Tesla expects their vehicle to reach more consumers dependent on less costs in about three years.

Kevin Bullis

January 14, 2014

Tesla Motors is using over-the-air software updates to quickly fix the sort of problems that often arise when bringing a new car to market. This forward-looking approach is an important part of the company’s success (see “How Tesla is Driving Electric Car Innovation”).

Today the National Highway Safety Administration officially published two recall announcements, one from Tesla Motors and one from GM. Both are related to problems that could cause fires. In the case of GM, trucks left idling can overheat and catch fire—eight fires have been reported. In Tesla’s case, an overheating charger plug seems have to have been the cause of a fire in a garage (it’s not clear if the problem had to do with miswiring of the wall charger, damage to the plug, or something else).

Both problems can be addressed with software updates–in Tesla’s case, the software detects charging problems and decreases charging rates to avoid overheating (GM hasn’t provided details). Owners of 370,000 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups will need to find time to take their pickups to the dealer to get the software fixed. But because of its ability to send software updates to its vehicles wirelessly, the 29,222 Tesla Model S electric cars that were affected have already been fixed. (While Tesla says the software update addresses the issue, it is also mailing Tesla owners new charger plugs that have a thermal fuse designed to provide another layer of safety.)...

                

Republicans love to state pure capitalism at any cost is best.

It doesn't matter the venue of economic greed, the reason is always the same. 

"If the USA doesn't do it then Russia and China will."

Not.

The statement is "If the USA doesn't to it, then the USA doesn't do it and seek better solutions."

Isn't capitalism suppose to capture a market that is exclusive so nothing competes? Yes?

Yes.

So, the USA needs to capture the energy market in new technology that PREVENTS carbon emissions into the troposphere. A new market. An exclusive market. A market built of conscience and moral content.

Carbon fuels are not moral fuels and the producers have no conscience except for the cash in their pockets that pay for legislators.

Murkowski wants to seek an export market for oil condensates.

There is much confusion (click here) about the terms “shale oil” and “oil shale”.  The two are often used interchangeably, but, in fact are very different.  Oil shale is an organic-rich sedimentary rock that contains kerogen.  Kerogen-rich rock must be heated at extremely high temperatures (950 degrees F or 500 degrees Celsius) in order to “process” it into liquid oil.  Oil shale is expensive to mine, as it is more complex than conventional oil recovery. The oil substances in oil shale are solid and cannot be pumped directly out of the ground.

She wants to seek more production of carbon fuels by increasing the demand for 'making' oil from rock. It isn't enough she wants to export natural gas and coal, she wants to see condensates as a 'nice surprise.' She wants to deregulate everything and allow high carbon dioxide emissions OUTSIDE the USA.

Think Halliburton.

Gas oil, naphtha and other relatively light hydrocarbons (with some dissolved hydrocarbon gases such as butane and propane) which remain liquid at normal temperature and pressure. Recovered mainly from gas reservoirs, condensates are very similar to light stabilized crude oil and are used as feedstock for oil refining and other petrochemical industries.

The only people that consider condensate a 'dangerous good' is the petroleum industry.

Condensate is considered a “dangerous good”, and is classified as a highly toxic substance by the federal government. It is highly flammable, and under certain conditions, explosive. It is toxic in its liquid form, and vapours are extremely toxic also.

The use of the word 'condensates' is arbitrary. It is a grade of oil derived from some source in the world of petroleum. The reason there is liquid oil in the ground is because of carbon material that devolved to oil UNDER PRESSURE.

"Condensates" tend to be lighter in color, too, all the way to water-clear and often to straw-yellow or light green, though some are deep black. "Oils" run a broad range of colors from deep black to light straw, with varying tints of green, brown, red, and even blue.

As to price, the "sweet spot" is somewhere in the middle of the range (the price you hear on the news is for either "light sweet crude" or "West Texas Intermediate". Lighter crudes (& condensates) are easier to process for many products (gasoline, gas, petrochemicals) but have less total energy content.

There is a spectrum of oil classified to help the industry understand the characteristics of that source to determine how it is obtained and processed. 

There is a Google Book Link that is entitled, "The properties of petroleum products" (click here)

Definition - CONDENSATE
As natural gas comes to the surface, pressure is released and temperatures are lowered, and some of the gas content naturally condenses into a light oil called condensate.

