When the going gets rough the tough get going.

In Texas raising the spirits of the people may actually mean passing perverse legislation. I am sure bullets will stop any flood on campus. Anything goes in Texas. I wish it was not so, but, dangerous living is the rule of the day.

June 1, 2015 
By Creede Newton 

...This brought the number (click here) of recovered bodies in Hays County, the district that houses Wimberley, San Marcos (another hard-hit city), and part of the Texas capital, Austin, to eight. There are still six people last seen in Wimberley listed as missing.

“It’s just so difficult for us, because this is a small community,” Susan Myers, a 61-year-old resident of Wimberley, told The Daily Beast while coordinating relief efforts at the Cypress Creek Church. “We’re all neighbors.”

The grisly discoveries came a week after the Blanco River that borders Wimberley rapidly rose to more than 40 feet, taking the community by surprise and levying destruction as a large weather system developed across Central and Southern Texas. 

According to a statement issued by Hays County, preliminary estimates place the county-wide cost at $32.7 million. More than 1,200 homes are damaged, and 209 have been destroyed. Hays County expects these numbers to increase.

“I was here for the floods in 1998, and that was horrible. But it was nothing compared to this one,” Myers said....

If the Texas Republican lawmakers share nothing else in common, at least they all subscribe to "The Church of the Gun."

June 1, 2015
By Jessica Glenza

Texas lawmakers (click here) have approved a bill that allows license holders to carry concealed firearms in most college and university buildings in the state.

 The governor is expected to allow the bill to become law. The approval comes after fierce opposition from college and university leaders and from outnumbered Texas Democrats.





The regulation will allow concealed-carry permit holders, or CHL licensees, in the state to carry loaded firearms on university and college campuses. Schools may create gun-free zones, but establishing such provisions is complex at best.

Many Democrats and advocacy groups have fought so-called “campus carry” legislation for years in the Texas legislature. At least one group, the Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus, was established solely to lobby against such laws....

The world is mourning the loss of Vice President Biden's son.

Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, has expressed sadness at the passing away of Mr. Beau Biden.

“Saddened to learn about the passing away of Beau Biden, the eldest son of US Vice-President Joseph Biden, at a young age. Apart from a deep loss to the family, a promising public career has been tragically cut short. Our deepest condolences to the Biden family,” the Prime Minister said....

This expression of sympathy for the loss of Beau Biden is something that the USA and India share. Much of the moral content of India is shared by American values, so it is easy to know such sadness is a common understanding between the two countries.

Prime Minister Modi has proven himself in his practice of governance in India. 

It is the common understanding of the sanctity of life which brings me to make this entry. I apologize up front to any insult to any party. It is unintended. The expression of loss regarding Vice President's son was a surprise when I opened the Prime Minister's e-page. I thank Prime Minister Modi's note regarding the loss of Beau Biden. He will be missed by many. 

But, to a completely separate issue:

I am confident Prime Minister Modi is unaware of the illegal acts by some of our states' leaderships. In particular, Nebraska's governor plans to use drugs imported from India illegally. The understanding the people of Nebraska has right now is that there will be death sentence executions under a secret procedure because the drugs needed to perform that act are illegal in the USA under federal statues.

May 14, 2015
By Paul Hammel and Martha Stoddard

...sodium thiopental (click here) and pancuronium bromide, from a distributor in India, HarrisPharma,...

I realize India has a death penalty under certain conditions. The death penalty in the USA has been challenged by citizens to end it's practice. There was recently a law passed in Nebraska to end the death penalty in the state. There are many valid reasons for that. 

The current Nebraska Governor is determined to carry out the sentences without recognition of the new law from the Nebraska legislature.

It is my hope Prime Minister Modi may learn of this offense by the Nebraska Governor and find any capacity in his power to end the shipments to the USA from the India company noted above. 

I thank Prime Minister Modi for his great leadership in India and the expression of the love of life both India and the USA share. I wish everyone peace. 

