It looks like a star formation and it isn't even household lights.

Northwestern North Dakota (click here) is one of the least-densely populated parts of the United States. Cities and people are scarce, but satellite imagery shows the area has been aglow at night in recent years. The reason: the area is home to the Bakken shale formation, a site where gas and oil production are booming.

Posted: Monday, October 1, 2012 11:10 am

A 3.3-magnitude earthquake (click here) shook ground 11 miles southeast of Williston on the morning of Friday, Sept. 28.

The quake was registered by the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology at 5:53 a.m. near the Missouri River. Deborah Smith of the MBMG said there wasn’t a good solution collected on it because the earthquake was too far away from any station....

It took days before this earthquake was even reported in the media. Above the posting is on October 1, 2012 and the earthquake occurred days before.

M3.3 - 22km ESE of Williston, North Dakota2012-09-28 10:53:42 UTCWhat seems to be the media problem in North Dakota?

Tectonic Summary (click here)

Earthquakes in the Stable Continental Region

Most of North America east of the Rocky Mountains has infrequent earthquakes. Here and there earthquakes are more numerous, for example in the New Madrid seismic zone centered on southeastern Missouri, in the Charlevoix-Kamouraska seismic zone of eastern Quebec, in New England, in the New York - Philadelphia - Wilmington urban corridor, and elsewhere. However, most of the enormous region from the Rockies to the Atlantic can go years without an earthquake large enough to be felt, and several U.S. states have never reported a damaging earthquake. The earthquakes that do occur strike anywhere at irregular intervals.

The odd fact there was a 3.3 magnitude earthquake in the exact location of the highest density domestic oil field is no coincidence. This is the North American Carton

...Now it underlies 70 percent (click here) of North America. Parts of the craton contain rocks that range in age from 2.5 to 4 billion years, including Earth's oldest-known rock. Most were highly deformed and metamorphosed as the craton was assembled....

This is the oldest, most stable rock on Earth. And at the very location of high intensity petroleum activity it is quaking. Give me a break. The Petroleum Industry is not this stupid, but, they are this media savvy.

The North Dakota state government is corrupted by petroleum money and don't give a damn about any environmental effects of their indulgences.

North Dakota

Seismic Hazard Map (click here)

It ain't suppose to happen here.

The only activity of any significance in North Dakota has always been in regard to 'felt quakes.' They were tremors 'felt' from other areas of the North American Carton where there was movement deep within the rock. Carton quakes are never severe quakes as the rock is very stable, it is mostly thought to be related to tectonic movement of the entire plate on which the carton is situated. 

The earthquake is not a minor quake. It is a Class III on the Mercalli Intensity Scale: III. Felt quite noticeably by persons indoors, especially on upper floors of buildings. Many people do not recognize it as an earthquake. Standing motor cars may rock slightly. Vibrations similar to the passing of a truck. Duration estimated.

This may seem insignificant to people as there is no major damage, but, for a carton quake this is among the highest that occurs. 

AGAIN. The dangers to high intensity petroleum drilling and hydraulic fracturing is related to the rising possibility of liquefaction.

Liquefaction (click here) occurs when vibrations or water pressure within a mass of soil cause the soil particles to lose contact with one another. As a result, the soil behaves like a liquid, has an inability to support weight and can flow down very gentle slopes. This condition is usually temporary and is most often caused by an earthquake vibrating water-saturated fill or unconsolidated soil.

There was a time when in the USA governments they actually took the threat seriously rather than sacrificing it for jobs (easily political posturing of old world energy sources) and wealth.

Posted October 6, 2012

...Art McGarr, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey, (click here) who is not familiar with North Dakota geology but has studied earthquakes since 1962, said based on his experience and the amount of industrial activity going on in the Williston area, said he believes the most likely hypothesis is that wastewater injection triggered the earthquake.

Oilfield wastewater, including water that results from hydraulic fracturing, is disposed of by injecting it underground into disposal wells. North Dakota has about 390 disposal wells....

Mr. McGarr is with the USGS and not the North Dakota Department of Minerals Management. Mr. McGarr doesn't have to worry about his job and a pink slip from the North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple. Dalrymple was elected to office in 2010 in the infusion of Tea Party extremists. The USGS carries brevity in opinion. It is the correct opinion. And I'll explain why.

There are oil vats and gas vats in the craton. They are liquid or gaseous. They are under high pressure. When there is tectonic movement these liquid / gaseous vats move along with the movement of the plate. It is these areas within the craton that can emit 'felt quakes' because they are under high pressure. The oil and gas vats within the craton actually serve as shock absorbers to the movement of the plate. These vats of liquid and gas protects the craton. They distribute the movement in ways that minimize impact of plate movement to the rock. The felt quakes are low in magnitude to some extent because of these liquid / gaseous areas.

The dangers of the petroleum industry in removing these non-rock areas and replacing it with wastewater containing chemicals that dissolve rock is that they dissolve rock. This is the North American Craton. Why does anyone want to dissolve the rock that serves as the basis of an entire continent? For jobs? You've got to be joking!

When the rock dissolves and liquefaction FILLS IN THE VATS the quakes are no longer felt quakes, are no longer minor quakes and the danger to instability of the craton comes into reality!!!!!!

The shock absorbers cannot be replaced. Once they are gone, they are gone. The areas where wastewater now RESIDES removes the safety zone into dissolving rock and instability. Jerks.

