Jan Brewer is practicing to be a Gossip Columnist in her next life. Can we move on from here?

The fact of the matter is Arizona is heavily reliant on tourism for their GDP.  I covered this some time ago.  I think it was during the '10 elections. 

But, tourism is recovering since 2008.  Most areas of THE WORLD, including places like Belize are seeing increases in their GDP due to the recovery of tourism.

So, while the Governor wants to annoint herself as the Queen of Job Creation, she isn't.  The reason Jan Brewer is Governor is because she doesn't believe in government and thus stays out of the way of a recovery when it occurs.  There is nothing exceptional about her leadership, most third world countries are experiencing the same effect.

The places she concentrates her 'jazz' for election purposes is in 'harassing law enforcement.'  The problem with Mexico is a federal problem because it spans several states and not just an Arizona problem.

When Reagan reformed immigration the southern border states should have done then what they are doing today to stop employers from breaking the law and exacerpating the problem.  Decades have gone by and it is too late to attempt to undo those years of negligence.  There has to be another immigration reform bill with a resolve to secure the southern border of the USA.

After the immigration reform is in place, then and only then can the border be secured.  There is no way the USA can afford to spend time routing out illegals currently in the USA.  The focus of law enforcement has to be on securing the country from extremists and not people risking their lives to obtain work for less than minimum wage.  The illegals may have raucous behavior on Saturday Night, but, they don't aim to destroy the civilization after they risked their lives to be here.

The Red States along the southern border rather control the situation by 'being tough' because they don't want the expense of offering food stamps and medicaid to those that find themselves the USA side of the Rio Grande.  California is the only state not taking a hard line because it has put in place support systems for the illegals for decades.  They are human beings, not animals to put in a cage.  They came to this country for opportunity.

The children of the migrants have come to call the USA home and there is nothing anyone can or should do about making their lives nightmares.  They love the USA, have known nothing else and seek to be productive, responsible citizens with happy lives where they EARN their living and pay taxes.

The entire 'culture of control' as practiced by the Republican Party is detimental to human beings and I don't care if it is the 'legal citizens' finding themselves impoverished and needy or if they are illegal citizens finding their way here due to the lack of government responsibility since Reagan tackled immigration problems.  The responsibility for the illegals being in the USA directly falls on the states that allow them to be employed and have for decades because it served cronies to make money on the backs of the naive.  There is nothing moral about 'the culture of control' in the Red States.  It is not about crime, it is about money!

When I heard the words as spoken by Willard M. Romney today, "...Republicans want to help the Middle Class..." it sounded eerie and familiar.

And then I remembered where I had heard it before.


The year was 2000 and the candidate George W. Bush stated he would cut taxes that would help the Middle Class.


There was a surplus in the USA Treasury at that time, established by the Clinton/Gore administration.


So, Bush decided he'd 'buy' the electorate.  The promise to give the lower tax brackets the biggest percentage reductions didn't really work out the way most people thought. Bush somehow mixed up his words when he actually meant the HIGHER TAX BRACKETS would receive the biggest percentage of reductions.


I knew I heard those words before.  At least when I heard them when Bush said it, it was believable with a USA Treasury surplus existing.

...Cut Taxes and Make The System Fairer. (click title to entry - thank you)

The Bush economic plan saves over half the surplus to strengthen Social Security and reduce the national debt, and saves over 10% of the surplus for important priorities like education, national defense and health.

This still leaves a quarter of the surplus for much needed, long-overdue tax relief. Governor Bush’s goal is to make it easier for people to join the middle class by cutting taxes and making them fairer.

The Governor’s tax cut will reduce tax rates for every taxpayer, double the child tax credit, slash the marriage penalty, expand deductions for charitable giving, make the research and development tax credit permanent and end the death tax. The biggest percentage reductions go to those in the lower tax brackets because they often face higher marginal tax rates than the wealthy. Taxpayers earning below $50,000, will see their income tax bills cut by over 20% on average. Some politicians say America cannot afford a tax cut in this time of prosperity. Governor Bush says if we leave the money in Washington, it will spent on more government and that giving it back to taxpayers through cuts and reforms is an important insurance policy to help guarantee continued prosperity....

I'd be worried the Iranian fishing vessels were sabotage, but, the Navy doesn't seem to worry about it.

