Why do I get the feeling it is really, really easy for Republicans to 'dodge the bullet' of opposition to financial reform if their cronies are so willing to run interference for them?

There is just no other conclusion I can come to given the 'track record' of the Republicans since President Obama took office January of 2009.

Now is there? 

Republicans are so 'performance' oriented that one has to measure their performance by what they value most.

Obama to ask CEOs to abandon 'furious efforts' to block financial overhaul

By Michael D. Shear

Thursday, April 22, 2010; 7:00 AM 

..."We've known that there would be millions of dollars spent by opponents of reform and allies of Wall Street to kill or weaken this bill," said White House deputy communications director Jen Psaki. "With that in mind, the goal from the White House has been to make the argument clear on what's at stake."... 

 In particular the Financial Lobby doesn't believe it should be responsible for its own bad behavior in the future.

The Financial Lobby seems to believe that criminal behavior works in their favor.  See, just because Paulson and Bush illegally placed a 'clause' in the Bailout Bill to exonerate any criminal activity doesn't mean it should be a methodology to count on.

My personal belief is that such a 'clause' is actually unconstitutional and the protections from criminal activity is nothing short of treason.  Either a country upholds the 'Word of Law' or it doesn't.  A country of laws or of men?  It would seem when it comes to Wall Street the Republicans PREFER a country of men.  Guns anyone?

Financial regulation reform faces stiff opposition  

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-wallstreet-reform-20100422,0,7582735.story

  

Senate panel approves third controversial piece of overhaul package. Obama to make his case in New York on Thursday. 

Jim Puzzanghera, Los Angeles Times

April 22, 2010

...Also drawing fire from large financial firms and business groups is a proposed agency to protect consumers in the financial marketplace and a $50-billion fund, paid for in advance by the industry, to help cover the government's costs should it need to seize and dismantle a large financial firm because its impending failure would threaten the economy.
The Senate Agriculture Committee approved its piece of the overhaul as the White House and Democratic allies prepared for a crucial vote within days to bring the entire reform package up for debate in the full Senate. The House passed similar legislation in December....

Of course (click title to entry - thank you), there will have to be an investigation and custody of 'the rig' will have to go to the government for evidence.

This image provided by the U.S. Coast Guard shows fire boat response crews battle the blazing remnants of the off shore oil rig Deepwater Horizon Wednesday April 21, 2010. The Coast Guard by sea and air planned to search overnight for 11 workers missing since a thunderous explosion rocked an oil drilling platform that continued to burn late Wednesday. (AP Photo/US Coast Guard)

At issue is the very real fact that the oil industry has an abysmal record of safety on a global scale.  This incident my be one of the first in the Gulf of Mexico in recent years, but, where there are oil rigs in the North Atlantic the European/British experience with the industry has a significant death rate.

There is always hope until there is no hope. The best of us is yet to be realized.

Unwelcome feral cats spotted at Bush library site

DALLAS — Unwelcome neighbors where George W. Bush's presidential library is planned in Dallas are losing their homes.

Some feral cats have lived in the Southern Methodist University area for years. SMU in 2005 began a feral cat removal program, in an effort to control the cat colony.

Volunteer Althea Webb says it's “hard to move cats.” She says at one point about 18 wild cats lived in the area, but now she rarely sees more than a half dozen.

Webb says some of the remaining cats may be moved to a nearby bushy area.

Construction is scheduled to begin in November on the George W. Bush Presidential Center, with a single building housing a library, museum and policy institute.

The complex is expected to be finished by early 2013.

There is going to be a limited blast area.

The missing individuals are in the water or not anywhere.  There is a chance some bodies are unrecoverable.  A submersible will be necessary to verify any reality.

Survivors could still be floating on currents and debris.

There is also wildlife in the area and dolphins have been known to treat injured people as their own.  Dolphins, an endangered species, understands what it is to be a mammal and require breathable air.  Do NOT injure any animal in the searches as they are very precious.

Groups seek federal protections for 404 species - Is the fresh water human food chain starting to feel impacts of the Climate Crisis?

The problem with the Climate Crisis is that it is impacting 'ecosystems' and not just species.