Jeb Bush may be facing an investigation into his fund raising.

It's the Bush entitlement. "Do as they say, but, not as they do." 

June 1, 2015
By Carl Haasen 

The following words (click here) were actually spoken last week by Jeb Bush's non-campaign spokesperson: "Governor Bush is actively exploring a run. He has not made a final decision."

Every grownup in America knows this is a lie.

The voters know Jeb has already decided to run for the White House in 2016. Campaign donors know he's running. And the entire busload of other Republican presidential candidates knows he's running.

Two campaign-finance watchdog organizations, the Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21, want the U.S. Justice Department to investigate the "charade" of Bush's non-campaign. They say it's merely a weasel move that allows him to rake in unlimited, and mostly unregulated, donations.

That's absolutely true. It's an epic weasel move, though probably legal....

Jeb Bush is different than "W" on SSI so far. "W" instituted Medicare Part D and now Jeb wants to make that policy more difficult to achieve by pushing the age for eligibility to 68 or better yet 70.

That is a ridiculous understanding of the American people. We have a generation of people facing poverty wages at the bottom of the American ecosystem while older Americans are being told to wait for retirement.  

October 9, 2014
By Larry Copeland

...The average life expectancy (click here) for a person who was 65 years old in 2012 is 19.3 years – 20.5 years for women and 17.9 years for men. The difference in life expectancy at 65 years between males and females increased 0.1 year from 2.5 years in 2011 to 2.6 years in 2012....

Life expectancy should not be the focus for SSI. There are plenty of older Americans that work part time in order to make ends meet. Their loss of income after 2008 was profoundly felt by them first.

The idea SSI is a longevity issue is not the problem. There needs to be an evaluation of the cap on payments into SSI. The payments into SSI is not problem. The current 7.65% on employed Americans is more than sufficient to insure they have a retirement payment from SSI when they reach the age when they leave the workforce.

The 7.65% tax rate (click here) is the combined rate for Social Security and Medicare.  The Social Security portion (OASDI) is 6.20% on earnings up to the applicable taxable maximum amount (see below).  The Medicare portion (HI) is 1.45% on all earnings. Also, as of January 2013, individuals with earned income of more than $200,000 ($250,000 for married couples filing jointly) pay an additional 0.9 percent in Medicare taxes. The tax rates shown above do not include the 0.9 percent. 

Medicare has no taxable earnings maximum, but, SSI does. The cap/maximum was raised in 2015 to SSI by $1500. The SSI maximum needs to be eliminated and the balances in the entitlement will come into better alignment with the future.

The percentage of taxes for the upper limits is not different than anyone else. This is not a graduated tax. It is a flat percentage of income every year. The SSI tax is equitable for all citizens in the USA. That is reflected also in the amounts of payouts by SSI when Americans retire. The payout is not fixed and is based on the amounts placed into the fund during their working lifetime. 

With so many in the USA having a poverty income while trying to raise a family, their retirement amounts already looks dismal with no real way to change it. There are many reasons the minimum wage has to increase; retirement is one of them, too.

In more cases than not when Americans retire and have a new income from SSI, their ability to work is far less than the years they contributed. The idea of raising the retirement age for SSI will only put older Americans in peril they would not face if they retired on schedule. 

In many states, and if the Supreme Court decides adversely with the Medicaid extension, there are adults that will still have no real help with their hospital and medical expenses until they finally are allowed on Medicare at the age of retirement. The entire idea of pushing the retirement age back to 68 to 70 years old is outrageous. These are our seniors and should have financial security and medical security in their later years.

Americans should be congratulated in a country that has moved the longevity of Americans further into the future. It is a great accomplishment we should value without victimizing the very people we are proud of in their wellness. 

Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2015/06/01/5828265/carl-hiaasen-jeb-bush-raises-tons.html#storylink=cpy

Shut up, Dick. You are the most blatantly violence monger the USA has ever produced.

