monday (click here) mostly validated the Environmental Protection Agency’s plans to regulate major sources of greenhouse-gas emissions such as power plants and factories but said the agency had gone too far in interpreting its power.
The court’s bifurcated opinion on one hand criticized the agency for trying to rewrite provisions of the Clean Air Act. But it nevertheless granted the Obama administration and environmentalists a big victory by agreeing that there are other ways for the EPA to reach its goal of regulating the gases that contribute to global warming.
“It bears mention that EPA is getting almost everything it wanted in this case,” Justice Antonin Scalia said in announcing his opinion from the bench. “It sought to regulate sources that it said were responsible for 86 percent of all the greenhouse gases emitted from stationary sources nationwide. Under our holdings, EPA will be able to regulate sources responsible for 83 percent of those emissions.”...

83 %

"Heads Up"

There is something rather odd occurring. This is a major change in wind direction.

I hope everyone is paying attention. The wind speeds (click here) are high coming out of the north.

Surface wind data comes from the National Digital Forecast Database.

I keep a few earth satellites open when I open the computer. I just happened to have looked at this quickly. The wind this morning was very different. There is something major on the way.

April 19, 2015
2230.19z
UNISYS North and West Hemisphere Water Vapor satellite (click here for 12 hour loop - thank you)

This is UNISYS 2 hours ago.

It might be easier to see on enhanced infrared. This is the same satellite view but in Enhanced Infrared. (click here for 12 hour loop - thank you.)

Most of the time when I view this water vapor satellite it is air masses moving west to east or vortexes heading the same direction. This looks really strange UNTIL the perspective is as if I were looking straight down on a vortex forming with it's center on the Midwest.

The ICZ is populated with water vapor so there isn't much water vapor populating that vortex. It is somewhat difficult to understand because it is not obvious. I hope I am dead wrong. This is nothing like I've ever seen before.

Here is another one. (click here) 


It appears to be water vapor rushing down from the north. There is no other turbulence anywhere in North America. It is very different. The other turbulence is outside the North American continent.

Yep. It is the water vapor coming in from the north. Ah. Oh. I hear the wind picking up outside. EVERYONE HOLD ON TO THEIR HATS. Here it comes. 

Heavy rain. Wind was the front and it has settled down now. 

The source field (click here) is enormous. The air mass coming from the west is very dry. All the water vapor is coming from Canada and the Arctic Circle.

Very occasional wind gusts, other than that rain without wind at all. Peculiar. 

Lower North West Michigan. 

There it is. The water vapor with wind.

It is Sunday Night.

That is a fairy tatoo.

"Alec Eiffel" by the Pixies (click here)

Pioneer of aerodynamics
(little eiffel, little eiffel)

they thought he was real smart alec
(little eiffel, little eiffel)

he thought big they called it a phallic
(little eiffel, little eiffel)

they didn't know he was panoramic
little eiffel stands in the archway
(little eiffel, little eiffel)

keeping low doesn't make no sense
sometimes people can be oh so dense
they didn't want it but he built it anyway
(little eiffel, little eiffel)

little eiffel stands in the archway
(little eiffel, little eiffel)

keeping low don't make sense
keeping low doesn't make no-sense
(little eiffel, little eiffel)

little eiffel stands in the archway
oh alexander i see you beneath
the archway of aerodynamics.

In respect of my dear Uncle Jack.

I just received word that my uncle passed on. This is going to be a rough one for the family. My Uncle Jack was a really nice man. He served in the Korean Conflict. He was the shortest of his sibling brothers and after he returned home he could not find work so he became an amateur boxer. He did okay, too. But, then he met my Aunt Ruth and the rest is history. Eventually he would go to work for Ford Motor Company. He was there for decades until he retired. 

My grandmother used to tell a story about my Uncle Jack. She prayed the rosary without fail everyday of her life. Jack was in the service. Of all things he was on reconnaissance. My grandmother never knew until she told him the story when he was finally home. 

She said one day this feeling came over her and she thought my Uncle Jack had been killed. She said she didn't know why, but, it was a feeling of dread. She sat down and prayed the rosary and a few other prayers to over come the feelings. Later, Jack was home and was living with his parents at first. One morning she was preparing breakfast and she asked him if he ever had close calls while in the service. He stated, yes. He then told about a time when he was in a jeep on reconnaissance when some shelling began. It was enemy fire. The jeep was hit and the other three men with him died. He was taken to a hospital and recovered. It was his injuries that brought him home.