By BRIAN SKOLOFF

Associated Press Writer

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- A group of seven conservation organizations on Tuesday petitioned the federal government to protect a whopping 404 aquatic species in the South, triggering a massive automatic review by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The Tucson, Ariz.-based Center for Biological Diversity, among others, filed the 1,145-page petition. It seeks protections for 48 fish, 92 mussels and snails, 92 crustaceans, 82 plants, 13 reptiles, four mammals, 15 amphibians, 55 insects, and three birds.
It includes 10 species of snails in Florida, a turtle in Arkansas, 11 species of crawfish in Tennessee, 26 plants in South Carolina, three beetle species in West Virginia and 13 mussel species in North Carolina.
The petition seeks protections under the Endangered Species Act for the 404 species in all 12 southern states, some overlapping....

Glenn Beck melts down. He and his program partner are now channeling, they just haven't identified whom they are channeling with for 'THE MOTHER OF ALL PLANS."

Beck believes he may be channeling with God.

Sure.  I suggest he validate that fact with the Pope.  I mean the Pope would know right?  Otherwise, channeling can be risky business.

 

It took decades of being a second class citizen in the USA to get a vaccine to stop cervical cancer. Now, there might be a valuable blood test to diagnosis Breast Cancer.

EGFR Levels Elevated Before Breast Cancer Diagnosis

The study involved 688 women with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer whose blood was drawn within 17 months prior to their cancer diagnosis. Their blood test results were compared to those of 688 women of similar ages without any sign of cancer.

The findings were presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 101st Annual Meeting.

Overall, the researchers identified 79 proteins whose levels appeared to be elevated in the blood of women with cancer, compared with the other women.

One of the proteins that could be validated using a commercially available assay was EGFR....

The Good News is that Door to Door Politcal Canvasing is still the most effective.

Yesterday President Obama was at a rally for Senator Boxer.  Astoundingly on several occasions members of the audience did NOT know he and the good Senator were moving to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

I am involved in a highly contested conservation initiative and there are several groups promoting our position and promoting it vigorously through any and all media available.  However, we ran into a reality we did not expect.

In a recent poll it was discovered our position was very poorly known.  The industry we are opposing was reaching the public through 'Post Office Mailings.'  Thinking about conservation we wanted to go 'the green route' and not use paper.  Well, that was a huge mistake.  So what we did was to print up fliers ON RECYCLED PAPER with information regarding the conservation point of view and literally canvased a 'sensitive' neighborhood door to door.  We reached 200 households in one afternoon of 'grassroots' door to door canvasing and were welcome in every one of them.  The people did not know about our opposition OR the profound conservation issues at stake.

The sensitive neighborhood was low income.  The place we are working to impose a conservation initiative is not an impoverished area of the country, but, only has scattered low income areas.  The people are not 'plugged' into the same COMMUNICATION and INFORMATION media that most conventional thinkers believe is working.

There was something else.  One of the members to the conservation movement was at woman's gym.  While she was there, a member of the Tea Baggers was there.  The Tea Bagger literally was acting as a 'town crier' and simply ranting on and on about their position in regard to anything.  It became so annoying to the conservation member and two other women members to the gym they threatened to cancel their memberships if they were going to be exposed to such harassment.  The next time the conservation member went to the gym there was no such activity and it hasn't returned in the last week and a half.

As a result of that information we are now encouraging everyone in our canvasing efforts to act proactively and speak to others regarding the issue and verbalize opinion.  It is our experience that Democrats tend to be shy and sometimes silent people.  We, in our efforts, would like them to feel completely comfortable with facts and feel free to 'stand up' for their position and hold their ground in any conversations they may have.

It is interesting, but, any educator will tell you about the emotional competency of information that is verbal as opposed to simply read or watched.  Visual competency of an issue is passive and more 'victim' than verbal which requires competency and being able to be 'the center of attention' when making any statement.

Verbal communication tends to relay an image of 'authority' while visual competency of an issue is more a 'follower' authority.  We are sticking to this methodology and we believe it is the best method we can have to reach as many people as possible.  We intend to use the 'religious' models of those that go door to door to bring FACTS and not opinion.  But, in presenting facts we are sometimes asked opinion and we then can relay more competency as the public becomes more familiar with the content.  We literally are 'recruiting' as we canvas and it is working.

We also have highly valuable, verifiable and SOUND information that cannot really be debated as to authenticity and 'comfortable safety' in taking a stand in opposition.  In other words, our canvasing provides the BEST information so the public feels 'strong' in their opposition to the position of the corporation that has highly refutable information.

