Governor Kasich is being thrown under the bus by the GOP.

Well, well, well. Michael Steal and what's his name for Bush speech writer, David Frum are already throwing Governor Kasich under the bus. Why? Because Marco Rubio has been effected by the elections and it is painful and sinful to do that to Marco.

It was only 24 hours ago when I heard, "I wish the four governors would get together to decide who best would serve the country and act as one unit to place that governor at the forefront of success." 

Now, when Governor Kasich finished a strong second behind Donald Trump, I suppose that wasn't the governor the GOP had in mind, huh? 

You all should be ashamed of yourselves. 

I tell you what, if you have a hierarchy within the GOP then admit it and rewrite your rules reflecting the ORDER of ascension to the old white men. Why take chances? Even the Democrats figured that much out with their Super Delegates. GOP not that smart? 

I wish Governor Kasich increased success. Don't count on the GOP supporting any effort you put forward, you ain't the one they want.

Make the Republicans answer you until there is taxation legislation passed to protect Americans from fiscal failure of the GOP's plans for them!

The Democrats running for office and those in the Congress need to solve the problems of the people and let the country know exactly the problems and their resolutions with proposed legislation that never make it to the floor of Congress.

Don't say it once. Say it twice, three time, four times and on and on until the country pays attention. We have to solve the problems of our entitlements. Social Security Disability runs out of funding in 58 months. I never hear anyone speak to the Veteran's Disability either.

GET THE ATTENTION OF THE COUNTRY!

The children of Flint will be in need of Medicare A which is due to run out in ten years with current funding and they will need Medicare B and Medicare D and Medicaid. They will need Social Security Disability payments so their parents can get them help they need to adapt of an unfair world. Some may be disabled the rest of their lives.

I strongly suggest the Democrats solve the problems of the country and get the attention of the country and don't stop until the problems are solved rather than setting them on a shelf so the Republicans can belly ache about cutting benefits and ending cost of living and all that mess. 

From what I hear it is only 22 months before Social Security will start to cut into it's PRINCIPLE. The cash payments will exceed interest income even with a 3.2 percent earned from US Treasury bills stored in draw in West Virginia. The reason this is occurring in 22 months is because of the global economic collapse of 2008. The GDP is down. It is calculated that the US GDP has to be 4.5 annually in order to stem the need for alterations of the entitlements. And of course, fear of everything including disappearing benefits will cause the election of a Republican to every office in the country to provide jobs to push the US GDP to 4.5. Whether it is real or not, the country will quiver in fear and the country will go Red.

There won't be any 4.5 GDP anytime soon. We are lucky Americans are dedicated in maintaining local economies so the USA is mostly unscathed by the CURRENT recession of Wall Street in the global economy they once again created in bubble and bust.

The Democrats need to put out two options for increasing the solvency of the entitlements; either raise the cap to SSI and/or levy a Financial Transactions Tax, that once SSI and the other entitlements are solvent again (they lost enormous dollars in days in 2008) those monies can begin to pay off the National Debt until it is returned to a reasonable size that doesn't rob our children of their future.

Wall Street caused this, Wall Street needs to correct it!

The Democrats need to get out of the comfy seats in Congress and WAKE THE COUNTRY UP!

This is about the most sad thing I've ever seen.

The Culture of Fear Lives.

911 was 15 years ago this September. The Bushes are still fighting the war. This so called war breaks the record books in the length of any war the USA has fought to protect it's sovereignty. Al Qaeda and Daesh are not a threat to our sovereignty. They might be a threat to Europe's, but, then we are NATO and we won't let it happen. 

But, this? 

When do the wars stop? Never? 14 years, nearly one generation, and the USA is still engaged in war in the middle east. This is pathetic.