These areas within the craton fall into a category similar to Rossby Waves in the ocean. They are planetary places of stability. It is a potential vorticity issue. How do I put this in plain English? English. Right. Playing billiards. Directing the direction of balls on a billiard table can occur if here is a little bit of 'English' put on the ball. The same is true in Baseball. Pitchers use their ability to change the flight of the ball in a game to out wit the batter. In other words, a 'spin' can be put on the ball while it is traveling straight. That is the kind of dynamic the petroleum industry is playing with when they dissolve rock within a craton. I am sure no one understands it, but, dissolving a craton is not an exceptionally billiant idea. Earth has limits. The Christmas tsunami of 2004 caused the tilt of the planet to change. It is important to understand seismic activity on Earth. Seriously.

A BIOTIC planet as Earth is better have shock absorbers. Earth is highly dynamnic. This antiquated form of energy is completely absurd in the year 2013. Happy New Year.

The Sword of Damocles, Grover? 

Really?

Isn't that semantics?

The Bush Tax Cuts were an act of greed and desperation in the first place. The Bush Economy was designed to destroy the entitlements, was it not?

The Bush Tax Cuts removed any restraint on wealth to inspire investment into the country. It literally moved monies out of the USA federal government into the pockets of the wealthy. No one can deny that. The Bush Tax Cuts raided the reserves of the federal government of every dime, sent the country into debt after a surplus, groveled for some kind of economy for 'job seekers,' while pandering to China and creating the largest population of food stamp recipients in recent history in the USA before the crash.

Along with the Bush Tax Cuts, the defense budget was moved out of the national budget and was always submitted for funding as a supplement. The reason for that was a strategy to bring the entitlements to a greater portion of the national treasury and cause a destruction of them.

Now, give me a break here, Grover. The Bush years were designed by intent to move the USA into bankruptcy to destroy the entitlements. The recovery from that strategy has been grueling. And what is even more humorous than The Sword of Damocles is the Heritage Foundation. They are dying to call the USA an entitlement society in the aftermath of the Bush Great Recession.

More than Half of All Federal Spending Will Be on Entitlement Programs in 2012 (click here)

In the desperation of having any kind of purpose, The Heritage Foundation (click here), has included Food Stamps as an entitlement to contrive some kind of reality to stop "The Entitlement Society."

Every aspect of the 'Crying Towel' the Republicans now have in common was designed by The Heritage Foundation. 

Grover.

Get a new life, while the rest of the country continues to rescue itself from the unartful and down right crude administration that left in it's wake a floundering country and emptied treasury. I am grateful for the entitlements as the very base of an economy that nearly was no more. Little did FDR know what he had inspired to protect the vitality of the USA economy. If FDR realized that while seeking compassion for our elderly, then he was more a genius than he ever gets credit for. Go away, Grover; you have become an annoyance, irrelevant and historical joke.

The species in Alaska need protection due to the high potential for oil contamination of the sea.

Stellar Sea Lion

It doesn't matter if the oil rig appears to be 'holding up,' it won't. There is too much fluid in the rig to insure it will not crash against the rocks. It will crash. The sea will break up the rig. No doubt in my mind.

The other possibility is that the rig will be surrounded by ice and frozen in place. That is a better alternative, except, the ice could put enough pressure on the hull to crush it enough to break a hole in it.

The petroleum industry is trying to be smart in this new environment in that they believe the ice formations will be friendly like 'Ice Road Trucker' ice formations. NOT. Definitely not.

The sea with sea ice and ice formation along the coast are unstable. They many look like they are huge rocks and strong enough to stand up to any forces, but, that is not case. Ice, sea ice and coastal ice is effected by the waters it floats on.

The wildlife in the entire area of Kodiak Island is at risk. The scientists involved with these species can possibly preserve genetic diversity by transporting the individuals of endangered species into Canada. There is the issue of territorial adjustment which could result in deaths of important individuals, so Canada could survey for isolated areas to place new members of the protected species to slowly incorporate into existing populations.

The petroleum industry needs to be responsible for handling these issues in regard to protecting the wildlife there. Above is an example of what is going to happen to the coastal area where the oil platform is located. Sea ice. These are huge pieces of ice. They have not 'developed' in formation by waves splashing up in the air and freezing. This is sea ice that was once in the water. It received enormous pressures to BREAK into pieces and was then forced a shore. This is what is going to happen to the oil rig. It will not maintain it's integrity. It will be tossed around like a toy and the hull will be breached.

The Steller's Eider

This coastal bird is endangered as well.  See, when a species becomes endangered and/or threatened the numbers of individuals fall and the genetic diversity of the species is in danger.

There is also economy in the area for Alaska. Big economy. 

FISHING (click here)

Besides tourism there is a huge commercial fishing industry throughout the seas of Alaska.

An Overview of the Alaska Commercial Fishing Industry (click here)


ECONOMIC IMPACT

The commercial fishing industry is a major contributor to the Alaskan economy.  The fishing industry supports one-sixth of the state's economy and employs 40,000 of  its residents, more than any other of the state's basic industries.  The state hosts a large number of fishers from the Pacific Northwest and processing plant workers from throughout North America, swelling the seasonal employment total to 70,000.  That employment figure encompasses harvesting, processing, and support services.  Alaska
produces 60 percent of the nation's seafood and 2 percent of the world's supply.  Of the top 10 U.S. fishing ports in 1990, 6 were Alaskan, including Dutch Harbor/Unalaska, Kodiak, Petersburg, Kenai, Ketchikan, and Cordova.  The Aleutian Island port of Dutch Harbor/Unalaska landed more seafood on its docks in 1990 and 1991 than any other U.S. port.  (see Exhibit 1-1)...