In case this is confusing, I think of it as a pressure cooker. The higher the pressure the faster food will cook. That is the sort of dynamic that acts upon petroleum reserves in the ground. The pressure 'at depth' cause the substance to be liquid. No different than the magma layer of Earth. Right? Earth's core or center layer that is primarily nickel and iron, BUT, it is liquid, not solid as on the surface of Earth. On the surface of Earth iron is mined.

The layers of Earth are primarily liquid, except for the upper layers. The deeper one goes into Earth's mass there are two qualities guaranteed to be similar, the ROCK is no longer rock as we think about it.

The oil condensates are the same principle. When drilling takes place there is all kinds of changes to Earth's mass at that particular point. There is release of gas and there is movement of liquid. Some of the gas as it reaches the surface of the planet condenses as the pressure is relieved into a form of oil.

The reason Murkowski is ecstatic about it because it can be obtained from gas drills.

The petroleum industry knows no conscience. They will continue to pay off legislators so they can continue these practices, regardless of water pollution and seismic activity. The oils that are produced at this stage of "Past the Peak Oil" requires more energy to process and 'create' gas out of CARBON SUBSTANCES. 

Murkowski wants the petroleum industry to continue to punch holes in Earth to extract methane gas the the very exciting 'condensates' that are sincerely oil, but, appears to be similar.

Murkowski has no moral conscience when it comes to the Climate Crisis. She sees all that happening anyway only it would be Russia or China or some other nation 'getting all the money' when they export their carbon substances. She sees no real problem with competing for the same markets even though it causes greater and greater hardship for people, both, that provide the land to drill on and those that receive it. Basically, what Murkowski is STILL saying is continue to look the other way so we can compete with every other country on Earth. Rather than rising to offer a better idea to supply energy and export American Energy Technology to remove carbon as an energy source. She is corrupt and doesn't care how the USA competes in the world. She only cares about the money any NATURAL RESOURCE that the USA owns.

There were 21 armed security agents at Benghazi beside the six CIA at the annex.

...There were five DS agents at the Mission compound that night. Two had traveled from Tripoli with U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens (who was staying at the Mission compound in Benghazi), and three others were assigned to the Mission facility. In addition to the five DS agents on duty, there were three armed members of the Libyan 17th February Brigade militia, three Libyan National Police officers, and five unarmed members of a local security team comtacted through a British company, Blue Mountain Group, who were guarding the Mission facility that night. In addition, six armed CIA security personnel (plus an
interpreter) operating out of the nearby Annex were able to respond quickly afterreceiving word of the attack. ...

There was a 3 to 1 ratio of attackers to security personnel.

There is no accountability of the actions Congress took in cutting funding to the State Department in the Senate report either. The Senate took good care of themselves in their assessment.

By Howard LaFranchi, Staff writer
April 23, 2010
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (click here) did not stand alone when she objected this week to a Senate Budget Committee plan to take much of a nearly $10 billion cut in President Obama’s proposed discretionary spending for next year from State Department and other international programs....

Some of the accounting by the Senate report is rather astounding. The Annex was notified of the attack yet it took 25 minutes for them to respond because then had to ready two armored vehicles before departing the annex. The vehicles weren't ready at a moment's notice? What was so difficult to respond immediately?

The attack occurred at 9:40 PM.  

During the period between approximately 9:40 p.m. and 10:03 p.m. Benghazi time, the Chief of Base and security team members attempted to secure assistance and heavy weapons (such as .50 caliber truck-mounted machine guns) from the 17th February Brigade and other militias that had been assisting the United States.

The personnel in Libya never prepared for this possibility. They were attempting to respond DURING the attack, but, they didn't have the equipment needed to defend the consulate. This is NOT a State Department issue. The funding was cut and there were personnel on the ground in Libya that were absolutely not prepared for the attack. They were scrambling for resources. What good is a security team if there is no munitions to use to secure the facility?

...some members of the security team expressed frustration that they were
unable to respond more quickly to the Mission compound...

Sounds right.

...Other DS agents went to retrieve their M-4 carbine assault rifles from
Building B when the attack began....

No personnel were prepared for defending the consulate. Just that simple. They never expected to face this kind of danger. Now, if they never expected this kind of danger, than why all the unheeded warnings? If there were so many warnings about the dangers to the consulate and the ambassador why was the security personnel completely unprepared to defend themselves and the consulate?

Why?

...The 17th February Brigade members refused, saying they preferred to negotiate with the attackers instead....