In this handout (click here) provided by the U.S. Navy, the guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd (DDG 100) responds to a distress call from the Iranian fishing vessel Al Molai off the coast of Somalia approximately 400 nautical miles north of the Republic of Seychelles January 5, 2012 in the Arabian Sea. (File photo by U.S. Navy via Getty Images )

Iran can't respond to the danger their own fishermen face?  Something tells me no matter how much the Iranian authorities attempt to demonize the USA Navy to their people, they don't believe them.  I am telling you, those 'fast boats' like riding the US Navy's wake waves.  They appear to be doing that everytime there is a video loop of them.

Repeating success is not a fantasy. Congratulations to the President and the Seals. Thank you.

Obama had authorized the mission Monday night. (click here)

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

...American Jessica Buchanan (click title to entry - thank you) and Dane Poul Thisted, who both worked for the Danish Refugee Council Demining Group, were rescued unharmed after helicopter-borne US commandos swooped in on scrubland in central Somalia early Wednesday local time, according to a local Somali official....

Evidently, there were no diplomatic missions that would rescue the pair.  Why do NGOs go into such dangerous areas of the world?  I realize there are people starving in Somalia, but, there has to be a limit to the amount of danger NGOs expose themselves.  Being kidnapped dismantled any ability to deliver the care the people of Somalia need.

By the order of the President of the United States (click here) and under the direction of U.S. Africa Command (U.S. AFRICOM), early Wednesday morning, January 25, 2012, U.S. Special Operations Forces rescued an American citizen and a Danish citizen from captivity in Somalia.

Mrs. Jessica Buchanan of the United States and Mr. Poul Thisted of Denmark, who both worked for the Danish Demining Group, a non-profit humanitarian organization, were kidnapped at gunpoint on October 25, 2011, near Galcayo, Somalia, and were being held for ransom.

The Department of Justice requested assistance from the Department of Defense, which, in turn, directed U.S. AFRICOM to plan and conduct the rescue operation....

continued...

The President in his State of the Union address illustrated the double standard between Clean Energy and Natural Gas.

He did so not a day to early.  The investment the USA has made into developing natural gas without the same investment in Clean Energy has placed clean energy industries in the path of danger of extinction. 

Herman K. Trabish

January 18, 2012

Will the Plunging Price of Natural Gas Ruin Renewables? (click title to entry - thank you)

Yes, says Warren Buffett’s policy guy: renewables have a policy option and a marketplace advantage.

...At a meeting of the five largest solar developers and the three largest turbine manufacturers last September, the manufacturers said they had no orders beyond June 2012 and the developers said they had no plans beyond November 2012 according to a Capitol Hill lobbyist that spoke with GTM. “Just nothing,” the lobbyist said. “It’s a cliff.”


Those companies faced the prospect of Congress allowing the lapse of the 1603 cash grant for the solar industry’s investment tax credit (ITC), the impending threat that Congress will not extend the wind industry’s crucial production tax credit (PTC) beyond this year, and the likely inability of federal trade regulators to stop Chinese anti-competitive practices.

Warren Buffett’s MidAmerican Energy has built nearly 600 megawatts of wind in the last two years. But, as MidAmerican federal policy vice president Jonathan Weisgall noted to GTM, “do we have plans beyond December 31 of this year for wind? No.” Because, Weisgall explained, “If the production tax credit is not extended, wind will probably not be the least-cost option.”...

The President's Annual address to Congress is tonight. I am looking forward to it.

...“It’s going to be a fighting speech,’’ (click title to entry - thank you) said Robert Dallek, a presidential historian and Boston University professor emeritus of history. “He’s going to lay out a contrasting agenda to what the Republicans, particularly Mitt Romney, has been saying about the use of federal power and the way the government approaches the economic difficulties that the country continues to face.’’...

He wore a nice tie last year, but, he needs to prove he is improving the economy by wearing a new tie, preferably one "Made in America" if it still exists.

Obama Speech to Embrace Manufacturing Rebirth as Job Creator (click here)

January 24, 2012, 8:31 AM EST

By Roger Runningen and Margaret Talev

(Updates with Plouffe starting in 10th paragraph.)

Jan. 24 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama tonight will lay out what he calls a “blueprint” for revitalizing the economy, emphasizing a rebirth for U.S. manufacturing, bolstering domestic energy production and training workers....

The President has pointed to the success of the auto industry in the USA as a footprint in manufacturing for Made in America.  We would like more.  In the year 2012 it is possible to have responsible manufacturing in the USA.  Manufacturing that does not endanger the health of employees or community. 

