Voters need to tell their US Senators to pass the funding bill for Zika.

May 17, 2016

The Zika Funding bill is on the floor of the US Senate right now. There is an amendment being proposed to attach efforts to stem the drug addiction epidemic. Kindly consider the importance of both these problems and call Senators to pass the amendment and the bill.

Alternatively, you may phone the United States Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121. A switchboard operator will connect you directly with the Senate office you request.

We are far better off ending addiction rather than paying the hospital bills of the dead.

May 16, 2016
By Ed Cara

New research presented this week (click here) at the American Thoracic Society’s annual meeting suggests that the ongoing opioid crisis is making waves across the country’s intensive care units (ICU) every bit as much as it is inside people’s homes.
The authors analyzed hospital admissions from 2011 to 2015 for adults over the age of 18 in a nationwide healthcare system, Vizient, Inc. Out of 272 hospitals, there were 17.6 million admissions throughout the study period, with 41,369 related to an opioid overdose. While that figure may seem miniscule in the grand scheme of things, the rate of opioid-related admissions has steadily increased 42 percent since 2009. The percentage of people who died from their overdoses also increased, from 3.1 percent in 2011 to 5.1 percent in 2015, and a similar rise in mortality was seen when looking only at ICU admissions. In 2011, there were 3.7 overdose deaths per every 10,000 ICU admissions compared to 7.3 deaths in 2015....

Porn sites tabs visible on "Mike Web for Congress" posting.

Having been caught with his pants down this was his response on Facebook:

THANKS FOR THE TAB CHECK, RANGER BUDDIES!

"For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations." Psalm 100:5

Yes, indeed, nudity and the Lord are synonymous. 

I must have recited or heard that .verse a million times in invocations in my youth, alone, in that Psalmist's praise to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. But, until, today, I never really knew the power of what that meant. Today's notorious post reached almost 200,000 people. The succeeding post reached a little more than a tenth of that, and all through the viral infection of social media and word of mouth. And, I certainly received my share of "interesting" comments, but no more out of the ordinary than what I have received since beginning this quest. But, the truly amazing thing about today was that "I saw also the Lord, high and lifted up," and I was very much moved by the love and support of those who expressed their encouragement and support, even some in the national and local press. 

Lessons affirmed today include that we do expect our leaders to be examples of our highest ideals, but also, as we have seen for almost a year in non-traditional length posts, people are interested and motivated by truth and substance, not flash or even scandal. In the month preceding the nomination convention, our following on Twitter grew at a rate of 50%, but today, in just one day on Facebook, we grew in page likes by 25%. Perhaps, what does not kill you does make you stronger. And, that quote that has remained with me since the very beginning of this quest tells me that I have much work ahead to fulfill the faith placed in me: "My trust is in the mercy and wisdom of a kind Providence that ordereth all things for our good."

In 2016, it's about choice; it's about leadership; and it's about time. I am Mike Webb, and I am running for U.S. Congress. Honest

That is quite a meteor. The local news stations is asking for any information including other sightings

I hope the university is seeking out any remnant.

The tensions have to dissipate before the convention begins.

May 17, 2016
By Phillip Bump

..."We write to alert you (click here) to what we perceive as the Sander [sic] Campaign's penchant for extra-parliamentary behavior - indeed, actual violence - in place of democratic conduct in a conventional setting, and furthermore what we can only describe as their encouragement of, and complicity in, a very dangerous atmosphere that ended in chaos and physical threats to fellow Democrats...

There was a time in 2008 when the candidate parties disagreed over numbers of delegates. There are procedures and if the Sanders' Campaign doesn't seek parliamentary procedure, they may lose far more than they think. 

A democracy is about bring out the truth and having rules prevail. Violence carries no rules to justify it.