Fooling everyone with a hat on a pale faced hate monger isn't going to work.

How does it feel to be in bed with Rupert Murdoch whenever the fears of peace politics enter the debate?

The USA should first apologize for this man and then count the number of people dead globally he has mentored. His daughter Liz needs to get a life.

May 31, 2015
By Patrick O'Connor

CASPER, Wyo.—Few people noticed (click here) the 74-year-old in the tan Stetson at a high-school rodeo here. Dick Cheney was happy to blend in.

That is about to change. The former vice president is looking to make a splash on the national stage with a new book to be published in September and a group he and his daughter Liz launched to advance their views.

The effort is sure to play directly into the 2016 presidential debate, in which national-security policy is already a point of difference between the Republican candidates, many of whom are looking to turn the page on George W. Bush’s administration....

Yes, Dick, Senator Rand Paul is a Republican and denial of it will only sink every nominee the party puts up!

When it comes to social settings and Dick Cheney it isn't a matter of recognizing him in a crowd to admire his years of supervising killing fields in the world; it is the fear he may recognize you. 

I wish Dick Cheney would begin to apologize for the killing he supervised by returning the Medal of Freedom he received by H.W.. I think it went to his head and continues to cloud his loyalties. 

Senator Lindsay Graham? He is running for DOD Secretary.

Unless he states differently today in his presidential candidacy announcement, Lindsay Graham is the polar opposite to Senator Rand Paul.

I will say this about the eligibility of Senator Paul as a serious candidate for the Presidency; he needs to have a far better ORGANIZATION behind him to keep the campaign out of ethical and legal troubles. 

I realize a campaign these days are very expensive and out of reach to most candidates, however, the sincere loss of legitimacy to end a campaign will result if there are problems within the campaign. Senator Paul needs to micromanage his campaign organization until it has the very real message, cheating or ethics violations are outrageous outcome to the public trust. 

I don't need to hear any more from Senator Graham. He isn't interested in the domestic problems of the USA. He is defining himself as the supreme war president. His run for president, his stated credentials provides a path to the DOD Secretary, not the presidency.

This is from the American Brain Tumor Association

President Obama dedicated significant funding to brain research. These statistics have to improve. 

None of these statistics provides insight into Veteran Beau Biden. I think as a country we need to pay close attention to those serving in our national defense and their exposure to dangerous chemicals and conditions. We should not be asking those that service this country to give up sound safety measures while in the defense of their country. 

Look, the USA issues masks for the chance of chemical agents, there has to be reasonable measures to evaluate and change the higher levels of disease in our veterans. It is very upsetting to have this reality of a former veteran with a service to the people in an elected capacity. The statistics of a forty something man dying of tumors of the brain is more than worrisome.
 
Brain tumors are the: (click here)

• leading cause of cancer-related deaths in children (males and females) under age 20 (leukemia is the first).
• second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in males ages 20-39 (leukemia is the first).
• fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in females ages 20-39.

Brain Tumor Statistics:

• Nearly 70,000 new cases of primary brain tumors will be diagnosed this year.
• More than 4,600 children between the ages of 0-19 will be diagnosed with a brain tumor this year.
• Brain and central nervous system tumors are the most common cancers among children ages 0-19.
• There are nearly 700,000 people in the U.S. living with a brain tumor.
• This year, nearly 14,000 people will lose their battle with a brain tumor.
• There are more than 120 types of brain tumors.

I don't recall the campaign announcement of Former Senator Coons, but, he is talking about American education of their young generations.

May 28, 2015

...Among his top priorities (click here) was affordable college. Senator Coons commended programs like the Early College High School at Delaware State University, which gives students the opportunity to earn up to 60 hours of college credit during their four year high school career.

When asked about President Obama's proposal of free and universal community colleges, he said he supported the idea but he worries about how schools might respond.   

"One of my concerns is that whenever one of the federal government increases the amount of things available through things like Pell Grants, many colleges and universities simply raise their tuition in response." Says Senator Coons.