I went to the movies last night instead of tonight.  I saw "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close."  (click here)  Wow, what a movie.  It was a very healthy reminder of the dear people touched by the tragedy of September 11th.  It was told through the life of a very talented child.  In hindsight, I am grateful we took the time and care of the families.  It is easy to find oneself in this movie.

In 2010 Willard Mitt Romney paid $3 million in federal income taxes. That should be enough to buy him Florida.

Mitt Romney talks to the press after holding a round table on housing issues in Tampa, Fla., Jan. 23, 2012. (Emmanuel Dunand / AFP/Getty Images)

Staff and wire reports

January 23, 2012, 10:44 p.m.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney reportedly paid about $3 million in federal income taxes in 2010 on income of $21.7 million.

Romney's tax returns show most of his income came from investments. He also gave nearly $3 million combined to charitable causes and the Mormon Church, helping reduce his effective tax rate to less than 14%....

He paid an effective rate of 14% to the USA federal income tax.  I paid more than that and the amount I paid actually was felt in my household.  I guarantee Mr. and Mrs. Romney didn't feel a thing.  The Former Governor was also NOT WORKING for a living.

...Gingrich and his wife, Callista, paid $994,708 in federal taxes on gross income of $3,142,066 in 2010, according to copies of the couple's return. The 31.5% tax rate paid by the Gingriches is more than double the amount that Romney reportedly paid on his much larger income....

That is about the percentage, maybe slightly less, of income I paid in income.  I didn't have a $1 million credit account at Tiffany's though.  Actually, it was probably about 25%.  It just seemed like more. 

...Thirty years ago, (click here) Congress created the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to administer and enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA)–the statute that governs the financing of federal elections. The regulation of federal campaigns emanated from a Congressional judgment that our representative form of government needed protection from the corrosive influence of unlimited and undisclosed political contributions. The laws were designed to ensure that candidates in federal elections were not–and did not appear to be–beholden to a narrow group of people. Taken together, it was hoped, the laws would sustain and promote citizen confidence and participation in the democratic process....

This is what is so very disturbing about the Robert's Court decision in "Citizen's United."  There are laws on the books existing over 30 years that REQUIRE the type of funding for the elections of the USA.  "The Federal Election Commission" was couped by the Robert's Court in the Citizen's United decision!

Mr. and Mrs. Adelson are providing the Former Speaker a fighting chance in the GOP primaries.

Adelsons donate another $5m. to Gingrich (click title to entry - thank you)
By GIL SHEFLER
01/24/2012 11:06
Donation brings casino tycoon and Israeli newspaper owner's contributions to Republican candidate to $10m. in two months.

...Adelson, who also owns Israel Hayom, one of the most widely read newspapers in Israel, is deeply involved in Israeli politics and is known for his staunch support of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

The Boston-born billionaire also donates millions each year to Jewish and Israeli causes. Last December he gave $5 million to Taglit-Birthright, which brings Jewish young adults from the Diaspora on a free trip to Israel. That same month he gave $25 million dollars to the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem.

Adelson's net worth in 2011 according to Forbes magazine was $21.5 billion, making him the 16th wealthiest person in the world.

The four candidates for the Republican nominee for President all have superpacs.  Rep. Ron Paul is spending $1.4 million in Florida.  The superpacs are now the reality of American politics.  Unfortunately, the elections within the USA appear to be moving further and further from the reach of the average citizen.  This new 'allowance' by the Robert's Court is not only unconstitutional, but, a move against the sovereignty of the USA into the hands of the plutocrats.  More and more the American people have to begin to make election choices on the interests of removing plutocratic control of their government.

Read their lips, "No new taxes!"

The Tornado Action Recovery Council is about to deliver their findings on the April 27, 2011 Alabama tornado. (click title to entry - thank you)

January 23, 2012
0730z

UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite USA

This is the satellite before the Alabama tornado.

January 23, 2012
0830z

UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite USA (click here for 12 hour loop)

This is the tornado satellite. 

January 23, 2012

0930Z

UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite USA

This is the satellite picture of the storm after it passed through the Alabama communities. 

April 27, 2011 (click here for video)

Thunderstorms, severe winds and tornadoes slammed the South Wednesday, killing dozens of people in four states.

The numbers of known dead in Alabama rose rapidly this evening. At least 58 were killed in the state Wednesday, The Associated Press reported after 11 p.m. ET.