There also was no clear understanding there was a single commander that all the security forces would take orders from, the command structure disintegrated at the time of the attack. The militia did not value the Ambassador enough to put their lives on the line for him. There were a variety of value systems within the security personnel, why would anyone expect there to be a sincere effort to defend from the attack? The militia that were relied upon had completely different value systems than the other security personnel.  The hosting country is suppose to provide security to State Department personnel. That is established protocol within any consulate mission. The militias were assigned to this consulate and they did not see the need to defend the Ambassador above all else.

The Ambassador and two others, one being an armed DS agent, were in the 'safe room' of the consulate when they were overcome by smoke from burning diesel fuel. The DS agent lost the other two, including Ambassador Stevens in the smoke. When the smoke entered the safe room it was too late to save anyone because they were all overcome by it. The one DS agent that made it out of the room through a window nearly died as well. It was over long before anyone from the Annex began to search for the Ambassador.

...At approximately 11 :56 p.m. Benghazi time, sporadic arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) were fired at the Annex.28 Over the next hour, the Annex took sporadic small arms fire and RPG rounds, the security team returned fire, and the attackers dispersed....

End of discussion. The security team at Benghazi was not prepared to defend the compound. At 11:56 PM when they finally were organized with their weapons they deflected the second wave attack and ended the confrontation. This is not about having enough security personnel on the ground in Benghazi, this was the fact the security personnel there were not prepared to defend the consulate or the Ambassador. When they were organized to fire back at the attackers it was successful. What else is needed to know?

There were approximately 60 attackers at any point during the gun fire. There were 21 security personnel at the consulate. There were an additional five armed CIA agents at the Annex. There was absolutely no preparation for an attack on that consulate; even the vehicles were not prepared to respond. This is not a State Department issue, it is a command and control issue. No one was prepared for the attack. No one. Twenty-six security personnel, including the 5 CIA agents were not prepared to stop 60 attackers armed with small arms and diesel fuel.

Wall Street is pulling their anti-female nonsense, again.

1/12/14
...Considering monetary policy, (click here) money's sole purpose is to facilitate the exchange of goods. In that case, the only good money is money that is unchanging in value. With the fed staffed with individuals trained in the fraudulent discipline that is economics, it is broadly true that the very few inside our central banks walls believe in stable money values. Because they don't our economy would be much better off if we had a monetary authority possessing one mandate: maintain the integrity of the unit account (the dollar) by stabilizing it's value...

Wall Street is so scared of Chairwoman Janet Yellen they want to build another authority to undermine The Fed and provide exclusive stability to the USA Dollar. OMG.

This is being an unwilling party to the act of aggression by the USA. Don't get caught being helpful.

January 15, 2014
The U.S. National Security Agency (click here) is reported to have implanted malicious software in nearly 100,000 computers worldwide -- allowing the U.S. to conduct surveillance on those machines and create a digital highway for launching cyberattacks....

I don't want to muddy up the waters, but, isn't the demands under abortion laws today a violation of the Privacy Act. Disclosure is a matter of privacy. Coercion for services.

142.

Judicial Remedies and Penalties for Violating the Privacy Act

The Act specifically provides civil remedies, 5 U.S.C. Sec. 552a(g), including damages, and criminal penalties, 5 U.S.C. Sec. 552a(i), for violations of the Act. The civil action provisions are premised on agency violations of the Act or agency regulations promulgated thereunder. An individual claiming such a violation by the agency may bring the civil action in a federal district court. If the individual substantially prevails, the court may assess reasonable attorney fees and other litigation costs against the agency. In addition, the court may direct the agency to grant the plaintiff access to his/her records, and when appropriate direct the agency to amend or correct its records subject to the Act. Actual damages may be awarded to the plaintiff for intentional or willful refusal by the agency to comply with the Act. In the case of "criminal violations" of the Act (Section 3 of the Act, 5 U.S.C. Sec. 552a(i) limits these so-called penalties to misdemeanors), an officer or employee of an agency may be fined up to $5,000 for: Knowingly and willfully disclosing individually identifiable information which is prohibited from such disclosure by the Act or by agency regulations; or Willfully maintaining a system of records without having published a notice in the Federal Register of the existence of that system of records. In addition, an individual may be fined up to $5,000 for knowingly and willfully requesting or gaining access to a record about an individual under false pretenses. While the Act does not establish a time limit for prosecutions for violation of the criminal penalties provision of the Act, it does limit the bringing of civil action to two years from the date on which the cause of action arose. See 5 U.S.C. Sec. 552a(g)(5). However, the time limit for filing a civil action may be tolled for material and willful misrepresentation by the agency of any information which is required to be disclosed, if the misrepresentation is material to the liability of the agency. A civil action may be filed in the U.S. District Court in the district where the requester resides or has his/her principal place of business; in which the agency records are located; or in the District of Columbia.