Senator Coons says now, lawmakers need to meet at a middle-ground to address the issues of college affordability....

I think he makes a very interesting point. Advanced Placement (AP) studies in high school can actually cut down on the cost of college. Sixty credits in a fourth year of high school seems somewhat excessive, but, I remain open minded.

This is an article from "The New Zealand Herald" that points to the presidential announcement speech by Former Governor Martin O'Malley.

 May 29, 2015

...A story last week (click here) reported that four of the world's largest banks - Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, JP Morgan Chase and Citigroup - admitted currency collusion and manipulation and were fined a total $US5 billion. That's a big fine, but it was a big crime.

The fine could quite possibly be pocket change compared to the profits made by these banks who, on an almost daily basis for five years, colluded via a private chat room to manipulate currency markets for their trading benefit, harming countless consumers in the process.

How worried should investors be about potential market manipulation and what can we do about it? If big entities like banks can get away with it for years, how can we protect ourselves from being on the wrong side of a transaction?

Without being glib, I think investors have to accept, to some extent, market manipulation comes with the territory. I'm not talking about rogue traders and unscrupulous individuals who, through their talk and actions, move prices in their favour. Fortunately, they tend to be few and far between and are increasingly nailed by vigilant regulators....

The facts are obvious, the CEOs of the world's largest banks think nothing of their illegal activities when fines are the only penalty. There is no way to stop the abuse. Citibank recently rounded up all it's buddies to force through an amendment to the USA budget that supports exotic financial instruments with tax deductions.

There is no stopping their insult to the American financial infrastructure. Glass-Steagall has to be reinstated. The banking industry has to be regulated because the brevity of USA law evades them. According to the actions of the USA, the country's treasury receives part of the illegal monies and is on the dole.

Why would any of these CEOs view their activities as detrimental when they are justified as the USA Treasury sits in the center of the actions? 

The law of the USA has to be clear to all financial institutes that if they conduct risky investments while taking tax deductions the CEOs not only go to prison, they are broken up into far smaller banks. How small? Until it stops and there is no huge buffer of monies that can be paid by the bank's CEO. The deposits of any bank should not be so large it provides a vehicle to ignore the law.

Republicans rhetoic regarding the actions taken by the Executive Branch is based completely in lies.

The favorite right wing rhetoric to paint President Obama as a weak president with poor judgement is a complete lie. Does it matter that lies line the right wing 'talking points?' I want to know if the lies matter. As political right wing attempts to mimic liberal's truth telling, does it actually matter there is nothing but lies existing in the right wing media?

May 31, 2015
By Rod Norland

A senior United States official (click here) confirmed Sunday that negotiations were underway with Qatari officials that could possibly lead to a six-month extension of the travel ban. Late Sunday, Qatar “agreed to maintain the current restrictive conditions” on the five men while discussions continued, a State Department official in Washington said on the condition of anonymity.

The prisoner swap has been controversial in Washington, with leading Republicans criticizing President Obama for the deal, which they viewed as a violation of a law requiring Congress to be informed in advance of Guantánamo prisoner releases.

The media can talk about political positioning as if the truth doesn't matter. Does it? Does the truth regarding political figures matter? Are the elections of 2016 going to be dominated by nonsense as so many elections have before?

When elected officials launch into baseless criticism of the Obama administration it is nothing more than bigotry. In this case it is also bigotry against a USA ally. Why would Qatar allow prisoners within their borders to simply return to a life of killing again? The entire speech about Muslims that discriminates on the side of hate is incredibly inflammatory and based in profound bigotry. 

See, as long as USA prisoners, such as these four men, were in the strong Christian nation there would be no worries and validates the human rights violations of Gitmo.

This same rhetoric is very important as a reason why the USA should have a controlling interest in places such as Iraq with soldiers deployed to carry out a war that results in American values. Nation building. Nation building is supported by the hatred of other cultures. Nation building is based in bigotry. No other culture has the expertise to defeat America's enemies, but, America. 