I believe President Obama may have run into the same phenomena we have found.  It is my opinion that with a collapsed economy and the 'establishment' of digital while removing 'air wave' television, people are left stranded to valuable information for them to make decisions.  I also believe 'recycled paper' fliers that are hand delivered can be the best form of political information, however, recycled paper fliers delivered by USA Postal Service is also reaching the UNREACHABLE voter.

GO  GET  'EM.

Yes ! Small Business has a home in Illinois ! Now, we have a country. Oh, yes we do !

Illinois State Rep. Mary E. Flowers 

The Community Bank Of Illinois: A Banking "Public Option"?

After the imprudent and possibly illegal behavior of America's largest banks sent the nation into a deep recession and necessitated a massive bailout at taxpayers' expense, Wall Street firms have rebounded nicely. In the first quarter of 2010, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and CitiGroup have all posted sizeable profits.

The same can't be said for many businesses on the South Side of Chicago, where financing is hard to come by and unemployment is staggeringly high. Residents fighting for their homes aren't getting much assistance either, as banks spend more of their time fighting sensible foreclosure prevention bills than refinancing home loans. "A lot of people are angry and upset," said Rep. Mary Flowers (D-Chicago) in an interview last week. "The people of the state don't feel like we've gotten much of anything out of the deal."...

Dr. Cavuto and Senator Byron Dorgan had a nice chat about issues facing the country and legislature

The language that was engaged during that conversation was broader in scope, didn't have 'catch phrases' and opened the door to wider issues and discussion.  When Mr. Cavuto engages Republicans the language is limited and the focus specific to deliver messages rather than opening conversation and discussion.  

If the Murdoch media would review the difference in those exchanges and realize the limited language they use, they might understand better why their 'messaging' can trigger behavioral reaction rather than engagement of conversation.

Violence with animals is a criminal act in all fifty states.

Dog Fight State Law Fact Sheets (click here)

First Amendment Rights are important and documentaries help bring such issues to light.  If the law was too draconian then it needs to be written again with protections for 'appropriate' use of such visual cues.

One aspect of this that cannot be forgotten is the very real fact that some killers learn their lessons at an early age from seeking pleasure where no pleasure should be found.  

A civilized society should have pride in the 'quality' of its entertainment.  

The more distance there is between humans and cruel treatment, the less likely a nation will find problems with such issues.  The American society has enough violence in its entertainment and children are exposed to it, we don't have to go out of our way to make more available to young minds.

All such videos should have a category of worse than XXX.  Extreme cruelty and violence should be categorized in a highly restrictive manner along with sexually cruel videos of women.  

Where such trade finds its way into the American culture there should be restrictions.  Not every aspect of commerce is desirable.  

In the case of Mr. Stevens, he personally made the videos, he still broke the law.  The only aspect of his crimes that were removed from his criminal behavior was the aspect of commerce.  The actual acts that resulted in the successful film for distribution were still criminal.

...The ruling was a victory for Robert Stevens of Virginia, (click title to entry - thank you) who made and sold three videos of pit bulls fighting each other and attacking hogs and wild boars....

There is no dignity in Wall Street. All the investment banks suffered declines in their stock prices with the announcement by the SEC.

Yet with increased revenues facilitated by the USA Treasury, Goldman Sachs can't simply own up to the crimes against the people of this country?

I realize the legislation that bailed out the financial giants within the boundaries of the USA stated there would be no criminal prosecution of anyone involved, however, with a civil suit filed to recognize the tyrannical nature of these investment banks, they have absolutely no humility in their wrong doing.  

That really is a crime.  A moral crime.  They won't own up to any of it and only seek to exonerate their egotistic righteousness at any cost.  

How can any political party justify deregulating a financial market place as immoral and corrupt as this one?  Kindly explain how any elected official at any level of government actually finds enough virtue in this commodity within the USA Economy to actually believe there could never be a government infrastructure sufficiently engaged to stop the level of risk to every citizen when everyone knows they 'play to the risk' while keeping in mind they have safeguards to fall back on?  Where does that justification come from?

Imagine a plutocracy made of nothing but these bozos.  Now, tell me that citizens of countries would be safe in their day to day lives with men such as this in control of market outcomes.  I want someone, maybe Chief Justice Roberts.  I want someone to completely justify a society dominated by this level of immorality. 

Very nice additon to the news today. Thank you.

Civil rights leader Dorothy Height dies at 98

As a nation we cannot deny our past, but, we can repent from it.

Iceland exists because of volcanos. One day at a time. One hour at a time. The airline industry doesn't have emergency protocols?