I can hear it now, Corexit has sent all the escaped oil to the bottom of the sea and the oil is being degraded into a safe form of GLOBS, so "No, worries."

We know those are blatant lies. We know the oil causes loss of seabed for ALASKAN KING CRAB. The shrimp beds in the Gulf of Mexico was the first victim of the oil from the Deepwater Horizon. We know that Corexit creates massive oil spills at the bottom of ocean waters. The Gulf, by the way, is far less turbulent than the waters off the southern shores of Alaska. So, there is a real possibility that Corexit would never work anyway. It would be dispersed and washed ashore. 

We know for a fact the chemical impacts of oil, aqueous methane and corexit causes birth defects in marine mammals. And there are plenty of endangered marine mammals in the area, both, on shore and in the ocean. The marine mammals in the area of Alaska are sea otters, seals, whales and dolphins (click here).

So, basically, NOAA needs to evaluate the ocean currents, the path the oil and aqueous methane will take along with any other idiotic chemicals in the water due to the contents of the rig and provide information to the scientists involved with these valuable animal populations so they can take action to protect them and move then if necessary. Canada needs to assess the ocean currents as well to know if the junk will make it to their pristine areas as well.

Fish populations will be lost and contaminated for years. Don't believe me? Look up the recovery of the fisheries at Valdez.

Although the fish and wildlife resources (click here) that appear on the List experienced population-level or chronic injury from the spill, not every species that suffered some degree of injury was included. For example, carcasses of about 90 different species of oiled birds were recovered in 1989, but only 10 species of birds were included on the List.

The Trustee Council recognizes (click here) that a tremendous amount of work had been accomplished over 20 years of research, monitoring and specific activities directed at addressing the goals of the 1994 Restoration Plan. With the information provided by subsistence-resource users, government agency representatives, non-governmental organizations, commercial fishermen, scientists and other stakeholders, the Council is continually evolving to seek better ways to achieve their mission.

Oil Remains: The Persistence, Toxicity, and Impact of Exxon Valdez Oil (click here)

Visitors today experience the spectacular scenery and wildlife of Prince William Sound and the North Gulf of Alaska. However, one of the most stunning revelations of Trustee Council-funded monitoring over the last ten years is that Exxon Valdez oil persists in the environment and in places, is nearly as toxic as it was the first few weeks after the spill.

The Petroleum Industry lies. They lie and the government swears to it. The continued drive for drilling by this industry is never based in new technology that guarantees there will never be environmental disasters, it is ALWAYS "It will never happen again." Spills and disaster are always one time tragedies to the petroleum industry. Their industry is so safe the lives lost of employees and the environmental disasters are so very, very rare it is shocking to realize there are disasters at all.

NOT !!!!!!!!!!

There is appreciation of recreation in Valdez, so let me at least validate the fact the Americans living in the area are dedicated to it's restoration.

...Surrounding salt waters (click here) offer opportunities for pink, silver, king, and chum salmon. Pinks and silvers can be caught directly from shore as well as by boat. Anglers who venture out into the adjacent seas will encounter all four of these species, as well as rockfish, lingcod, and Pacific halibut. However, the 700 lb gorilla of the salt-water show is always the pink. Millions return to Valdez during even-numbered years.  Some parts of Port Valdez will actually look black due to the unbelievable numbers of fish....

The new Secretary of State to the Obama Administration will receive demands for the Transcontinental Pipeline for Canadian sludge. One of the arguments they will make is that a land based pipeline is far, far better than this mess.

Don't even try it! And this mess never should have been either.

"...for fifteen minutes." Chris. Governor Christie. You need to be the leader you are meant to be.

I sincerely hope the New Jersey Governor maintains his advocacy with the Republicans in the House. There is a lot wrong here that the Governor can't necessarily fix, but, the people love him. He could literally run for any New Jersey Office anywhere in the state or federal authority and win. He has made more than friends of the people of New Jersey, he has made alliances.

The House Republicans have gone into a stance to make the country pay for the election of Democrats. Because there has been a Democratic President and Senate, the House postured with the Hastert Rule to control the outcomes of the nation. With the Hastert Rule, The Tea Party has a lot of clout, otherwise, they would be far less important. There are enough reasonable Republicans in the House to join with Democrats to do the business of the nation. 

I suggest the Governors of New Jersey and New York schedule an appearance on the House floor and demand they suspend the Hastert Rule. It will then be a fair vote and I know the Democrats will join with the Governors to make this happen. 

I think Governor Christie has significant influence within the party that he has yet to tap into. Make this happen, Chris. Get rid of the effect of the extremists and the nation will be grateful. I realize the Governors are focused on their states, but, their requests are not unreasonable and the nation will finally witness what the problems are with the House and how they are resolved. 

Governor Christie doesn't have to worry about election campaign donors; he has an entire state full of them; if he only asked for their support. He has to ask. He has to take his case to the people and ask them to vote for him. They don't know in which way they are needed until they are asked. His constituents are busy living their lives and restoring their sanity. He has to ask for any support he needs from his people across the State of New Jersey.

Good luck to both Governors.

I love the fleece, too. Maybe that is what is missing in DC. New Jersey fleeces.

I want to support the USA troops in a different way now.

I want to support them to come home. 