My grandmother sat down at the table pale and weak. He said he wanted to know what was wrong. She told him about the terrible dread she felt about a month or so ago. He stated that was about the time of the incident in Korea. My grandmother cried and told him God brought him back to her. She had five sons. Two had served in the military. They both came home from their time in the service. 

So, in remembrance of my Uncle Jack and his loving Mother, I can say I know where he is long about now and I feel no dread.

I have a few things I want to put out on the net tonight, so I'll be a minute more.

Until April 1, 2015 there was no path for Palestine to access the World Court, which is a concern.

This is from "The Daily Beast."

April 17, 2015

...Palestine’s membership in the International Criminal Court, (click here) formalized on April 1, 2015, caused consternation in both the United States and Israel. The ICC has a mandate to prosecute genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vocally questioned the ICC’s authority and called on Israel’s allies to resist cooperating with investigations of Israeli officials should they be indicted....

It would seem as though once an ethnic minority is classified as a terrorist group there is no way for them to report any human rights abuses, except, for public forums.

Evidently, The Daily Beast believes there will be political solutions and not criminal hearings because of charges and counter charges. It isn't as though Palestine does not have ground to stand on, but, their position with Hamas is expected to dilute any authority to file charges. 

...The allegations that Hamas fighters used human shields and fired unstable rockets at civilian areas, if proven, almost certainly constitute war crimes. By contrast, allegations against Israel are much more complex, and largely matters of proportion: for instance, whether the Israeli military provided sufficient warning before attacking residential buildings or caused excessive collateral damage pursuing low-level Hamas fighters...

Quite frankly, the political exchanges  between Israel and Palestine is over. That ended when the Palestinian Authority claimed Hamas as a concern and incorporated into their authority. Hamas is not making application to the World Court, so much as Palestine is on the behalf of all the Palestinian people in Gaza.

Israel has shown their unmitigated power structure when Netanyahu simply used the floor of the US Congress for his political ambitions. That was suppose to demonstrate the USA's military power was at Israel's disposal. I don't think so. 

The USA doesn't have sovereignty if another country can simply complain about an ethnic group of people and involve the USA in a police action and/or military action. The fact of the matter is the USA has to assess the actions of Israel, otherwise, it may be considered for the World Court along with Israel.  

Iran will have internationally legal, peaceful use of nuclear power as a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. I am sure that is rather a concern for Israel, but, international treaties and agreements are suppose to have meaning. 

I wish Israel great success in growing better relations with Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza. 

Isn't that right Senator Corker. Israel needs to provide for the Palestinian two state solution? Or is Senator Corker more attune to violence and poverty for all people?  

It is very troubling to realize other countries align themselves with the USA because there is that belief the USA will engage in illegal and immoral wars. Very troubling. 

President Obama when he was still a Senator regarding judicial appointments.

June 8, 2005
From the US Senate Floor:

...I am sure that is true for many in this Chamber. (click here) I know that I certainly do not hear about filibusters and judges when I go back to Illinois and hold townhall meetings with people across the State. What I hear about are veterans who are concerned about their disability payments and families who are talking about how high gas prices were or how difficult it is to pay for college. And so I think this argument we have been having over the last several weeks about judicial nominations has been an enormous distraction from some of the work that is most important to the American people....

He has always opposed the dysfunction of the Congress. 

...I do not expect the President to appoint many judges of my liking....

When he made that statement it wasn't based in race. It was based in his Democratic political values.

...This is a special court. (DC Circuit) It has jurisdiction that other appeals courts do not have. The judges on this court are entrusted with the power to make decisions affecting the health of the environment, the amount of money we allow in politics, the right of workers to bargain for fair wages and find freedom from discrimination, and the Social Security that our seniors will receive. It is because of this power that we deserve to give the American people a qualified judicial nominee to serve on the DC Circuit....

There is no direct analogy regarding Janice Rogers Brown and Loretta Lynch. The nomination of Ms. Lynch is not a life time appointment. Oddly, even FOX is stating the delay of the vote regarding Ms. Lynch is crazy. No lie. 

...The test of whether a judge is qualified to be a judge is not their intelligence. It is their judgment....

This disqualifying of Ms. Brown is from a lawyer, a Senator at that time (Is there any doubt why Barak Obama is now our President? There should not be.) and African American. It is a significant reality.