The toll came soon after ABC News Birmingham, Ala., affiliate WBMA, also known as "33/40," reported at least 53 people dead, which was not long after Alabama emergency officials told ABC News at least 40 had died.

We look forward to her return.

Arizona should be proud of Congresswoman Giffords. I can only imagine the recovery she still faces. This tragedy struck at a sensitive time in her personal life as well. She was newly married to a wonderful man. They were looking forward to having a family. This injury did more than remove a brilliant Congresswoman from our midst, it placed her life in a new dimension that has an undetermined future.

I wish she and her spouse the greatest of peace and continued joy in their life together.

The American People have to address the gun violence within our society. This particular gun violence struck at the heart of our democracy, however, everyday there are police officers gunned down on the streets of the USA. The scope of guns within our society is dangerous while it fuels Drug Cartels robbing futures from our children.

The Culture of Violence in the American Society is more than removing dangerous weapons from our streets, but, also the commercial interests that fuel it.

Is the Republican Primary Process Broken?

By Greg Giroux

Jan. 23 (Bloomberg) -- The Republican primary in South Carolina had record turnout, with bigger gains in voter participation than in Iowa and New Hampshire earlier this month.

The Jan. 21 South Carolina vote drew 602,000 Republicans, a 35 percent increase over 2008 participation, as former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich defeated former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, the front-runner in national Republican polls. Gingrich received 40 percent of the vote compared with Romney’s 28 percent....

The problems surrounding the final outcome to the Republican Primarires are nearly too numerous to address in a single entry.

To begin, the Republican Primaries are providing generous amount of time for "Early Voting" that will be denied the same Republican Voters in the Elections in November.  There is every chance Republican Voters will be more effected by the limited Early Voting in many states.  It may be that Republicans will be more effected as the Democrats are preparing their constituents for a limited window of Early Vetoing days and polling places.

Additionally, Former Governor Palin is advocating a continual vetting process for the candidates.  The primaries are preceded by a debate and there are more and more topics that continue to prove to  be problematic for candidates causing a backlash of ads by SuperPacs.  If Mrs. Palin's words prove to be divisive to the party there may be no clear primary choice of the 2286 delegates at the convention.  There are still four strong candidates.  One needs 1144 delegates to win the nomination.  I don't expect any of the four candidates to leave the race before the convention.

I find it more than fascinating Former Speaker Gingrick is expected to win the South Carolina Primary.  I am not surprised because he appealed to SC voters over his rivals, but, because there was only one day between the debate and the beginning of the election. 

I believe the debate had more of an impact on the SC Primary than any ad delivered to the voters intended to diminish the candidates without the ability to respond through their own Superpacs.  The debates should carry more brevity as a sincere demonstration of democracy when all candidates are on a level playing field displaying their expertise.

...Early voting opened statewide in Florida, (click here) drawing Republican voters to polling stations 10 days before the state's Jan. 31 presidential primary....

"Morning Papers" - Its Origins

The Rooster
"Okeydoke"

"Good Night, Moon"

Sunday, January 2012

11:55 PM EDT

New Moon

0% Full

]

What does it take to get the USA government to do the work of the people?

While the Republicans put Wall Street out of reach of the law, the American people are left virtually helpless to stop the MegaBillions of investment of corporations intent on buying the elections of 2012 as they did in 2010.

There is gross injustice in the USA when protesters of legitimate unaddressed problems are arrested, oppressed, prosecuted, ridiculed and further victimized while the wealthy priviledged 'go forward' uninterrupted with an agenda to end the Middle Class and impose suffering on those that live and work within the borders of the USA.

...In an interview, (click title to entry - thank you) Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant at Sophos, called the latest technique by Anonymous "devilishly sneaky." In previous attacks, Anonymous enlisted supporters on a volunteer basis by calling on them to download a "low orbit ion cannon" -- a piece of software that launches large packets of data that overwhelm websites of organizations as a means of protest. Distributed Denial of Service attacks, known as DDoS for short, were responsible for helping Anonymous bring down the websites of Visa and Mastercard in 2010 in retaliation for their decision to cut ties with Wikileaks.

Cluley said Anonymous supporters have grown accustomed to clicking on links posted on the group's Twitter accounts, some of which have more than 200,000 followers, to read press releases about their latest exploits. But this time, he said, Anonymous supporters who clicked on the malicious link joined the attack and may have accidentally broken the law.