We did a great job in recognizing the troops (click here) and keeping them as safe as possible over the past 11 years, but, it is time to end the idea of a vast war machine and empowering future administrations to wage war 'at will' as occurred in Iraq.

The sequester that all the Republicans complain about in destroying national security has to go into effect. There are to be no more domestic cuts in the USA that are not matched by military cuts. The USA has too much tied up in the defense industry.

The level of employment does not have to be effected by the Defense Department cuts, but, it does have to bring down costs. A prime example of how USA military spending gets out of control is the F-35 Fighter and I have addressed this before. 

There a many, many ways of reducing the size of our National Debt. Policing the cost of our Defense Department is one of them.

The GOP is teaching Governor Chris Christie a lesson.

Make no mistakes. The GOP does not care about their constituents, they care about their agenda, cronies and exclusivity from being sensitive to the needs of the country.

They have done this before, but, never to the Former Governor Bush of Florida.

President Obama needs to examine what can be done through the Executive Branch and even through Executive Order. This is no joke, New Jersey and New York is important to the economy of the USA.

In 1999, while President Clinton was in office, there was a Republican leadership in the House. In 1999, Hurricane Floyd hit North Carolina. It was a huge and damaging storm costing 20 Americans their lives. The state was abandoned by a Republican legislature while President Clinton went to North Carolina and told residents to set aside their pride and priorities and accept the help the federal government could give them including emergency Food Stamps.

Hurricane Floyd was not Hurricane Sandy, but, it was substantial. It was not Hurricane Katrina either. But, the federal help sought by North Carolina was rejected sending the state into significant turmoil and debt. The reason? There was a Democratic majority in the North Carolina legislature and governorship. One might look at that dynamic today, where the state now has no liability for emergency room physicians. Don't tell me the GOP cruelty on people doesn't work, it works just fine. Fear and suffering seeks resolution in the human condition and the GOP has mastered it.

Hurricane Katrina was a huge embarrassment to the GOP. It was that embarrassment which compelled the relief for Louisiana and New Orleans. Believe me when I say the Republicans wanted 'The Big One.' All one has to examine is how the Army Corp over the decades warned about it and how those warnings were rejected. Why? Ah, come on, anyone can guess that. Who died, who profited and who is building there now? 

The wetlands were destroyed by the petroleum industry. It was that destruction that allowed the storm surge. American needs to put on their thinking caps. Seriously.

Congress needs to put their pants on.

How did we get here?

Of the $4 Trillion if DEBT and not deficit; $1.2 Trillion is contained in the sequester cuts that have timidly been pushed off for another two months.

Congress is not doing its job, yet.

If Congress is to do the business of the country the filibuster and the Hastert Rule has to be ended in ways that cause the people first ahead of politics.

We have a lot of work to do and now because Congress has been so been so very dysfunctional.

The good news is the two layers of tax cuts of the highest incomes have been ended. That is a good beginning. But, the tax base of the USA has to be expanded. There are many Americans maintaining their lives on low incomes. There are many Americans unable to effectively parent their children or entertain the idea of marriage and family because they work several jobs to make ends meet. The dynamic of the Three Job Lifestyle has to stop. The unions cannot take no for an answer. It is time to move the nation forward to a stronger tax base. The real benefit is it will increase the quality of life for Americans and drive our economy to higher levels of productivity.

Removing the highest Bush Tax Cuts will bring about a 'push down' dynamic that will bring costs to USA consumers under control. Basically, how much money does any one person need in a lifetime. While that is a liberal concept, it is also a concept of democracy and freedom. This country affords the wealthy the ability to be so and there is ultimately a price to pay for that privilege, the least of which is a national defense where some of young adults lose their lives for the love and PROMISES of this country.

The issues of money have to be over. We need to address the Simpson-Bowles Presidential Committee findings and we need to move forward on stabilizing this country's solvency. We need complete tax reform. The tax structure of the past served a purpose, but, it is antiquated to today's priorities.

We need to review the entitlements and move them into a safety zone. I would suggest any changes to the entitlements have a sundown provision to review the changes in five years and ten years. OR. When the economy ticks up and/or the tax base widens, there should be automatic returns to the current standards of our entitlements. 

I do not believe in changing entitlements following The Great Recession. Buckling under to political pressure of the SLICK Right Wing while there is still recessive residuals in the economy is gross negligence of the people of this nation. It is throwing them over a different cliff; a personal cliff; for the agenda of political demands. Basically, I believe the attacks of the Slick Right Wing of the entitlements following the Great Recession is opportunistic and an attack on the citizens of this country.

To be completely honest the attacks on the entitlements by the Right Wing during a delicate time in our country still recovering from Right Wing Spending policies of the past administration is complete rhetoric. I do not understand why legislators see the entitlements as a way to solve the nation's National Debt. The entitlements are THE BASE of the USA economy. It is the minimalist  of circulating monies, but, it does demand the USA Treasury be healthy and not so in debt there has to be dissolution of the entitlements. I sincerely believe it is insane to attack the entitlements, but, it is equally insane to run the USA into debt to collapse. There has to be a threshold in the USA Treasury that is RECOGNIZED as dangerous. Dangerous to the USA which also is dangerous to the global economy.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Congressional Budget Office (click here) on Tuesday said Senate-passed legislation to avert the "fiscal cliff"  would add nearly $4 trillion to federal deficits over a decade, largely because it would extend low tax rates for almost all Americans.