...Unfortunately, as has been stated repeatedly on this floor, in almost every legal decision that she has made and every political speech that she has given, Justice Brown has shown she is not simply a judge with very strong political views, she is a political activist who happens to be a judge.... 

...Justice Brown tends to favor whatever interpretation leads her to the very same ideological conclusions every single time....

Some of the objections of Ms. Lynch is not her qualifications but her political leanings. She is a not a judge, she is an attorney being judged. She is allowed to have political leanings and I would expect President Obama to choose an Attorney General that had the same political leanings as him. Ms, Lynch is highly qualified and will be an excellent AG for the remaining time President Obama is in office.

The Senate needs to vote. They need to vote on her qualifications and not her politics.

Isn't that right Senator Corker? 

Former Secretary Paulson is suffering from "China Envy." I suppose so, he has billions if not a trillion or more invested in China.

This is from the "South China Morning Post."

April 19, 2015
By Nick Edwards

A new book (click here) from former US Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson provides his take on how the world's two biggest economies can work more effectively together.
"We face daunting challenges in today's increasingly complex and interconnected world," Paulson writes. "Our task will be much more difficult, if not impossible, to solve if the world's two most important economic powers work against each other."
He's given us 400 pages of views on how to get it right in "Dealing with China".

And those are the folks good ole Hank should be talking to. China has to develop a stable and thriving economy and that doesn't happen when they want to empty the banks in the USA and create monopolies along with it.

Hank spent most of his two years in China while in office. I think it was more than interesting that he went, "Oops." when the wheels fell off the American economy. 

There is something he didn't learn and that was the all to familiar integration of economies in the world. When the USA housing market sank in a historic recession, Europe went with us. But, that is where it's at with authors such as Paulson. Having control over every circulating dollar and every asset in the world is a sincere ambition for these bozos. 

To those like Hank that want to bring draconian ambitions to the USA I want to know why the stock markets didn't completely crash? Why wasn't it the Great Depression 2.0?

Because countries had RESIDUALS such as the Social Security Fund. There was a continuing economy throughout the range of 'basic needs.' That along with the Recovery Act by the Obama Administration with cuts in SSI taxes, putting more money into the MIDDLE CLASS and spending incentive checks being sent. 

That is why it wasn't the Great Depression 2.0. I find it odd to think the bankers that were bailed out didn't know that would be the result. I mean none of the Big Bankers jumped out windows, right? That only happened to those that were investors when they lost everything.

Oddly, there was no class action suit by families of the big banks that suffered the loss of family due to their crashed home economies.

What is really interesting is the increase in prostitution arrests in the southern states in the USA from 2007 to 2008. (click here)

That is really interesting to me. That is how the country was raped of any and all resources to the poor. They couldn't work anymore, because businesses closed their store fronts, and took up the world's oldest profession to put bread on the table for their children. 

Example: Tennessee

2001 there was 1360 arrests.
2007 there was 2219 arrests.
2010 there were 2387 arrests.

Capitalism is great isn't it. It allows desperate people to engage in their own businesses, including human trafficking. There is every indication Tennessee's capitalism is intact rather than jobs protected by unions.

Isn't that right Senator Corker? I think jobs for women should be a top priority for Senator Corker and not distracting the people into lies about Iran. What do you say? Infrastructure maybe?

There is a reason there is an executive branch to the USA government. It allows Congress to carry out the needs and priorities of the country. Perhaps, tax reform, too, huh? 

Better yet, there is an entire class of people called the Undocumented that could be paying their fair share of taxes to the USA Treasury. I mean I would think by now Senator Corker would realize the USA Treasury needs additional income, right? 

The Undocumented are already receiving health care, so why not let them provide monies to the USA Treasury?  

Right Senator Corker? I just figured being out on cable stations should mean something rather than fumbling with an agenda that is built on lies.

March 24, 2015
(Click here for article.)

Tennessee is 3rd in tornado claims and Kentucky is the 10th. 

The USA needs a real agenda for the real problems of the country. 

Don't you think? 

I guess not.

This is what I do with my time. I do this because I ADD VALUE to the intelligence of the American people and anyone else that cares to read this blog.

The FBI has more problems than a bus load of pregnant nuns. All due respect to the Pope and his volunteer staff.

I need to run my virus scanner because I have a really great virus program and they'll pick up any tell tale effects of the FBI.

44 errors found of low and medium status. Repairs made.

Now, I will close out my computer and run the scan again. 