May 31, 2016
By Michael Falcone

7:45 p.m. | Rules Wrap Up: After a nearly 10-hour marathon meeting (click here) of the Democratic party’s rules committee, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton came away with a total of 24 more pledged delegates, but today’s decisions on the seating of Florida and Michigan delegates fell far short of what her campaign had hoped.
In a blow to Mrs. Clinton’s candidacy, the committee voted to restore the delegations of both Florida and Michigan at the party’s nominating convention, but gave each delegate only half a vote.
One of Mrs. Clinton’s strongest supporters on the rules committee, Harold Ickes, left open the possibility of mounting a challenge to the Michigan decision by bringing the matter to the party’s Credentials Committee, the final arbiter of delegate disputes....

I think Saudi Arabia will do exactly what it states it is going to do.

Saudi Arabia is the primary member of OPEC. Saudi Arabia sets policy with OPEC for the most part. Yesterday the price of crud oil went up because of global issues impacting that price. Saudi Arabia's infrastructure basically costs the country nothing to operate, except, salaries to the workers. I believe Saudi Arabia will do whatever is necessary to end this before it begins.

President Obama may or may not sign the legislation, but, I would urge Saudi Arabia to decide if any 911 family will file suit. Post September 11, 2001 the families received monies from the USA treasuries to help them financially mitigate the loss of their loved ones and the future of the family. There was a clear understanding the monies they received prohibited further lawsuits, including the airlines. Some of the families found the offer of monies from the federal government offensive and would not bring about justice for the negligence of the airlines. They did file lawsuits against the airline carriers. 

There is a fairly good chance the USA federal monies will settle the entire issue. There should be a sense of the viability of any claims against Saudi Arabia with the courts even today. I would expect Saudi Arabia is already seeking to find any impact of such ideas.

Then there is the fact the men carrying out the attacks were not acting on behalf of the government. I think this bill is more a political stand and does not carry brevity.

If there is any entity with standing to sue it would be the USA government to recoup the monies paid to the family and other costs such as the invasion into Afghanistan. I just don't see it. The attacks of September 11, 2001 will have it's fifteenth anniversary this year. Statues don't go on that long. I think the bill is very tardy in coming to the side of the families.

The USA has experienced terrorist attacks before, both domestic and foreign. There was a previous attack in 1993. The people who planned that attack are now in prison. How can families of one incident have more privilege than any other family in the country?

May 17, 2016

By Mark Mazzetti

Washington — A bill that would let the families (click here) of those killed in the Sept. 11 attacks sue Saudi Arabia for any role in the terror plot passed the Senate unanimously on Tuesday, bringing Congress closer to a showdown with the White House, which has threatened to veto the legislation.

The Senate’s passage of the bill, which will now be taken up in the House, is another sign of escalating tensions in a relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia that once received little scrutiny from lawmakers.

Obama administration officials have lobbied against the bill, and the Saudi government has warned that if the legislation passes, it might begin selling off up to $750 billion in Treasury securities and other assets in the United States before they face a danger of being frozen by American courts. Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi foreign minister, delivered the warning to lawmakers and administration officials while in Washington in March.

Many economists are skeptical that the Saudis would deliver on such a warning, saying that a sell-off would be hard to execute and would do more harm to the kingdom’s economy than to America’s....

I am not sure "Priorities USA Action" will be effective with the two ads they recently aired.

Anyone finds the words involved with the ad offensive. There is a very good chance all those funds will be spent on an ad people will simply silence or turn off. Once offensive language is used people rarely forget it. Then there is this.

Megyn Kelly is having interviews with Donald Trump and they are civil. He does not apologize to Ms. Kelly as he believes he was attacked on the debate she moderated. What may happen with negatives ads is a backlash against the organization SuperPac, the DNC and/or the Hillary Clinton campaign. People may get angry for the repeated insult to their intelligence. The ads seem like fingernails across a chalk board.

I believe it was Lawrence O'Donnell or someone on his program that stated, "Don't go into Donald Trump's court to compete, make him come to your's." I think the country has a lot of issues. I am sure I don't have to list all of them, but, worrying about Mr. Trump's weaker moments to bring about his agenda is not one of them. I think Hillary Clinton is doing exactly what she is suppose to be doing; answering attacks and promoting her policies. 

"Priorities USA Action" can certainly try this approach. But, they need to measure the effectiveness. The last thing anyone should want are voters turned off to the dialogue Hillary Clinton has and is creating since her announcement.