The congressional scorekeeper's analysis was released as a number of Republicans in the House of Representatives voiced opposition to the bill, and considered amending it with deeper spending cuts.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and others complained the bill's spending cuts would do little to curb trillion-dollar deficits.

Senate-passed plan extends decade-old Bush-era tax rates for individuals earning up to $400,000 and couples earning up to $450,000 - nearly 99 percent of U.S. taxpayers.

But the non-partisan CBO compared the Senate plan's revenue and expenditure changes to laws that are currently in force, which call for $600 billion in tax hikes and automatic spending cuts in 2013 alone - effectively a dive off the fiscal cliff..

We need to do a lot in this nation that has nothing to do with money, but, has a lot do to with quality of life for Americans. New Americans. The clock is running on the President's Executive Order for some of our most talented and moral Americans. 

The babies born here to parents brave enough to come here and risk their lives to achieve something called The American Dream. We have invested heavily in these babies and we need to keep them here. Their parents were willing to sacrifice their lives to bring about a better reality for them. While the terrible name of Illegal Alien is applied to their parents and to them, they were never terrible people. 

The so called Illegal Aliens work hard and often in jobs with very poor pay and working conditions. Don't tell me about these people, I don't want to hear it. Wall Street profits and the USA food policies have benefited heavily on the backs of these people. These folks pay taxes and they never complain about it. They simply do their part, work their jobs and oddly for as impoverished as they start out they don't stay there and are among the most moral of people in this country. They believe in the USA. They hold this country dear to them.

We need to address the Climate Crisis. It is not an option. I have a suggestion. In every relief program including the most recent disaster, Superstorm Sandy, there needs to be provisions within the bill to address carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions. While carbon dioxide is the primary driver to our Climate Crisis, methane is on the rise. It is on the rise from economic industries, but, also as part of the negative feedback loop within the Climate Crisis. We sincerely need to worry about both CO2 and Methane. Methane on Earth was stored in protected frozen landscapes such as the Permafrost and underwater beds. In the North Atlantic, off Norway, there have been beds of frozen methane maintained for millennium that are now being released due to a warming ocean.

You know, melting starts when temperatures change in incremental ways, it doesn't wait for the human understanding of boiling water. So, to try to explain the concepts involved in human induced global warming / anthropogenic planetary warming would be a mess. If anyone believes understanding economic movements is difficult they can't even begin to do the math involved in knowing what is occurring with our planet's troposphere.

But, basically, the best way to legislate monies to disaster areas is to also include measures to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions as a requirement to THE NATION, not just the area effected. Lord knows, the storms land where they land, they don't choose the most dense emission areas to cause damage. Would be interesting if that was the case for many reasons, but, that is not the case.

By Michael McCarthy

Environmental Editor

Monday, 22 February 2010

Atmospheric levels of methane, (click here) the greenhouse gas which is much more powerful than carbon dioxide, have risen significantly for the last three years running, scientists will disclose today – leading to fears that a major global-warming "feedback" is beginning to kick in....

We have come a long way to recovering this nation. Oddly enough all the problems we face that are not economic in definition such as the Climate Crisis are very much economic issues as well. 

I fully expect the new tax structure to work to recover the economy. Besides the obvious of expanding the purchase power of the Middle Class it will also push down on the wealthy to continue to excoriate the cost of living into unreasonable levels. With an increase in taxes to the highest levels of income in the USA it will once again give incentive to investment into the economy, entrepreneurial investments and bring new technologies on board to growth of wealth.

One of the things I wanted to review on "It's Sunday Night" is the Obama Administration successful launch of Green Chemistry. It is a wonder and benevolent way for the priorities of the youngest of tax paying generations to spawn their futures. It is only one of the focus of the Obama Economy. There are others and I will feature it one of these weeks. We need to focus on the future generations as a means of economic growth. They have great ideas. They have huge commitments to the future. They are ready to lead into the future and it is time. It past time to pay attention to their ideas and desire for a fantastic future for themselves and their children.

We need gun control. The number of guns on the street are hideous. It is pushing the country into examining the institution of Marshall Law. We simply can't have citizens breaking the laws that currently exist to allow guns to get into the hands of criminals and emotionally and mentally challenged. There also needs to be a clear understanding there are weapons within the USA civilian populous that simply should not be there. We need gun control legislation. I find the idea there are Boards of Education and Mayors actually putting armed officers at schools following the Sandy Hook murders a horror all itself.

I can't say this enough. There is NOTHING that can be done to enhance the response of First Responders. In both cases, the Colorado Movie Theater murders and the Sandy Hook Elementary School murders, the First Responders where practically transported to where they were needed in light speed. I don't know how anyone can improve that.

ALSO and not separately, the gunman in both cases were heavily armed with an automatic weapon and high powered hand guns. They were prepared to kill and kill in large numbers. The Colorado gunman had tear gas grenades. Adding an armed officer(s) to a school for the sole purpose of stopping gunmen so armed MAY BE a deterrent to some, but, to those this determined, it is simply another hurdle to overcome. The Sandy Hook gunman shot his way into the school. There were measures to stop him. It didn't work. He had a way of overcoming that safety measure. In the case of the Colorado gunman, he used tear gas bombs to disarm any people in the theater that might be armed to stop him. He over came that hurdle in his decisions to kill.