A total of 118756 items scanned with 10 problems detected and repaired. All ten were moderate status except for one. 

I just scanned my computer last night. It was ready for the FBI visit. I am a gamer, too. So, this software does a really great job. It isn't a pop up either. I open it when I believe there was a lot of traffic on the computer.

Tell me something, how are the Secret Service doing? 

Budget problems at DHS maybe?  

Yes? Budget? Tell Corker! 

Tell Corker when he is in town and not grandstanding on cable television to drum up fear and 'run game' on the American people. You know, the FBI bothers me less than Corker does. Corker is out there on Sunday Morning wagging his tongue to run a 'CHENEY DIRECTIVE' on the American people.  

Corker is more a threat than the FBI!

The USA FBI invaded my privacy. For no good damn reason. I don't visit porn sites, but, they put one in front of my eyes today. You are some of the lousiest jerks this country has to offer. 

If I want to surf porn sites, damn it I will. The FBI seriously needs to redefine it's PURPOSE!!!!!!!!!

Why do I understand Edward Snowden better today than ever before?

Invasion of privacy, you jerks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jerks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wait a minute.

Senator Corker, the liar of all liars, knows more about Iran than anyone in Iran?

Even the negotiators?

Amazing.

He stated he knows the IRGC (click here) has it's own nuclear capacity. Wow.  

Corker needs to agree with President Obama in that this issue about the new Attorney General is embarrassing. He might want to admit there is a lot more he should be embarrassed for.

Basically, Corker plagiarized this website:

He stated, "The  Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC or Pasdaran) secures the revolutionary regime and provides training support to terrorist groups throughout the region and abroad.

So, my point is if Senator Corker has plagiarized a website he doesn't know a damn thing about Iran.

Perhaps Senator Corker can help me with something else. I recently started to classify some rocks I have accumulated over time. The current one on my table right now is light brown and is some kind of sedimentary rock. I was searching for a rock classification site, when a page of naked women came up on my computer. Go figure. It wasn't the fact this site came up on my computer that bothers me, I am over 18 years old. But, what seriously upset me was the fact an FBI screen came up on my computer immediately after the naked pictures. What occurred was a FBI sting operation stating it had just recorded all the information from engaging the naked lady website. There was a place for me to make a statement tp the FBI and I did. Senator Corker needs to stop spying on Americans. I am going to use other resources to classify my rocks from now on. JERKS. The USA is full of governmental jerks.

I tell you what Senator Corker, why not spy on the IRGC so there isn't plagiarism in the airwaves of the USA. You want to try that instead? I think it is a great idea. 

If I have problems because the FBI doesn't have enough to do, I'm going to sue Senator Corker for not protecting my computer from GOVERNMENT SPYING. 

I have recorded the day and time that incident occurred by this entry. 

JERKS. YOU ARE ALL JERKS. 

Moment of impact. It looks like the impact of a small meteor. This is Kobani, Syria.

The areas where Daesh exists has been devastated by bombing runs. That is not minor damage in the picture below. It is easy to say they have been significantly degraded.

Daesh may still have large numbers of people that joined them since September, but, that doesn't mean they are stronger. We know they are using child soldiers. I would not call that an increase in military strength.

If Daesh has increased it's recruitment since September that doesn't mean anything except people are fighting for their lives within the Daesh territory. The pictures of Daesh troops show less than ten at a time walking to their assignments. That could mean something or not. That is the place of General Dempsey to answer.

The pictures with this article from The Independent shows complete devastation.  The ability of Daesh to mount a significant attack is very limited. The USA and the Arab Coalition took away the most potentially dangerous military equipment Daesh had. So, they are most likely limited to small arms flowing in with volunteers most probably. 

If there are two hundred thousand fighters, the reason the USA and Iraq are making advances is because the Iraqi fighters (I mean that in a generic sense, including the Kurds and Shia.) are better armed with air support. 

November 16, 2015
By Patrick Cockburn

...Fuad Hussein, (click here) the chief of staff of the Kurdish President Massoud Barzani said in an exclusive interview with The Independent on Sunday that "I am talking about hundreds of thousands of fighters because they are able to mobilise Arab young men in the territory they have taken."
He estimates that Isis rules a third of Iraq and a third of Syria with a population of between 10 and 12 million living in an area of 250,000 square kilometres, the same size as Great Britain. This gives the jihadis a large pool of potential recruits....