Iranian cleric 'blames quakes on promiscuous women'

The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) is warming :

Arctic Circle investigates the impact of global warming in the north (click title to entry - thank you)

Posted by digitalhome on April 19, 2010 

In some of the world’s most desolate and stunning locations, the damaging impact of human activity is evident; climate change is hitting the Arctic harder and faster than any other region on Earth. Although the North may seem remote from the population centres of the world, this sensitive ecosystem is already under tremendous pressure from the build-up of carbon in our atmosphere.
This week, Discovery HD presents “Arctic Circle”, (click here) a two-part documentary series co-produced by the National Film Board of Canada and NHK Japan takes a look at the impact man is having on the north.
In part one “On Thin Ice”, the show, shot entirely in high definition, chronicles the effects of climate change on Arctic land and animal inhabitants and meets an international team of scientists who are vividly demonstrating how global warming threatens the very existence of polar bears, seals and other creatures.
In part two, “Battle for the Pole”, the show looks at an international race to claim mineral resources below the Arctic seabed and the long term impact it could have on the Arctic environment and its inhabitants.
Part one and two of Arctic Circle airs on Discovery HD on April 21st and 28th at 7pm ET.
Discuss in Digital Home’s What’s on Canadian Specialty Television discussion forum.

Local Time  ::  2:36 AM AKDT (GMT -  08)

Lat./Lon.  ::  58.8 degrees North / 137 degrees West

Elevation  ::  33 feet

Temperature  ::  43 degrees Fahrenheit

Condtions  ::  Overcast

Windchill  ::  41 degrees Fahrenheit

Humidity  ::  87%

Dew Point  ::  39 degrees Fahrenheit

Wind  ::  4mph from the Northwest

Pressure  ::  29.70 inches (steady)

Visibility  ::  10.0 miles

UV  ::  0 out of  16

Clouds  ::  Mostly Cloudy

                  Overcast  5500 feet

                 (Above Ground Level)

The solution of any cyber attack on the energy grid. Jeeze ! Hello America?

Murdoch is pushing buttons. Are we going to have hospitals under seige now?

Public safety personnel swarm the patient discharge exit of Parkwest Medical Center after a shooting Monday, April 19, 2010 in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Knoxville News Sentinel, Michael Patrick)

 By Beth Rucker

Associated Press Writer / April 19, 2010

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.—A gunman took a taxi to a hospital Monday and then opened fire, killing a woman and injuring two others before committing suicide, police said....

...Police are still trying to determine a motive, but it did not appear that any of the victims were related to the suspect or that there was any connection between them, spokesman Darrell DeBusk said. Police also didn't think the suspect was ever employed at the hospital....

There is ONE CONNECTION and only one, the CULTURE OF HATE !!!!!!!!!!

Liars, liars, pants on fire. Representative Gingrey has decided it is okay to 'spin' the Murdoch lies to increase fear of the Obama Administration.

Today during the Cavuto hour on Murdoch's network the lies of the Right Wing Republicans took on a new trejectory.

It stated last week with the "Fear Zone" with O'Reilly and it is continuing this week with the 'Infotainers' of the Murdoch political war machine.

Robert Gibbs this morning clearly stated there is no National Sales Tax (Value Added Tax) in the works.  Yet.  The Murdoch network is promoting that as if a realty.

They have no balanced approach to such a subject as the nations of Europe that have such a tax are far smaller than the USA both in geographic area and population and do not have the tax base of the USA.

The entire subject is closed and there is no further reason to discuss it as if it is a reality by this administration.

Murdoch does nothing than propagate lies and the public gets confused regarding the issues.  This is a news organization to value?  Could have fooled me.
 

Tax writer Levin: Bank tax weighed but no VAT  (click title to entry - thank you)

(Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers are still mulling a tax on banks to recoup government bailout funds but a value-added tax was a nonstarter, the acting chairman of the tax-writing panel in the U.S. House of Representatives said on Monday.

The idea of a value-added tax, or VAT, has gained attention recently after Paul Volcker, an adviser to President Barack Obama, repeated his backing for it.
Republicans have been blasting Democrats for suggesting new taxes, citing the VAT in some cases, but the top House tax-writer said it would not get support.
"I've heard almost nobody within our ranks discuss it," Representative Sander Levin, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee told a press lunch in Washington, saying if it did come up it would be a "goner."
He also said that Obama officials did not seem to be seriously considering a VAT....