The long standing hate speech of the political right wing is completely based in power brokering in the face of facts otherwise. The right wing is completely baseless in their political speech. Yet, because it deals fear the language of hate persists for no reason at all.

The speech Senator Paul made on the Senate floor yesterday nearly didn't happen. The idea a long standing Bush program was based in wasted spending and disruption of Americans' Fourth Amendment due process was a sincere threat to the political right wing.

I believe it was Senator Barrasso, as President of the Senate, yesterday that had to interrupt Senator Rand Paul's speech four times to call the chamber to order. It was good to hear Senator Barrasso defend an important address by Senator Paul. But, the point is the majority of the Senate never bothered to hear the words so important to Americans because their political priorities were more important and already predetermined. Senator Paul's own peers didn't regard him as important. That is how hideously permanent right wing political speech has become.

...Criticism of the deal to free Sergeant Bergdahl, especially in exchange for such prominent Taliban figures, grew after the Army revealed the charges against him. “The Obama administration put countless American troops and civilians at risk when it chose to ignore the law and unilaterally release five senior Taliban terrorists from Guantánamo Bay,” said Speaker John A. Boehner, Republican of Ohio, in a statement issued by his office on Friday. “Now these five will be free to travel.”

However, United Nations officials have yet to lift their own international travel bans on four of them, so the only place they could legally travel to is their home country, Afghanistan, where government officials have made it clear they would promptly be taken into custody....

The hate speech will continue in right wing politics even as the facts of long standing USA allies uphold the paradigm of peace which accompanies the scrutiny of those that would disturb it; in this case Qatar and the United Nations.

The left wing never simply states, "The Republicans lie and are impossible to reason with because their politics don't accommodate the truth." I am confident our allies will use those words to end the hate speech, but, why does the call to facts and truth have to belong to allies and others outside the borders of the USA. It isn't President Obama that should experience the impact of right wing lies, it should be the right wing experiencing the impact of the truth. 

...There are abundant examples of former Guantánamo prisoners who have returned to the Afghan battlefield, but a recent example is particularly significant. Ghulam Rouhani, released in 2007, is now the Taliban commander in the Khogyani District, in Ghazni. The insurgents claimed the district center fell to their control last week, but government officials disputed that, saying they had simply moved the government offices to another town.

So far, Qatari officials have kept a tight rein on the former prisoners. Last fall, two suspected insurgent figures went to visit one of the five former detainees in Qatar, Mohammad Nabi Omari. According to senior security officials in Afghanistan, the Afghan intelligence agency, in cooperation with Qatari intelligence, arrested the two men and brought them to Kabul, where they remain in custody. The two included Anas Haqqani, a brother of the leader of the Haqqani network, part of the Taliban insurgency, and Qari Abdul Rashid Omari, the brother of the former Guantánamo prisoner, Mr. Omari....

The release of Ghulam Rouhani occurred eight years ago. EIGHT YEARS AGO. And today his activities are attributed to his release. Amazing. 

Let me ask one question. Is there any economy in Afghanistan that actually supports anything other than a Poppy or War economy? Murderers actually are paid for their loyalties and actions. Where is the economy in Afghanistan that will actually pay better and value life? The realities in countries occupied by American INTERESTS based in national security have no other recent history. The retaliation in Afghanistan began October of 2001 and the illegal and immoral invasion into Iraq was March of 2003. These people have known nothing but war and destruction for well over a decade. Are children actually of value and their futures nurtured when their land and society are trashed for the fears of Americans?

The USA has become ridiculous to it's own politics of fear. 

The USA needs to get used to the idea that POWs are released when the war is over. 

Hi, It's Sunday night. 

I am suspending this section tonight because our Vice President has lost a dear son to cancer. 

The Biden Family is a very special family to this country. They have represented the sincere interests of our Middle Class all their political lives. 