This pictures to the right shows Turkish units. If I am not mistaken it is only recently that Turkey began the offensive at the border; so the results still are unclear. But, the capacity of these units is significant. 

During the Iraq War it was estimated by a few organizations seeking to understand the potential for civilian death to be at a ratio of 200 to one USA soldier. In other words, the American soldier in combat in Iraq had the equivalent power to kill 200 people for each soldier. Some of the estimates were in the hundreds of thousands, as much as 800,000 by one organization. 

An estimate in The Independent state there are as many as 12 million people within Daesh's territory the size of Great Britain. No matter how I try to word these next statements, it won't sound good so why not just put it out there.   

The Independent states the Daesh territory is approximately 250,000 square kilometers of which about 12 million are living there. That breaks down to about 48 people per square kilomter. 

Syria is 186,475 square kilometers with a population in 2013 of about 22.85 million which leaves a little under 123 people per square kilometer. 

There is far less people, about one third, living on that land under Daesh than before if The Independent is correct. That reality is most probably correct because the refugee status is ever increasing. Basically, where do you find the land to put an entire country into refugee camps?

This is from Jordan:

April 18, 2015
 

AMMAN — HRH Prince Hassan (click here) has called for building a mutual partnership between Jordanians and those living in the Kingdom as refugees.

During a recent meeting with representatives of the industrial and commercial sectors, as well as Jordanian, Arab and foreign investors in Irbid Governorate, the prince said, “It is time to rethink the form of relationship between Jordanians and the refugees in the country in light of the inadequate international support to refugee-burdened Jordan.” Prince Hassan said this relationship should rest on the concepts of productivity and complementary partnerships in the fields of training, rehabilitation and expertise exchange.

He added that among every five Jordanians there is a Syrian and that the value of the international assistance to Jordan does not exceed 20 per cent of the actual cost of the refugee crisis....

and there is this report:

April 18, 2015

 

BAGHDAD — Iraqi forces (click here) retook most of the country's largest refinery from Daesh on Saturday, officials said, reversing gains by the militants who seized parts of the sprawling complex in northern Iraq last week.

A spokesman for the US-led coalition fighting Daesh said troops had recaptured all of Baiji refinery at 11:30 GMT, but officials in Salahuddin, the province where it is located, said there was still fighting around some facilities.

The insurgents attacked the refinery a week ago by blasting through the security perimeter around it and taking over several installations, including storage tanks, a technical institute and a distribution point.

The Baiji refinery produced around 175,000 barrels per day before it shut in June when Daesh militants seized it at the same time as the city of Mosul. Iraqi forces retook it from militants in November but subsequently lost control again.

A source in the military command for Salahuddin province said clashes continued on Saturday, with insurgents fighting the army's elite Golden Division and paramilitaries in southern and western parts of the refinery complex....

Now, I realize there is a portion of Iraq still under the influence of Daesh which would produce the additional land mass considered to be captured by Daesh. But, to state the people living on that land is greater than before the conflict started is really incorrect. Now the reason I state that is because estimates are so high regarding the potential number of troops recruited from within the land/cities Daesh is holding. 

It is just that 200 thousand out of 12 million is a very small percentage of recruits. It amounts to about less than two percent of the people that might have been trapped with the fighting continuing. If there were people pressed into serving the Daesh military it may illustrate their desperate status.

General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in Baghdad on Friday in a surprise visit. He said he wanted "to get a sense from our side about how our contribution is going". Earlier in the week, he told Congress that to defeat Isis an efficient army of 80,000 men would be necessary.

There were also reports on MSNBC 1000 recruits per month were entering Syria to join Daesh. Did that include women, too? 

I haven't heard any type of official word from any of the militaries involved in this strategy, except General Dempsie quoted by The Independent. 

The people within Daesh's territory are probably moving further and further from the bombings. That is my guess and might explain SOME of the widening involvement of land. But, is the fighting force expanding in number and tenacity?  Sure to some extent. Will it continue to? Uncertain, but, countries are attempting to end the emigration into Syria, too.

Does the USA have to get involved? That is like opening Pandora's box. If the USA goes into Iraq and ultimately Syria, that will only increase the number of recruits coming into the area. That is proven, that isn't even a theory anymore. 

The Kurds are holding their own. Turkey is just getting involved, the other countries in the region and in the coalition are not reporting border problems. The Shi'ites of southern Iraq are doing okay and they already have support from Iran. 