All the Neocons are out rounding up all kinds of information to scare the wits out of everyone; like the fact Jordan has it's limit of protecting refugees. A full 25% of Jordan's national budget goes to serving the refugees in the country. Jordan has rightfully closed it's borders. To prove how generous the Jordanians are; when the first Syrians started to arrive, before the borders were closed, the Jordanians took the refugees into their homes. They knew the refugee camps were full and it didn't matter they took them into their homes. So, the 25% is probably more like 30% when considering the expense private homeowners experience.

A Jordanian General stated in a meeting of a far right organization, "Don't send money. Money is not what is needed. Don't send F-16s or other military armament. We need to settle the unrest and allow the middle east to return peace." That, of course, means war, right? Not necessarily. War only creates more dead people and the more dead people, the more war goes on in the middle east. That is a fact.

There was another representative from Sri Lanka talking about an assassination. Does anyone know how many people have been assassinated in Sri Lanka? They have Libya beat. 

I just think it is time to move off the subject of "The First Job of the President" to the Second Job and the Third Job and the Fourth Job and all the other problems the USA has that are ignored because war fills the airwaves of network news. 

Enough. No more Selective Service.

Troops out now!

Evidently, there is a real shortage of attorneys in Michigan.

February 9, 2016

By Jonathan Oosting

Lansing — Todd Flood, (click here) special counsel for the state attorney general’s office investigation into the Flint water crisis, said Tuesday the probe could lead to a variety of criminal charges or civil actions.

“We’re here to investigate what possible crimes there are, anything to the involuntary manslaughter or death that may have happened to some young person or old person because of this poisoning, to misconduct in office,” he said. “We take this very seriously.”

Flood joined Attorney General Bill Schuette, chief investigator Andrew Arena and deputy chief investigator Ellis Stafford for a media round table Tuesday in Lansing, where they provided an update on the investigation launched last month.

The probe will look at state and local government officials to determine whether any state laws were violated. There is no clear timeline for how long the investigation will take....

...Critics continue to question the objectivity of the investigation, noting that Flood has made political contributions to both Schuette and Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, a fact he has said will not affect his judgment in the case. Flood also donated to former Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm....

...Schuette announced the investigation last month and detailed steps to create a “firewall” within his office, which is also defending Snyder and state departments in a series of lawsuits brought by Flint residents exposed to contaminated drinking water....

I think it is rather obvious who is going to be scapegoated regarding Flint. Seven employees of the Michigan DEQ,

...Because he is involved in the investigation, Schuette is not part of the team defending Snyder in a federal class-action lawsuit. But his office, citing a “potential conflict of interest” between the administration and other defendants, has asked to withdraw as legal counsel for seven Department of Environmental Quality employees, including one recently fired by the state over the Flint water crisis. Those individuals would have the opportunity to obtain new attorneys paid for by the state....

The Michigan DEQ didn't close down the pipeline between Flint and Detroit and they sure didn't sell the pipeline to a private concern so Flint could not go back to using Detroit water.

The US House is looking the other way.

H.R. 4479 - Families of Flint Act (click here) 

February 4, 2016

Rep. Kildee introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, Education and the Workforce, Financial Services, and the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned...

...(4) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—As a condition of the State or the City receiving a grant under this subsection, the Administrator shall require the State to provide funds from non-Federal sources in an amount that is at least equal to the amount provided by the Federal Government....

This House Bill HR 4479 has not passed yet. There is a rainy day fund for such emergencies in Michigan.

February 10, 2016
By David Eggert
Lansing, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (click here) on Wednesday proposed spending hundreds of millions more dollars to address Flint's water crisis from lead contamination and to update pipes there and across the state — a plan that lawmakers from both parties generally welcomed as moving in the right direction with the proper priorities....

The US House Representative Kildee needs to be sure these monies are part of the matching funds or does there need to be another fund for the matching funds to facilitate the needs of Flint, including new water pipelines.

...Snyder's plan would direct $195 million more toward the Flint emergency and $165 million for statewide infrastructure needs, at least a portion of which could replace lead and copper water lines elsewhere. He said $25 million of the Flint funding would replace 5,000 known old lead lines running from city streets to houses, calling it a "seed investment" until the state has a better handle on just how many of the pipes there are....