The federal judiciary has gotten real cozy with the idea of 'doing less work' to satisfy citizen rights.

Published time: January 15, 2014 16:09

...Obama’s panel of experts, (click here) the Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technology, presented its 46 recommendations regarding NSA activities in December following the wide-ranging revelations about NSA surveillance by whistleblower Edward Snowden.

It also recommended several changes to the FISA court system, which authorized NSA broad eavesdropping operations, including massive collection of Americans’ and foreigners’ telephone metadata.

Enacting those reforms, Bates said, would profoundly increase the workloads of federal courts. Some of the proposals may disrupt the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court's ability to fulfill its "responsibilities under (the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, under which the secret court operates) and the Constitution to ensure that the privacy interests of United States citizens and others are adequately protected."

Bates strongly warned against a proposal to create a "Public Interest Advocate" to represent privacy and civil liberty concerns before the court, which usually operates behind closed doors.

He said it would provide "greater procedural protections for suspected foreign agents and international terrorists than for ordinary US citizens in criminal investigations."...

Gee, what a shame, they actually have to earn their salaries now, just like it used to be.

This is not benign surveillance. This is invasive and a planned assault.

Amanda Holpuch
January 14, 2014

Non-profit group (click here) the Freedom of the Press Foundation said on Tuesday that NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden will join its board of directors in February 2014.

The group uses a crowd-funding structure to collect donations for journalism projects and to encourage news organizations to use encryption tools.

"Journalism isn't possible unless reporters and their sources can safely communicate," said Snowden in a statement, "and where laws can't protect that, technology can. This is a hard problem, but not an unsolvable one, and I look forward to using my experience to help find a solution.”...

This is also NOT metadata. Just because people haven't been rounded up, doesn't mean it wasn't going to happen. This is not about national security, this is about aggression. Aggression against innocent people. The USA government has given itself permission to own every computer in the world and use it at will. This is complete denial of citizen's rights. It violates the 14th Amendment. It states:

 ...“nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”...

The malware introduces criminality to our government processes and removes the rights of citizens. 

January 15, 2014
The U.S. National Security Agency (click here) is reported to have implanted malicious software in nearly 100,000 computers worldwide -- allowing the U.S. to conduct surveillance on those machines and create a digital highway for launching cyberattacks.

The New York Times says the NSA inserts most of the software by gaining access to computer networks, but has also increasingly made use of a secret technology that enables it to enter and alter data in computers even if they are not connected to the Internet.

The report cites NSA documents, U.S. officials and computer experts.

The Times story comes as President Barack Obama prepares to announce Friday changes he wants to make in the scope of the NSA spying. The Timesreports that aides to Mr. Obama say he will curtail the agency's surveillance, but not adopt the most far-reaching recommendations of a White House review panel....

In Congressional testimony, former CIA Director Michael Morrell stated the metadata collected has not prevented any attacks on Americans. He stated that once there was suspect of an attack within dialogues LISTENED TO by an agent the metadata was then accessed to find out who the person was speaking with and whether it was about American citizens within an American location inside the USA. No, ACTIVE LISTENING, by CIA agents and the cross check of metadata ever turned up a known terrorist threat within the USA.

C-Span (click here) The statements regarding Metadata was during questioning by Senator Grassley, but, one has to witness the tone and emphasis by both Morell and Grassley to know there was option to stop the program. Grassley came away from this testimony determined to keep the program as it exists today. It is a political thing, but, also sheer fear of the unknown, too. Grassley is more than willing to violate the 14th Amendment for his own reasons.

It is called Moral Courage. A gun is not needed, but, a conscience is.

The brutal beating of Kelly Thomas had no conscience. At no point in time did any of the officers step back from their 'mind set' to realize there was no danger to their lives and they needed to take a different direction with their actions.

Robo-Cop without metal.

SITE STATUS - AUGUST 2013 (click here)

- Crews will demolish the cell building the week of Sept. 3 as part of some interim cleanup work.
- Pictures of the cell building are on Flickr.
- Ecology and the Port of Bellingham recently completed and published an environmental report known as a remedial investigation. (Available for review in 'recent documents' section.)...

Police acquitted in beating of homeless man.