Society makes the mistake to think of these gunmen as inanimate objects that can be controlled by outsmarting them. They are thinking people. They may or may not have high IQs. The IQ of a gunman really doesn't matter. The learning curve to mastering firearms is very low. One doesn't need an education to pull a trigger. The only viable way to end this hideous method of murdering Americans is to limit the availability of that method. That means there needs to be a limit on the power of the weapons on the street and their ability to kill. That is the only way to stop this hideous dynamic that is solely American.

Until later.

Congratulations.

This is a real victory for all the hard work of the Vice President, too.

The Hastert Rule is constitutional? Really? It removes the 'representation' out of a Representative Democracy. Tom DeLay spawned the The Hastert Rule. That should be corrupt enough to get rid of it.

The Hastert Rule: (click here) Initiated by former Republican Speaker Dennis Hastert and so far adhered to by Speaker Boehner, it says that no bill will be put to a floor vote unless it has the support of the majority of the House Republican Caucus. The rule, the brainchild of the ‘take no prisoners’ former House Majority Leader Tom “the Hammer” DeLay, was a result of right wing anger at former Speaker Newt Gingrich for cutting deals with President Clinton in which compromise legislation would pass the House with a relatively even mix of Democratic and Republican votes. In order to reach an agreement to avoid the consequences of going off the fiscal cliff---a tax increase for most Americans and big cuts in defense spending and discretionary domestic spending--Speaker Boehner will be under increasing pressure to do away with the Hastert rule or to at least suspend it. It is likely that the broad compromise nearly agreed to by the President and Speaker Boehner that included raising taxes on people who earn $400,000 and above and some retiree entitlement reform could pass the House of Representatives, but it may not be able to garner a majority vote of House Republicans.

This is as bad as the filibuster. I think it might be worse, but, it ranks right up there.

That is right wing political partisan demand of the USA Constitution, there is suppose to be a majority of the votes to pass a bill. This is a political strategy impaling our democracy.

Is this from the Bush years? 

The Hastert Rule nullifies the elections. It removes the right of the MAJORITY represented by both parties to carry out the "Will of the People." This is outrageous.

There is an entire Electoral College that determines the outcome of Presidential Elections. The representatives of the Electoral College reflects the will of the people of this country for the Executive Branch. What gives the House majority the right to remove the will of the people from the authority of the voter?

The Hastert Rule is corruption through and through. What kind of people are we dealing with? They are not the least bit interested in our democracy, they are interested in control of the power of this country. The representation of the people is being removed by this House rule. It needs to stop. There has to be a way in which these rules can be proven to be an attack against our democracy. At the very least, the ethical process has to address those that seek to undermine the rights of the voters of the USA.

This is hideous. It is destroying the authority of the people. "We the people..." Hello?

The Tea Party in all it's variations are unable to govern, so why are elected and do they effect the outcomes of our lives?

There are only 55 Tea Party members in the House and only 51 are returning. So, what is the issue when they are known to be anti-tax and anti-freedom.

By Roxana Tiron and James Rowley
November 08, 2012

Of the 55 members of the Tea Party (click here) caucus who ran for House seats on Nov. 6, at least 51 will return for the 113th Congress starting in January. Defeated were freshman Representatives Joe Walsh and Allen West, members of the House caucus, and Roscoe Bartlett, a 10-term Maryland Republican. Another caucus member, Jeff Landry of Louisiana, is in a runoff with Republican Charles Boustany. Not all Tea Party-backed lawmakers have joined the caucus....

The 113th Congress is convening in 2013. I don't know but I am sure numerologists have a doomsday scenario for that reality. Each Congress has a duration of two years. The 113th Congress is from January 3, 2013 to January 3, 2015. A lot of threes in there. That has to mean something somewhere. Maybe it means the three branches of the legislative activities of our government actually work together to get the business of the nation done. You know the Senate, House and Executive Branch.

To begin being anti-tax means there is no government because in order have a government there has to be tax. It is just what it is. War alone, a national defense costs money. It just does. Whether it is a government function or an ideological privatized function it still requires money. So, to be anti-tax is not possible.

The Tea Party is purchased by the wealthy. It represents probably less than 2% of the population. When it comes to governing they are have no interest in the other 98% of the USA citizens.

TUESDAY, DEC 11, 2012 08:37 AM EST

Koch Brothers, Tea Party cash drives Michigan Right-to-work Law (click here)

Why did Gov. Rick Snyder buckle on an anti-union law? Just look at his big-money donors

The Tea Party is a SPECIAL INTEREST party. It just is. It dearly doesn't represent the majority of Americans. They back crony interests without a second thought.

There is no way the Tea Party is going to do anything, except, to continue to marginalize the Middle Class and cast citizens into poverty. This problem in the House and within the GOP will result in a return to recession. The Tea Party is not at all reasonable. They are not interested in good governance to support a strong economy. The Tea Party panders to the priorities of the Koch Brothers and nothing else. What works for Koch, works for them.

The current bill before the House seeks to continue to stabilize the USA economy, continue the expansion of the economy, continue to combat unemployment while reversing and ending corruption. It seeks to fix the Alternative Minimum Tax which is historic all by itself. The AMT has a been a problem for many years and this is finally being addressed.

The way to ending the national deficit and shrink the national debt is to expand the economy, the tax base and the growth of all the country's economic sectors. This while finding a way to tax those able to pay which does not at all hurt the economic growth our recovery relies upon. Estimates of new revenues according to the bill now before the House is $800 billion over ten years. That is not nothing. If it is not nothing, then what is the problem?