The American people never saw this episode in life Hillary Clinton's problem or a problem for the country.

December 24, 1998
By Frank Newport

Despite the fact (click here) that he is only the second President in U.S. history to be impeached by the House of Representatives, President Bill Clinton received a 73% job approval rating from the American public this past weekend, the highest rating of his administration, and one of the higher job approval ratings given any president since the mid-1960s.
The 73% rating, based on a Gallup poll conducted December 19-20, came at the end of one of the most eventful weeks in recent American history. Not only did the House convene to debate and then pass two of four articles of impeachment against the President, but the week also saw an intensive four-day U.S. and British air attack against Iraq and its leader, Saddam Hussein....

Hill and Bill need to forward unafraid.

Responsible government is defined in ending this ridiculous practices for profits. There is no lease that states this level of destruction is legal.

The air quality is horrible in this region of Alberta and promising to continue to be horrible. No pipeline it going to change this reality for Alberta. It is time to end the practice and fill in the holes in the land. The reclamation of the forests was suppose to protect from these fires, but, it only proves how completely irresponsible the petroleum industry is recording ridiculous profits since 2005, the gross change in irresponsible environmental laws (what environmental laws) that turned CEOs loose on the land.

May 17, 2016

Around 12,000 people (click here) have been urged to leave Canada's oil sands camps near the fire-hit town of Fort McMurray as a resurgent wildfire heads towards them.

A regional official told the BBC that 8,000 people were given precautionary evacuation orders late on Monday, in addition to some 4,000 who had already been advised to leave.

More than 80,000 people fled the fire that hit Fort McMurray two weeks ago.

Air quality in the Alberta city is still at dangerously high levels.

A reading on Monday found the level to be 38 - far exceeding the provincial index's most dangerous level of 10.

The vast fire had moved away from Fort McMurray but in recent days it has started to threaten the area again....

No one needs it !!!!!!!

All the dangers that exist with drought are worse when the lands are oil sands.

Besides having a higher risk of fire, there are the totally objectionable oil trains. It is the most hideous form of Wall Street profit I have ever witnessed.

Tens of thousands of people with disrupted lives. Insurance companies with plenty of payouts and now a hit on the Alberta economy. The money that poured into fire fighting in Canada and the USA is ridiculous and should be used for infrastructure, such as responsible alternative energy. Sending the national debts of countries higher, as there are no scheduled monies for emergency funds to the extent fires demand. Petroleum industry activities to secure ANY kind of income is an assault of the conscience and a danger, not a benefit, to the countries that allow such destructive agendas of wayward companies.

Oil sands destroy land and now lives. Fracking destroys the land permanently with earthquakes and contaminated air and water. 

Exploitation of the land such as the oil sands in Canada endangers the climate and the entire world. These fires add enormous amounts of carbon dioxide to the climate. These oil land mining is wrong and completely unconscionable. Canada needs to consider the degree the petroleum industry has disregarded the land, the people and the climate in the demand for profits at any cost.

Just because the petroleum industry doesn't recognize the climate crisis doesn't mean it does is a myth.

May 17, 2016
by Gillian Steward

As the wildfire raged (click here) and 90,000 people including kids, the elderly, and hospital patients were forced to flee from Fort McMurray on the only highway that would take them to safety hundreds of kilometers to the south, Canadians saw a very different city than they are used to.

It was no longer just a symbol, an easy target in the ongoing conflict between those who want oil to stay in the ground and those who see it as key to their livelihood.

Even just watching via television or iPhone the long lines of vehicles full of people inching forward as flames and smoke closed in was terrifying enough. I can’t imagine what it felt like to be in one of those vehicles.

Suddenly Fort Mac and the dozens of oil sands extraction plants that surround it were all about the people who live and work there....

I don't believe this will effect turnout. The USA is making progress against POLLUTION of greenhouse gases.

I am both an environmentalist and a former union member and official. There is plenty of room for change that will support unions. The problems is not the environment for labor unions. The real problem is the draconian and victimizing "Right to Work" laws passed by Republican legislators and governors. 