"He is still going to fight." Police in the USA have no idea they are doing in this country. Police officers are taught they are to subdue anyone they are concerned about. They take subdued to an extent that kills. That is not what police are expected to do in this country. This man was unarmed and had no idea whatsoever what he had done wrong and was mercilessly beaten because police officers acted out of bureaucratic bullshit. They have arbitrary rules of engagement with the public and they don't use COGNITIVE reasons to stop their assault when there is absolutely no danger to their lives.

The entire TEACHING of police and their RESPONSIBILITY is wrong. They are taught these techniques by horrid instructors such as the former "Blackwater." This isn't war, this is the public.

Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
January 14, 2014

Thomas, (click here) a mentally disabled homeless man, was beaten, tasered, suffocated and pistol whipped as he lay on a street corner being sat on by no less than six police officers during an incident in July 2011.

In what is undoubtedly one of if not the most disturbing police brutality videos ever, Thomas can be heard pleading for his father, moaning, “Daddy, daddy, they are killing me,” as officers prolong the assault....

Give the Police Academy 5 months and you too can be a brutal enforcer of the law.

These are also reasons the Gun Lobby site as a reason to be armed 'against the system.'

Basic Training (click here)
Upon being hired by the City of Detroit Police
Department, successful candidates become Student
Police Officers.
Basic training consists of a minimum of 562 hours
or 19 weeks of course instruction. During basic training,
Student Police Officers are expected to maintain
an overall scholastic average of seventy percent (70%).
Students unable to maintain this average will not be eligible
to take the M.C.O.L.E.S. (Michigan Commission
on Law Enforcement Standards) Final Certification
Examination. Courses and examinations include:
■ Practical Precision Driving Training and Exam
■ Criminal Law and Procedures Quizzes
■ Physical Conditioning and Training
■ Defensive Tactics Training Program and Exam
■ Firearms Training and Exam
■ First Aid/CPR- Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation
  Training and Exam

"Americans die of gun violence by twenty times than any other country." Lisa Bloom

Piers Morgan. 

I thought I was disoriented or something because I couldn't find anyone reporting or discussing the shootings today. Then Mr. Morgan was talking about it and I was relieved someone was at least as sane as I was.

56 minutes ago

Miami (AFP) - A 71-year-old retired policeman (click here) was refused bail after allegedly shooting dead a fellow moviegoer in Florida for using text messages with his phone, authorities in the US state said.

Curtis Reeves, a retired police captain from Tampa, was being held on suspicion of second-degree homicide after he opened fire on Chad Oulson, 43, Monday at a cinema in Wesley Chapel, Florida, Pasco county judge Lynn Tepper said.

The police report said Reeves fired one shot from his .380 caliber semiautomatic handgun after the two men exchanged words over Oulson's use of his smartphone shortly before a screening of military action film "Lone Survivor."...

The man carried his weapon with him into a movie theater to watch the movie, lost his temper and killed someone over the use of a cell phone. Amazing. This is what we have come to in this country. We don't value human life the way we should anymore. It used to be the worst anyone could do in a theater or library was to say, "Shhhhhh" and it would embarrass the other person and they would stop their annoyance. Now, why bother causing embarrassment, end it. What is incredible to me is that the man probably expected to finish watching the movie after he silenced the 'problem.'

I have been trying to win at Ms. Pacman for decades. 

I have yet to beat it.

Now that is what I call loyalty to a product.

Another school shooting.

How does a junior high student carry a shotgun into the school? In a backpack? 

I was in Best Buy recently. Just looking around and I was astounded at the lack of choice of games for X-Box. They were all violent in content.

What ever happened Mario Brothers and the Princess?

Video games really need to be less 'life like' and insert an aspect to their programs that insure the consumer this is PRETEND, especially in the violent venue. The Gaming Industry are literally raising their consumers. The folks purchasing these games started out when they much younger with Mario Brothers and the Princess and have now graduated to sincere violence. These consumers have always been gamers since they were young.

As these consumers grew out of their childhood programs the Gaming Industry grew with them. Nothing like playing GI Joe as an adult in a faux venue that mimics life while waving Mario good-bye.

By Laura Stampler @laurastampler
Jan. 13, 2014

Microsoft created a Black Swan moment in its new, (click here) somewhat scary Xbox One ad, which follows a man who is so immersed in his gaming experience that he can no longer tell if the injuries he receives in the game are real or fake. ”If it were any more real, it would be real,” the spot’s tagline reads....

There is some serious obstruction to California's high speed rail.

According to those that oppose the project the entire cost has to be secured before it can proceed. Those that oppose state there is no private monies to contribute. It would seem that is not the case.

The state is up against a deadline for spending the monies supplied by the federal government. I would think with private interest willing to invest, the federal dollar deadline could be extended until the court ruling could be appealed.