Everyone needs to get this right now. There should be no more delay in passing legislation to begin the reconstruction of a comprehensive water delivery system. 

I might point out all this could have and was avoided until a Republican Governor decided he knew better for the people of Flint rather than the mayor and council elected by the people of Flint. All these monies could have gone for other priorities INCLUDING paying Flint's indebtedness!

...............................................................................................................

There was a superficial bill passed in the US House that allows the US EPA to speak directly to the people of a town when it is discovered lead levels are high. This is nonsense. It is a nothing law. The US EPA would have to set up an entire division to independently test every water source in the country. 

Feb. 10, 2016
Washington, D.C. (AP) The U.S. House (click here) has approved legislation to clarify the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to notify the public about danger from lead in their drinking water....

As if they didn't have the authority to address citizens before. I thought there was freedom of speech in the USA, which includes letters, meetings and otherwise.

...The bill is the first approved by to respond to the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.
Flint stopped using treated water from Detroit and switched to the Flint River in 2014 to save money. Regulators failed to ensure the water was treated and lead from aging pipes leached into the water supply, contributing to a spike in child lead exposure.
The House bill would direct the EPA to notify residents and health departments if the amount of lead found in a public water system requires action.
The EPA did not notify the public for months after learning that were not treating Flint's water.

And don't forget, the US House wants to cut funding to the NIH and science research when the country faces enormous challenges including the children effected by predatory policies of a Michigan governor.

This bill is a CYA bill to pretend there was no authority for the US EPA to enter as an authority to end the contamination. This is meaningless and nothing but politics by a Republican House that has been completely negligent of the needs of the USA. The Republicans are scared to death of the emergence of racism by members of their own party!

Racism that kills!!!!! So far ten people have died of Legionnaire Disease.

The US House is pathetic.

The US House is slashing funding to the NIH when there is a virus spreading that has uncertain outcomes. The NRA has been lobbying hard against an amendment that was to bring monies for research on gun violence. But, the this is the third year in a row the US House has cut funding for science and research in the USA. The NRA has  been calling every gun telephone list under the sun.

NIH gambles on mandatory funding to keep afloat

What at first glance (click here) looks like modest good news for National 
Institutes of Health (NIH) in the president’s budget—a $825 million increase—is instead drawing dismay and a lot of head scratching. That’s because the administration wants to pay for the increase, as well as $1 billion of NIH’s 
existing budget, by using so-called mandatory funds that will likely be a hard 
sell in Congress.

“We’re extremely concerned that NIH’s base budget is being cut,” says Jon 
Retzlaff, managing director of science policy and government affairs for the 
American Association for Cancer Research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 
Making up the difference with mandatory funds “is just very problematic and complicated,” he says.

The budget proposal would give NIH $33.1 billion, a 2.6% raise over 2016. The money would include $680 million for Vice President Biden’s cancer moonshot; 
$100 million more for the Precision Medicine Initiative’s 1-million person cohort 
study, for a total of $230 million; and $45 million in added funds for the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) initiative. 
But the new money for these presidential priorities would come out of so-called mandatory funds, which require Congress to establish a dedicated funding 
stream, often by selling assets such as the communications spectrum. Moreover, 
the proposal would cut NIH’s existing budget by $1 billion from regular 
appropriations process and make up for it with mandatory funding....

New Hampshire provided the Republicans with 5.6 percent higher voter turnout.

The Washington Post has a complete count. (click here) It is up to the candidates
to keep the voters interested past the primaries. The general election will be 
tight, but, the candidates have to keep the electorate engaged. A election
headquarter that remains open and still engaging voters will be important. 
A campaign's treasury will determine the permanent establishment within the 
primary.

498,114 Total Voters

263,035  Republican vote

235,079  Democratic vote  

27,956 more Republican votes 
(5.6 percent of total voter turnout)

When all the Republican votes are added
they have a 6.4 percent advantage in
New Hampshire.