Environmentalists in support of labor will call up the chronic attack on labor unions, including a recent 4-4 decision by the US Senate disabled Supreme Court. The split decision returned the case back to the appeals courts and Unions are upheld in their request for union dues written into a CONTRACT.

In all honesty, the only way the US Supreme Court could attack unions is to attack contract law. Not that at least four of the Justices didn't hesitate, it is just that activist judges don't both to realize the fallout of such silly decisions. When a Supreme Court turns contract law into a questionable document it isn't good for the country. Contract law is what American is built in between people, people and companies and between companies and government. 

Environmentalists believe in morality and there is a great deal of morality within labor unions. They uphold the middle class and provide a path for the poor to leave poverty behind. There isn't any environmentalist I am familiar with would ever deny labor unions are beneficial to good environmental outcomes. Higher pay and beneficial perks, such as health care with reasonable deductibles and copays, provides for an American that appreciates nature and our national parks. Leisure time saves nature when sportsperson groups and families enjoy the hard fought for work of every environmentalists. The two go together. Better pay means a better quality of life with plenty of room for a moral conscience.

The argument about pipelines belongs in infrastructure funding to replace the age old pipelines already a danger to nature and people. The KXL theatens every value Americans hold dear when it comes to Native Americans, endangered species and precious and productive land. The fires in Canada shows exactly what happens with drought and exposed oil sands. The KXL is as much a disaster in the making and everyone is far better without it. The Canadian oil sands should be re-evaluated after the Canadian fires. The oil sands are very dangerous no a warming planet.

May 16, 2016
By Jonathan Martin

Washington — Two of the Democratic Party’s most loyal constituencies, (click here) labor and environmentalists, are clashing over an effort to raise tens of millions of dollars for an ambitious voter turnout operation aimed at defeating Donald J. Trump in the November election.

The rift developed after some in the labor movement, whose cash flow has dwindled and whose political clout has been increasingly imperiled, announced a partnership last week with a wealthy environmentalist, Tom Steyer, to help bankroll a new fund dedicated to electing Democrats.

That joint initiative enraged members of the nation’s biggest construction unions, already on edge about the rising influence of climate-change activists. The building-trades unions view Mr. Steyer’s environmental agenda as a threat to the jobs that can be created through infrastructure projects like new gas pipelines.

The dispute, laid bare in a pair of blistering letters sent on Monday to Richard L. Trumka, president of the A.F.L.-C.I.O., underscored the tensions between the two pillars of the Democratic coalition....

Congratulations, Mika and Joe

I've enjoyed the broadcast since the beginning, except, for those scripted days by Joe. But, there always is the next morning.

Congratulations to "Morning Joe" and the many guests and commentators.


October 11, 2015
By Brian Flood

The Cable Center (click here) announced the members of its Cable Hall of Fame Class of 2016 and MSNBC’s Morning Joe co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough have been selected. They will be inducted during the 19th annual Cable Hall of Fame celebration during the National Cable & Telecommunications Association’s Internet and Television Expo May 16-18, 2016 in Boston....

I'd be concerned about Erdogan's intentions with NATO.

May 5, 2016
By Sophia Jones

Istanbul — Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (click here) — Turkey’s leading political figure, at least on paper — announced Thursday that he plans to step down from power after less than two years in office.
Tensions between Davutoglu and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have reportedly simmered for some time in a power struggle that hit a breaking point this week. The ruling AK Party revoked Davutoglu’s authority to appoint provincial party officials on May 2. 
Citing a “premature end” of his four-year-term, Davutoglu’s resignation comes amid concerns over Erdogan’s increasing authoritarianism, and many observers fear it will enable the president to further consolidate his power....

Erdogan has literally manipulated Turkey's constitution to provide him with a fourth term. The Turkish border was porous during the time the militants were crossing into Syria and Turkey killed Iraqi Kurds and shot down a Russian jet. I am not so sure Erdogan is on our side anymore.

I think it is a mistake to recognize what is basically a coup of the Turkish constitution.