California's planned bullet train moves ahead despite a recent court challenge, according to Ben Tripousis, who heads the Bay Area segment of the $68 billion project.

...Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Michael Kenny (click here) on Nov. 25 rejected a request from the High-Speed Rail Authority to sell $8 billion of the $10 billion in bonds approved by voters in 2008. Kenny said state bullet train planners were wrong to determine it was “necessary and desirable” to start selling the bonds....

...Gov. Jerry Brown has budgeted $250 million for the high-speed rail project this year, money he said will come from the state’s cap-and-trade program.

That public money, Tripousis said, will help attract private investors that are needed to pay for the project. Tripousis said China, Japan and other foreign countries with bullet train systems have expressed interest in operating some aspects of California’s bullet train....

Christie doesn't travel outside the USA, does he?

By Jenna Portnoy

The Star-Ledger 
on May 17, 2012 at 6:00 AM, updated May 17, 2012 at 10:15 AM

...Tom Wilson, (click here) a former state Republican chairman, said that although there might eventually be residual benefits, for now Christie is giving more than he’s getting from politicians eager to share a stage with him.

"You stand next to someone whose light is a little brighter than yours so you can come out of the shadows and capture some of that," Wilson said....

A friend of mine lives in Hightstown, New Jersey. He has a small transportation business. Freight hauler. He receives shipping containers out of Port Elizabeth and delivers them throughout New Jersey and along the I-95 corridor. He has several trucks.

In 2008, after the global economic collapse a customer cancelled all their shipments to the USA because the company believed their product was an option in purchasing and not a staple to consumers. The product was flower bulbs out of Holland. That company was 40% of his business and that income just stop cold except for 30 days worth of receipts. He had to reduce his liability in employee numbers and returned to driving one of the trucks himself.

The business has recovered somewhat, but, he still drives from time to time when he never did before. I can't help but wonder why Governor Christi isn't engaged in talks with other nations in Europe to increase trade, both import but also export. He seriously needs to look at how much trade returned to the New Jersey ports after 2008. If the import/export isn't balanced and hasn't returned to healthy levels he needs to find trade partners to encourage product production in New Jersey for export in exchange for importing products to his state. Most every Governor does that. I am fairly confident Europe would love to increase their economy while striking a trade deal with New Jersey. 

Interesting. He is focused on domestic politics. I would think if he was seriously interested in running for federal office, especially the Presidency, he would have logged some time oversees. Fort Dix and McGuire AFB are still in NJ, aren't they? He doesn't visit New Jersey soldiers and veterans in hospitals? Many Governors do.

There is every reason in the world to disagree with Governor Christi's policies, but, it doesn't require character assassination.

Governor Chris Christie is no different than any other Republican in the USA. He sees dedicated monies to public employees and wants to get his hands on it. They can't stand it and they covet it in ways that would increase the wealth of the Plutocracy. Bush and Cheney did and people rarely realized they were being robbed while running around terrified for their own lives.

He basically set up every Democrat in the chamber for being the enemy of school children. Why? Because he wants to get his hands on more pension funds and now he is hacking away at 'earned sick time.' He made everyone feel guilty that the monies in vast amounts, up to $880 miillion in sick time banks to public employees, can be moved to make every child successful.

He is brilliant. No doubt in my mind. The Dems need to address the topic of education in NJ and how it is going to move forward to insure the success of the majority of children in their state. Look, the statistics about Camden is a crime all by itself. Something has to be done. He wants to do it. I am confident every Democrat in New Jersey wants to do it, so they need to find a way.

He wants to address crime. I applaud him because he reaches into his experience as a US Attorney and otherwise to propose changes in sentencing, placing the power to protect the public on a case by case basis in the hands of judges. It is brilliant. It is not only brilliant, it is CONSTITUTIONAL according to the USA Constitution. 

He didn't demand the legislature to put guns on the street or in the hands of terrified citizens at every turn, in parks, in schools, on university campuses. I sincerely think he knows better and while he uses emblematic bills, such as the one regarding ammunition before his election, he knows more guns mean for crime and more deaths by homicide and suicide.

He wants to return every citizens' loss because of Sandy back to them. I believe him. The legislature needs to take the initiative to seek out reasons why that hasn't happened by now and pass legislation that knocks down walls and return citizen's value back to them. Normality is important to those citizens as well as the economy of New Jersey.