Beau was a veteran to the Iraq War. He is a hero. The least I can do is note the profoundly sad mood in a segment of the USA people. I was very upset when I heard of the death. I want to show I seriously am sad about this loss to the Biden Family and to the USA. 

Beau Biden was a hero in many ways. After his service in the military he went on to become a leader in government in Delaware. The family is remarkable.

Until later.

The Fourth Amendment is on the line. Will we have a future and our children's future without it?

Senator Paul's illustration about the Boston bombing and the call for the Patriot Act to investigate phone records of the suspects is on target. The Patriot Act is being substituted for other more constitutional laws such as the FISA Court. It has been a long time since the Patriot Act was passed with a SUNSET for the very reason that exists in Senator Paul's illustration. If the USA continues it's Paranoia Laws, the country over time will become a very different country. We need to end the hysteria and become intolerant of these laws and elect those that actually care about our constitution and the liberties it provides.

Senator Paul is the singular voice carrying the warning. He is absolutely correct.'

I haven't heard that FISA actually decided collecting all phone data is correct. It isn't. That is the very reason why FISA existed, because, mass collection was wrong. The FISA exists in law because it is wrong. See, this is getting to be a mess beyond any meaning. 

The FISA Court is suppose to mean something and a method closely guarded to allow evidence to bring warrants. "Rubber stamp?" It was never suppose to be. 

Everything has to be looked into now. The Supreme Court is in the mix, too.  

I refuse to state Senator Paul is extreme. He is more than willing to be the voice of liberty of the people and I can respect that. He has done all the research. He quotes the lower courts as holding important values. He is correct in completely examining the power within the law and how the people are burdened by it. He is not willing to concede the idea there is a need for sacrificing our liberties. He is correct. I find very little of what he states as political rhetoric. He is strongly leaning on facts. 

The Paranoia Laws are dissolving the due process statues. 

That also bothers me. Why was Mr. Clapper allowed to continue in his capacity? That is a concern and an overt expression of a political system resigned to imposition of extreme control over the electorate. 

When politics becomes the oppressor of the people, those that maintain control through that oppression seek to keep it beyond any reason to eliminate it. 

IN LAW, the word relevant has impact on PRECEDENT. If all information is collected how does any information set PRECEDENT. Mass collection removes the meaning of LAW. Sure, we all understand that something MIGHT turn up in mass collection, but, in the collection of the data itself the information is lost and not noted to be important UNTIL further evaluation can be discerned, so why not discern it from the beginning? By chance there is something, anything that will prevent another 911. The process of mass collection has yielded nothing. There is no precedent to defend the idea under law.

So, besides all the other reasonable reasons to end the collection of mass data there is a legal reason to do so. The precedent of the mass collection is lost. This plan to end all potential threat is invalid and threatens the very power of the law, under FISA, to uniquely prove there is reason for search and seizure (The Fourth Amendment). 

Senator Paul has deeply studied the reasons why he has concern and I agree with him. We could lose the protections completely of our Fourth Amendment. It is too high a price to pay. 

He also brought to the debate, the problem that could belong to companies when they may or may not collect detailed records and the government decides they need the records. The company than can be indicted if not forthcoming with records. In other words, if a company is not collecting mass data, but, simply billing in minutes of use with a method to count those minutes without phone records; what then happens to companies that don't collect detailed records? The reality today is that many smart phone users pay a flat monthly fee for unlimited use. Why would any company offering that service want to keep detailed information? And if any company did, how long do they have to maintain these records? What cost to companies do detailed records reflect in monthly fees? Again, how burdened is a company and the fees they charge in order to do business because of the occasion of government in seeking information? What happens to the relationship between company and customer?

To boil this down, the entire idea of monitoring the American people is hideous and without purpose.

The Laws of Paranoia, 2015.

There are many reasons why people in the world hate the USA. There are many reasons why they don't. But, if we, as a country wait for the perfect moment when the USA doesn't face threats from within and without we'll never have our country back again.