"If you participate in such an attack, you could find yourself receiving a lengthy jail sentences," Cluley wrote in a blog post.

Law enforcement has cracked down on participants in such attacks. Last July, the FBI announced charges against 14 people dating back to December 2010, when Anonymous members temporarily brought down PayPal's website in retaliation for the company suspending payments to the whistle-blower site Wikileaks....

During the Holiday, demonstrators provided a written note to President Obama stating, "4000 Protesters Have Been Arrested."

Justice is indeed blind.  As millions of Americans were looking with hope at the bailout of Wall Street, they were abandoned.  As they realized a generation of Americans were without hope for a future of work and career, they were coveted for political gains or losses.  As they were validated over and over and over again across the country the problem was indeed a problem, they were held at arms length.  As they were welcome to demonstrate to bring attention to the legitimate problem all too real in their lives, they were arrested, displaced, prosecuted, their personal property confiscated and/or destroyed, their libraries regarded as trash and without ceremony abandoned by their Department of Justice.  There hope for recognition and acceptance left to diminish and fade along with their devotion to purpose.

Not exactly "Google Headquarters."

New Zealand police on Saturday (click title to entry - thank you) revealed bizarre details of the arrest of the suspected kingpin of an Internet copyright theft case against the James Bond-like backdrop of a country mansion hideaway with electronic locks, a safe room and a pink Cadillac.

German national Kim Dotcom, also known as Kim Schmitz, was one of four men arrested on Friday, a day before his 38th birthday, in an investigation of the Megaupload.com website led by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The group was accused of engaging in a scheme that took more than $500 million away from copyright holders and generated over $175 million in proceeds from subscriptions and advertising.

A police official said dozens of officers, backed by helicopters, forced their way into the mansion, nestled in lush, rolling farmland, after Dotcom refused them entry, a scene more reminiscent of a high-octane spy drama than the usual policeman’s lot in rural New Zealand....

"Oppression" and "Protectionism" at a time when communication among the citizens is important to life.

...The popular file-sharing site (click title to entry - thank you) was shut down this week by federal prosecutors in Virginia, who accused the defendants of causing more than $500 million in damages for copyright holders of pirated music, movies, video games and other content. Hip-hop producer Swizz Beatz was revealed as a silent partner and the company's CEO, though he was not included on an initial list of seven defendants. Four of the seven were arrested Friday morning in New Zealand, after a standoff at Dotcom Mansion – named for the site's alleged founder, who goes by the name Kim Dotcom (born Kim Schmitz). The other three defendants reportedly remain at large....

The Injustice of the USA that dominates its benevolence.

Corruption, Politics, Chaos, Legislation for Profit, Profit

VS

Law, Justice, Democracy, Common Sense, Public Opinion.

Protesters march in disapproval of the Iraq War in March 2003 in downtown Bellingham. Photo courtesy of Tore Ofteness

Written by Jessica Pain
Tuesday, 10 January 2012 06:30

Imagine (click title to entry - thank you) having the energy to march from Western to the Federal Building in downtown Bellingham every Friday.

Now imagine holding signs until your hands are sore, until your voice is gone and your feet are uncomfortable, all in an effort to protest against war or social or economic inequality.

This is Bellingham’s tradition.
　
…Bellingham gets occupied
City governments carry the cost for handling movements that are at the level of federal government, McShane said.

“As for the Occupy movement, I do think this protest is good,” McShane said….

Today, Occupy Bellingham is the community’s most recent social movement.

Written by Jessica Pain

Tuesday, 10 January 2012 06:30

The citizens are not interested in the "Wall Street Image."

They want their problems to be ADDRESSED. 

They don't care about the status quo.  The status quo abandoned them.

Wall Street Messaging is the last 'image' they want to portray.

If the actions don't support the message, then maybe the victimization of their reality to exploit these people as weird and frauds for political gain should be victimized and defrauded.

Homeless count under way in Austin (click title to entry - thank you)

Multi-agency survey spearheaded by ECHO

Updated: Sunday, 22 Jan 2012, 7:49 PM CST
Published : Sunday, 22 Jan 2012, 4:39 PM CST

Jacqueline Ingles

AUSTIN (KXAN) - More than 150 volunteers are combing Travis County trying to count the number of people that call the streets home .

Sixty teams each consisting of three volunteers divided the county and are looking not only behind businesses and in wooded areas, they are also taking count in area shelters....