I think he gave a great speech. He recognized rather incredible people during that speech. He was real, but, Christi is always real. He takes his responsibility seriously and speaks to every person as if they are the only person in the room. He isn't a phony.

His tactics are rather incredible. He pit Democrats in defense of public employees against the 'idea' there are public employees on sick leave receiving six figures 'while sick.' Well, yeah. If their lives while working received a six figure salary they will need those same funds when sick. Won't he? I am not wishing anything on him, but, I don't believe he works for minimum wage, does he?

He doesn't want to raise taxes to pay the bills New Jersey faces, so he is looking at large amounts of funding sitting in RESERVES and believes they are best spent on bills rather than the future AND the promises the state made to them. The Democrats face the exact same problems the Governor points to. It isn't enough to simply disagree with him, but, they have to have alternative methods of solving the problem. They need to validate the problem the Governor points to is real, promise to solve the problem and then propose a solution that can achieve the same outcome with better and different methods.

People want their problems solved and not postponed. Every parent wants their children to move into their own American Dream and not pay off bills that belong in previous generations. 

I think New Jersey has a great Governor. As a Governor he is focused on solving problems for the state and he sincerely believes the monies spent on public employees is the wrong thing to do. Okay, so he believes it is the wrong thing to do, but, there are legislators that feel differently. The Governor found a solution, it is up to the Democrats to refute it and propose a better alternative. When the people of New Jersey begin to write and phone the Governor's office with demands to accept the Democratic alternative while including some of his directives; then you've got a functional state government. 

He also addressed the scandal within his administration at first breath. I congratulate him. I am sure it wasn't easy to do. The facts are yet to be realized and the limits on the laws regarding this scandal may prove to seem inadequate to voters and legislators both. Well. He didn't see the problem before it occurred, right? 

The Fort Lee issue is a bigger problem than just New Jersey and to that end there needs to be a review of what occurred so the Port Authority can better address this from happening again. Apologizing isn't enough. The legislators should be taking the information received in investigations and apply them to change the law governing the Port Authority so it doesn't happen again. If there were laws broken and those that broke them did so willfully and maliciously there will be charges filed and their response is going to be required. Any criminality will be known, but, that occurs in time and while the public has to be reminded this is a problem; they don't need to hear it every day or every week. Seeking to be judge and jury is unethical and needs to be avoided. Either the law works or it doesn't. Either way, the truth will win out and that is what is important.

It seems as though Governor Christi put a challenge before the people and their legislators today. I am confident they are all up to the challenge and I wish them great success.

Doesn't Wall Street realize they have to live on this planet along with their consumers?

...More than 200 organisations across the EU, including the TUC, Greenpeace and War on Want, have written a joint letter to European and American trade negotiators demanding the removal of the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) process from the final treaty....

What good is sovereignty if a country can't enforce the law of the land? Wall Street is horrible. Wall Street is one of the most anti-social capacities a government needs to protect their citizens from and this is what is transpiring. I can't believe the USA is part of this disgusting practice.

Do you know what this does? It promotes offshoring. In other words if a company puts their company headquarters in the USA they can play games with regulations in Europe.

This demands that Europe relinquish their sovereign right to care for it's citizens in a meaningful way. THAT is sovereignty. Amazing.

Forget Wall Street. Small, local business is the best option for any commodity in any country. No doubt in my mind. It maintains quality of life within a country and provides employment along with quality consumer products. The EU and the Brits are taking this far too lightly. Why would a country pass laws that will result in lawsuits? That makes sense? That is hideous. Why pass laws that will add to the cost of conducting government and business? 

The Brits and the EU are bargaining with the ability of the courts to return their sovereign rights in the face of international agreements that sell out to Plutocrats. That is not good governance. Increasing the cost of doing business by encouraging lawsuits to defeat consumer protection laws increases the cost of the products. The cost of the lawsuits will be passed on to the consumer and increase prices. The cost of the courts to hear these lawsuits increases the cost of government. Why do that in the first place? Makes absolutely no sense and it assaults sovereignty.

I am ashamed of my government for participating in these disgusting and damaging practices by Wall Street. I don't consent to this agreement. It is simply "W"rong.

Tuesday 14 January 2014

Britain’s freedom to tackle climate change,(click here) protect consumers or guarantee a publicly run NHS could be jeopardised by a trade deal being negotiated between Europe and the US, MPs and pressure groups have warned.

Under a draft plan supported by the European Commission, multinational firms would be given wide-ranging powers to sue EU governments that adopt public policies deemed to “discriminate” against free trade.