The Patriot Act was signed into law on October 26, 2001. It has to end sometime. If we are to have our constitution back, these laws, including laws of pre-emption have to be repealed.

The people of Iraq are too busy working about birth defects to their children than to worry about the next caliphate leader.

A known problem (click here)

However, according to Wim Zwijnenburg, policy advisor for security and disarmament for PAX, a Dutch pro-peace organization, and author of the paper “Laid to Waste: Depleted uranium contaminated military scrap in Iraq,” the U.S. is aware of the dangers of depleted uranium because the country has spent millions safeguarding its bases and military personnel from it.

As of 1999, military regulations on how to deal with vehicles contaminated with depleted uranium have been implemented, and in 2005, the General Accounting Office alleged that the Department of Defense was not monitoring the soil in Iraq to ascertain exposure to hazardous materials by American service members. At the time, however, a number of states, Congress members and military service organizations were actively challenging the Defense Department’s assertions that depleted uranium had minimal effect on the lives of the Iraq War veterans claiming depleted uranium poisoning....

Iraqis could not have nuclear material for medical use under a UN Resolution, but, could have their soils contaminated for the benefit of an illegal US war. 

13 October 2014
By Thomas Gaist

Demolition of Iraqi buildings with a US tank, many of which used depleted uranium shells.

In a report presented (click here) at the University of Michigan last Wednesday, “The epidemic of birth defects in Iraq and the duty of public health researchers,” Dr. Muhsin Al Sabbak, a gynecologist from Basra Maternity Hospital, and Dr. Mozhgan Savabieasfahani, an environmental toxicology researcher, reviewed the ever-growing mountain of data showing that rates of cancer, child cancer and birth defects (BD) have reached historically unprecedented levels in Fallujah and other Iraqi cities since the 2003 US invasion....

As a rule the wars of the USA result in veterans having a higher cancer rate than the average American. I want to know what the cancer rate among Iraq War Veterans is and what is being done about it?

The people of Iraq may very well be better off in refugee camps than their homes. 

McConnell must have someone on the payroll.

The only law required is FISA.

The NSA has proven nothing in 13 years. It is not needed.

I go with Option 1, to not renew the NSA program. There is GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTATION stating the NSA is a waste of money!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

The NSA program is a political paid for ad by the American people. 

The USA needs new leadership. 

Osama bin Laden is dead and he never used electronic communication.The NSA program would never and did never find him.

Ya think maybe those sincerely determined to harm the USA aren't using electronic transmission and are completely missed by the FBI and CIA because they are too busy chasing their tails with information that yields NOTHING in the way of national security.

Every time a Middle East Bozo raises his head in jihad to aspire to some cockamamie calphate to the dreams of Glen Beck; the American people have their rights violated when Turkey is and remains disinterested in the proceedings immediately across it's border. 

This is nonsense and nothing short of it.

I simply hate the fact the Senate has brought a special session because of the negligence to do otherwise.

This is stated as necessary, but, the only thing necessary is observing silence for the Late Beau Biden, the Vice President's son. 

I don't know if the death came as a surprise to anyone else, but, it was to me and Joe Biden means a great deal to our country besides the fact he is the current Vice President.

This Senate session is a prime example of the complete breakdown of government in the USA. This should have been settled a long time ago. The people don't want the Patriot Act. The USA has had enough. Leaning on laws that violate privacy is simply wrong. I don't care what the courts say, this is wrong. The courts are delivering decisions that undermine our democracy and that is no different today.

The Vice President has portrayed the Middle Class in the USA for his lifetime. He has stood strong for the largest number of Americans at times when they were trampled by the allegiance to Wall Street. 

I don't have the heart today to simply ignore this loss to the Vice President. His losses over his lifetime have been enormous. The average citizen of the USA would have crumbled a long time ago. Vice President Biden is among the most magnificent people in government I have ever witnessed. He is completely detached from the 'image' so many believe is necessary to be called a leader of the Senate. Today he is the President of the Senate. He is unapologetic about his ordinariness. 