I have to laugh at the idea of a Balanced Budget Amendment. It is suppose to mean the government is on a fixed income and they have to make the budget fit the income. Where does it say that? Where does it say a Balanced Budget Amendment stops tax increases? It doesn't and given the taste for 'slick government' by the Republicans no one should assume that will ever be the case. It is grossly unrealistic. In five years the cost of living alone will cause the federal government to shrink and shrink and if Republicans think sequester is bad now, just wait until the Balance Budget Amendment kicks in.

The point is, forget about any movement on the bill before House by any Tea Party member. Example: Marco Rubio, Senator. The Senate bill passed by 89 votes and Rubio voted against it. Huh?

By WSJ Staff (click here)

Eight senators voted against the tax bill that passed the Senate. They were: Democratic Sens. Tom Harkin of Iowa; Tom Carper of Delaware; Michael Bennet of Colorado;  and Republican Sens. Charles Grassley of Iowa; Mike Lee of Utah; Rand Paul of Kentucky; Marco Rubio of Florida; and Richard Shelby of Alabama. Here are their comments.

President Obama won Iowa's six electoral votes by 5.8%. Senator Harkin stood with Americans like me that believed $250,000 was the cut off to return the Clinton Tax Rates. So, he felt strongly it was a lousy deal. I have to agree. Sincerely. But, I am sure the Veep would say it was the best the Senate Dems could do.

Senator Carper felt the same way, "Unfortunately, (click here) the deal the Senate passed this morning is not the grand bargain that I, and many of us, had hoped for, and that's why I ultimately voted against it."

Senator Michael Bennett is a champion for good values. He believed the bill was not good for the USA and stood shoulder to shoulder with Harkin and Carper. Senator Bennett is fighting hard to solve the farmer and immigrant problems. He wants sincere immigration reform.

December 17, 2012

A recent widespread push in Colorado for immigration reform (click here) has been welcomed with open arms from a $1.5-billion agriculture industry in Weld County that’s battled existing regulations as much as or more than any other. Earlier this month, a diverse and bipartisan group revealed the “Colorado Compact” — an effort spearheaded by Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., aimed at getting the ball rolling on discussions for federal immigration reform. Colorado — with an estimated 180,000 undocumented immigrants — is now the fourth state to put forth such a document. Because of that push, Colorado Agriculture Commissioner John Salazar and others, including …

Senator Bennett is also a strong supporter of alternative energy, especially wind. He is young, vital and sees the future as a high priority in his focus.

Senator Grassley wanted a bill to contain spending. Let me get this right. It was okay to raise the taxes on all Americans, but, the spending had to come down besides. Gotcha.

“It'd be one thing to raise taxes to reduce the deficit, (click here) but that’s not what this deal does.  It's a fiscal farce to raise taxes and hurt economic growth only to fuel more government spending with record deficits and debt.  People at the grass roots want Washington to spend less, not more.  Failure to deal with spending lets them down.  Spending restraint ought to be more than a wishful new year’s resolution with no way to be certain it’s kept....

Senators Lee, Senator Rand Paul and Rubio are all Tea Party members of the Senate. Both Paul and Lee are 2010 Senators. They are just anti-government, except, for their paychecks. Wait a minute, Rubio was a 2010 Senator. Yeah. A Tea Party surge into the federal government and state legislatures. They won't be up for reelection until 2016.

Richard Shelby of Alabama said: “I do not support this agreement," Shelby said in a statement. "Our economy needs spending restraint by the federal government and fundamental tax reform that eliminates corporate welfare and lowers individuals' rates.

"Instead, this package raises taxes, increases spending, and will lead to more borrowing. This deal is certainly no cure-all; rather, it falls far short of the measures necessary to promote job creation, economic growth, and fiscal stability.”

I don't mind what Senator Shelby said. I believe that is true. However, I think it is remiss to ignore the pitfalls of a recession. That is the only reason I would disagree with Senator Shelby. He is correct, there has to be expansive changes to the tax code. Unfortunately, for as correct as he is, there is literally no common ground for that approach. Those sound principles are literally gone from the legislative priorities. So, while I agree with Senator Shelby, his vote was a statement and not reality. 

Senator Shelby's partner from Alabama wanted to stop the tax increases on low income. Alabama has many low income folks. Sessions was correct. Alabama also receives a lot of federal dollars for health care. Public health care.

A statement from Sessions read: (click here) “This legislation is necessary to prevent a large and painful tax increase from falling on the vast majority of Americans. Its enactment will end a long period of uncertainty that would weaken or even reverse economic growth. Now, it is important that we place our focus directly on the real cause of our nation’s looming debt crisis: the continued surge in spending.”

I know these men care about their constituencies and have the faith of their people to represent them, but, what I don't understand is why the citizen / voter is not empowered to move out of poverty through union representation. I am quite sure Senator Sessions and Shelby want their people to be less impoverished, yet, in that reality they still hold back in endorsing organized labor to improve the working circumstances of their people. I hate it that Alabama is as poor as it is. I find their reality and inability to empower themselves in increased economic standing very sad.

I think that covers it. The Tea Party really needs to be defeated. In all honesty, with the whooping the GOP took in 2008, the wealthy and those wannabee wealthy saw an opportunity to cash in on the opportunity to create a new image without sincerely backing qualified people.

The people of the USA want the government to work.

..."It's about working together (click here) to put something together, and we're eagerly awaiting what form that might take," she told reporters at the Capitol. "Let's have the Senate put something together and see where that takes us.

"Candor is constructive, and I think it moved us, but we'll see," she added....