Campaigners warn that similar trade deals elsewhere in the world have resulted in countries being sued for adopting policies in the public good – such as anti-smoking measures – because they were deemed to penalise foreign investors. These include Australia which is currently being sued by Philip Morris for introducing plain cigarette packaging, and Canada, which is being sued by US drugs firm Eli Lilly for revoking patents on drugs on the grounds that their benefits may have been overstated....

The Georgia Republicans in the US and State government are worried the US will bankrupt the US Treasury on Medicaid.

Gov. Nathan Deal (click here) said Tuesday that he will not expand Georgia's Medicaid program under the federal Affordable Care Act — which would have provided an estimated 650,000 low-income Georgians with health coverage. Above, Francel Kendrick works at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.

Posted: 7:08 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012

By Daniel Malloy

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

...“No, I do not have any intentions of expanding Medicaid,” Deal said. “I think that is something our state cannot afford. And even though the federal government promises to pay 100 percent for the first three years and 90 percent thereafter, I think it is probably unrealistic to expect that promise to be fulfilled in the long term, simply because of the financial status that the federal government is in.”...

...“Consumer patient advocates obviously feel very, very strongly that this is the opportunity of a lifetime to address the intractable and abysmal health access and outcome indicators we have in Georgia by covering some of the uninsured,” said Cindy Zeldin, executive director of Georgians for a Healthy Future.

But U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., called Deal’s decision “smart.”...

...Timothy Sweeney, the director of health policy at the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, which advocates for new revenue sources over budget cuts, said the fuss is too great over a relatively small portion of the state’s yearly budget. The estimated $450 million yearly tab would have been 2.3 percent of Georgia’s most recent budget of $19.3 billion.

“That is hardly a number that should be considered blowing a hole in the state budget,” Sweeney said. “And it doesn’t look at the impact beyond the expansion on the economy of those billions of dollars going to health care providers, the impact on the health care system of a dramatic reduction of uncompensated care and making the system more efficient.”...

In all honesty, it doesn't look like bankruptcy to me. The Republicans have very strange priorities. 

Posted: 7:47 a.m. Monday, Jan. 13, 2014

By Misty Williams

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

More than half of Georgians (click here) in a new AJC poll say that all or at least parts of Obamacare should be repealed, but an even larger proportion believe the state should expand Medicaid.

The poll, conducted for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution by Abt SRBI Inc., measured the views of registered voters across the state last week.

While 53 percent favor repeal of the law, or at least parts of it, 57 percent of Georgians said the state should expand Medicaid under the terms of the Affordable Care Act — something Gov. Nathan Deal has so far decided not to do.

The health care program for the poor would take in an additional 650,000 people if the state expanded it....

Posted: 4:56 p.m. Monday, Jan. 13, 2014

By Misty Williams

...The NAACP and other liberal groups (click here) staged the “Moral Monday” rally, an offshoot of a movement that started in North Carolina. One of the group’s goals is to promote Medicaid expansion in Georgia.

“Make them hear you,” North Carolina NAACP President Rev. William Barber told the crowd. “Don’t make a deal with injustice. Do what is right.”...

Here we go with really lousy Republican Priorities and their political misguidance to the public. The Washington Post (click here) is reporting the new budget released to fund the government for the rest of the year cuts $1 billion from the "Prevention and Public Health Fund. Below is a statement by the "Prevention and Public Health Fund":

The United States (click here) has the potential to have one of the healthiest populations in the world, but we currently spend too much and achieve too little. Our per capita health spending is more than twice the average spent by other industrialized nations, but we rank 24th out of 30 such nations in terms of life expectancy. Also striking is the fact that only 3 percent of our health care spending is focused on prevention and public health, when 75 percent of our health care costs are related to preventable conditions.

The Affordable Care Act took an important first step toward addressing these issues by creating a mandatory fund, the Prevention and Public Health Fund. By law, the fund must be used “to provide for expanded and sustained national investment in prevention and public health programs to improve health and help restrain the rate of growth in private and public health care costs.”...

One of the most important aspect of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is to promote good health and preventive care to BEND DOWN THE CURVE of the cost of USA health care. The very last place Congress should be cutting spending are those programs designed to bring down health care costs. In bringing down the cost of health care there will be monies returned to the USA economy to support other economic venues and expand further the opportunities for American employment, saving and achieving the American Dream. Republicans have really lousy priorities that feed Wall Street and deprive the American people their opportunities to be happy and live an enjoyable life. Differently stated, the Republicans feed Wall Street at the expense of "Quality of Life" of citizens of this country.