I have a heavy heart today. This session by the US Senate is shameful and proves there is no governance, but, only putting out fires. Today, the Senate does not even have a fire to put out. The 'theory' there will be another fearful regime to kill is hideous. The NSA program has been proven to be stupid, ridiculous and without a destination to serve the USA. There has not been one danger removed from the USA because of it and only billions of US dollars wasted when the average American is left to live as the working poor with less benefit of food stamps today than ever before.

The NSA program is shameful and the Senate's session today is equally so.

Senator Paul was allowed to speak for five minutes after the Majority Senate attempted to stonewall him.

The Senate has adjourned until it is expected to reconvened at 6:00 PM.

C-Span is replying the beginning of the session.

Deepest sympathies to his family. 

He is a sincere loss to all those that knew him. 

His parting will be felt by many.

The biggest fraud by Congressional Republicans has killed 23 people in Texas.

May 30, 2015
2330.19z
UNISYS North and West Hemisphere Water Vapor Satellite (click here for 12 hour loop - thank you)

The ITCZ (Intertropical Convergence Zone) has repopulated itself with water vapor again. The air movement is carrying the storms resulting from that water vapor at the Equator over Central America and the US southern Midwest. There is no getting away from it.

May 30, 2015
By Lisa Marie Garza and Jim Forsyth

Rain caused flooding on roads (click here) in parts of Texas on Saturday, an official said, after severe weather killed at least 23 people during the week and prompted U.S. President Barack Obama to declare a disaster in the state.

Texas has endured record rainfall in May. This week, flooding turned streets into rivers, ripped homes off foundations, swept over thousands of vehicles and trapped people in cars and houses.

Obama signed a disaster declaration late on Friday to free up federal funds to help rebuild areas of Texas slammed by the storms. No estimate has been given for the damage in Texas.

The body of a woman was recovered on Saturday from the Blanco River at San Marcos in central Texas, the city said on its Facebook page. The death was the 23rd from the flooding.

Flash flood warnings were in place for several counties in North Texas, including Dallas County....

The GOES East Satellite shows a closer view of the system. It is a very hardy system.

May 30, 2015
2330.19z
UNISYS Goes East Water Vapor Satellite (click here for 12 hour loop - thank you)

The current system wanes and then regenerates with the rising sun. 

Senator Paul needs to stand tough against a spying program that is a failure.

The citizens of the USA need to support Senator Paul and his truth telling. The NSA program that has accumulated millions upon millions of private information about citizens never mattered. The spying has to stop and the accumulated stored information has to be purged.

If there are wrongful prosecutions of citizens this information is a violation of the law and cannot carry brevity. 

May 29, 2015
By Dustin Wilson

FORT MILL, S.C. -- He's not shy (click here) about being unconventional and maybe that's why he's gained support. Friday, U.S. Senator and presidential hopeful Rand Paul spoke to supporters in Rock Hill just two days from a potential special vote in Washington.

"It's none of the government's business, these are private matters," said Senator Paul.

Paul focused his thoughts on the upcoming special session surrounding the Patriot Act; under which the NSA collected phone records from millions.

"The Department of Justice came out with a report last week, the Inspector General, and they looked at all the classified information and they came to the conclusion that not one case has been cracked by this so not only are you giving up your privacy, it isn't working from a practical point of view," said Paul....

It wasn't the NSA that reported Tamerlan Tsarnaev to the FBI, it was Russia.

Realize now how vital the Snowden leaks have become and how completely ridiculous the government have become. Realize also the monies spent on this hideous idea of national security. Now, realize how expedient the purging needs to be conducted and how the computer facilities relating to this program has to be turned over to other USA departments such as the DOD so the program is never reconstituted again!

If POLITICIANS demand the program needs to be maintained intact, offer a new program to replace the NSA program with security blankets for all that believe they sleep better at night violating the rights of Americans.