Minority Speaker Pelosi knows the bipartisan vote was an incredible act of unity in addressing the concerns of the country. It is that FACT the House Democrats see as something that should be held as important to ask for an up or down vote. 

She is correct. Absolutely.

The House passed their responsibility to the Senate. The Senate got it done. They got it done within time in relation to the 'time line' of the nation. The House doesn't have room to criticize. If Eric Cantor wants to complain then he needs to keep it to himself. He passed up his chance to make a difference well over a week ago.

Cantor is a prime example of what is wrong with the Tea Party Republicans. He and what's her name, the woman who wanted to be king, sorry Queen. Oh, yeah, Michele Bachmann. They believe they have a right to dissect the work of the President and the Senate. They believe that even when they don't know what they are doing.

Bachmann said, "We need to read this bill very carefully."

No, Michele, you have to read it and vote. If you have to read it carefully and take another month to decide IF you will vote at all that is called incompetency. She can read, right?

The House passed their responsibility to the Senate because they could not decide what a bill actually should read to stop the demise of the Middle Class and Working Poor. The Senate decided the majority Democrats knew how to do that. The majority Senate Democrats actually knew what to do. It is time for the incompetent House to get out of the way, PARTICIPATE in an up and down vote and then SHUT UP! Those are the only rights the House has.

"Slate" is leading the body count to Gun Control

By Chris Kirk and Dan Kois

Posted Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013, at 9:00 AM ET

Since the shootings at Sandy Hook (click here) Elementary in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14, we atSlate have been wondering how many people are dying from guns in America every day.

That information is surprisingly hard to come by. The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, for example, has a tally atop its website of “people shot in America.” That number, though, is an estimate, based on the number of gun injuries and deaths recorded by the CDC in 2008 and 2009, the most recent years for which statistics are available. It seems shocking that when guns are in the headlines every day, there’s no one attempting to create a real-time chronicle of the deaths attributable to guns in the United States.

Well, someone is. Since this summer, the anonymous creator of the Twitter feed @GunDeaths has been doing his best to compile those statistics, tweeting every reported death he can find. He was inspired, he told us in a phone interview, by the Aurora, Colo., shootings and simply wanted to call daily attention to the toll that guns take. Now Slate is partnering with @GunDeaths to create this interactive feature, “Gun Deaths in America Since Newtown.”

It is an interesting interactive. Since Sandy Hook the deaths are primarily adult men. There was one teen death.

The adults murdered at Sandy Hook were seven women, including, Nancy Lanza. The children murdered were 13 girls and 7 boys. The icons can be clicked on and the name, age of the deceased along with where they were murdered and the date appears. 

There have been no girls murdered by gun since Sandy Hook, but, there have been 6 boys. One was ten, another twelve and the rest are toddlers, two age 2 year olds and one each 3 and 4 year olds. What the heck is this all about? There are babies being murdered with guns in the USA? Is this acceptable?

There is also an information link to each murder. Children are being shot in drive-by shootings? Accidental? They aren't accidental, they are negligent. The child was exposed to an accessible gun. That is not accidental, it is parental neglect. The parents need to be charged with the death of their child.

I take it Senators are having a new 'feel good feeling' this morning.

"I don't think anybody was particularly thrilled (click here) with the result but everybody understands that the alternative would be disastrous for the American economy," said Senator Brian Schatz.

"The event of the year"

Peace over War

Suu Kyi claims victory in landmark Burma election (click here)

By Steve Finch
April 01, 2012

...The Nobel Peace Prize winner’s allies said she had soundly defeated her opponent from the ruling party, recording wins at all but one of 128 polling stations in her rural constituency near this Southeast Asian nation’s former capital, Rangoon. With results still coming in Sunday evening, Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party projected it would claim 40 of 45 seats being contested across Burma. The country’s election commission is expected to confirm the much-anticipated results in the coming days....

This was followed up by historical visits by President Obama into the region. The USA also looked to the Pacific for emphasis a presence for it's Department of Defense assets.

Secretary Clinton has ushered in changes around the world during her four years facilitating democracy.

Her health is stabilized and she will be fine. I expect her to take a well deserved rest. She'll probably write. Her injury to a cranial vein and her new medication has nothing to do with damaging her future. She has a full range of choices to her ambition choices. She has a real challenge though; to sit still, wake to her family, go shopping with friends, decide what hobby has been her favorite to pursue and decide what to cook for supper. She'll have time to find out what ordinary lives are like and enjoy it.

If there are any detractors to her plans for the future I hand them Dick Cheney. I promise you he was on the same blood thinner as she is now taking. That man's health was a mess for the entire eight years he was a heartbeat away from the presidency.

Both Hillary and Burma are going to be fine. We look forward to the future of both.

This is why there is cooperation from the Republicans.

-Income tax rates: Extends decade-old tax cuts on incomes up to $400,000 for individuals, $450,000 for couples. Earnings above those amounts would be taxed at a rate of 39.6 percent, up from the current 35 percent. Extends Clinton-era caps on itemized deductions and the phase-out of the personal exemption for individuals making more than $250,000 and couples earning more than $300,000.

-Capital gains, dividends: Taxes on capital gains and dividend income exceeding $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for families would increase from 15 percent to 20 percent.

Where to many with incomes over $400,000 receive their income? They'll still only be paying 20 percent.

I am interested in one and only one scoring and that is from the CBO.

I am so tired of SLICK government there are no words.

We don't need an agreement, the Middle Class that work for a living have it covered.