The only countries I am worried about at this point is Saudi Arabia and Egypt. It is experiencing a few skirmishes at the border with Lebanon. Those skirmishes don't seem to worry the Kingdom that much. They have lost a few men, but, at the same time the Saudi are sending humanitarian aid into Yemen to reduce any hardship by the people. 

What I worry about with Saudi Arabia is the inability of the Anbar Sunnis to protect and limit any movement of Daesh to the Saudi border with Iraq.

Egypt is experiencing an uptick in violence. That tupically is not new. It is the same groups from the past, including the Muslim Brotherhood. The current President SiSi is worried about Egypt slipping back into chaos and anarchy. He has a current hand on stability for now, especially northern Sinai. But, he openly states he is worried if any economic insult comes to Egypt it will disturb things enough to send Egypt back into chaos. 

One of the reasons General Dempsey made a trip to Iraq is because President Obama is meeting with the coalition again in May. 

I know everyone believes the USA can lend a great deal of help to end the fighting with Daesh and stabilize the region. I am not so sure. Look, there are still blast walls around Baghdad. The USA wasn't 'all that.' Sure they are helpful, but, they aren't successful necessarily. 

My concern is more or less the divided people of the Middle East. They are more and more dividing into sectarian groups. That creates it's own problems. Libya is a prime example. 

The tribes of Libya have to define a governing body to stop the marauding and sectarian split. There is definitely an east and west Libya now. Without the oppression of the dictators, the people are deliberately acting to remove any central authority of their country as is the case in Libya. Libya has an occasion been governed by a central authority. Then after a time there are raids into government buildings where the parliament is meeting and the killing starts again.

And the thing is that all of North Africa is not necessarily in chaos. Tunisia and Algeria are not having governance problems. But, they are very strict to border crossings.

Tunisian Authorities have banned more than 12,000 Tunisians from travelling to tension spots in Iraq, Libya and Syria in the last two years.

April 18, 2015
 
In parliament, (click here) Tunisian interior minister Najem Gharsalli said that his ministry is still exerting efforts to dismantle the "sleeping nets of terrorists" which facilitates and liaises the travel of Tunisians to"tension spots like Syria and Iraq."
Gharsalli said that his ministry prevented "12,490 Tunisians from leaving Tunisian territory to travel to tension zones" in Iraq, Libya and Syria since March 2013.
As part of his ministry's efforts to restrict travelling to these three countries, he said that new intelligence equipment estimated to cost $27m is to be installed.
Regarding fears of human rights bodies that autocracy could return back to the country after the ratification of anti-terror bill, Gharsalli reinstated that "unlike the 2003 bill, this bill includes positive factors."...

The Tunisian government recognizes the unhappiness in the country under previous rulers. They are looking at the people differently and doing their level best to serve them without indulgences that would compromise their security.

Then there is Algeria who is acting as negotiator between Saudi Arabia and Iran. 

Algeria over the last two weeks has relayed a number of messages between Saudi Arabia and Iran in hopes of averting regional war in Yemen.

April 17, 2015

Messages between the two sides, I(click here) he said, had contained both assurances and warnings, he told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity.
The source said one such message had contained assurances between the two countries that the Saudi navy would not fire on Iranian cargo ships traversing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Another message contained assurances by the two countries that their respective navies would not clash in the same body of water, the source said.
He added that Saudi and Iranian officials were communicating via Algiers with a view to averting further military escalation in Yemen.
"Algeria believes mechanisms must be put in place to prevent the conflict from evolving into a regional war before a peaceful settlement can be found," the source said....

So, regardless of the nervousness of The West in regard to problems in the Middle East and Daesh appearing to be recruiting from within lands they occupy, does the USA have a vital role in the region? I think that is very skeptical and would cause more problems than it solves. 

If the USA returns to the Middle East there is a chance it all could explode considering all the tensions in the region, perhaps best illustrated by Egypt. 

And if the USA commits to the Middle East, what occurs to Europe and NATO? I think the USA has to be cautious in committing anywhere. The world is delicately balanced right now and I think the USA needs to consider a bigger picture to any involvement of war. 

The one definite factor the USA can count on, is it's seismic presence and the reaction that will bring many groups in the region. The USA doesn't need to increase the military energy in the region and expect to achieve peace. The bombing of the USA embassy was a car bomb not an invading army. 

The USA was in Iraq when the terrible bomb went off at the UN Embassy killing the UN Ambassador. Just because people think the USA will stabilize everything over night, that is a delusion.