He went to Lebanon to speak to Hezbollah there. No brainer. Anyone can understand who and why he is there.

Syrian rebels claim responsibility for killing of General Hassan Shateri, a senior figure in the Revolutionary Guards

Saeed Kamali Dehghan
guardian.co.uk
Thursday 14 February 2013

...A senior commander (click here) of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards has been killed while travelling from Syria to Lebanon, according to Iranian authorities.

A man identified as General Hassan Shateri was reportedly assassinated by what Iranian officials described as "the agents and supporters of the Zionist regime" while travelling from Damascus to Beirut.

It was not immediately clear in which of the two countries Shateri was killed but a Syrian rebel commander said an Iranian official was killed in an attack carried out by Syrian rebels in Zabadani in southwestern Syria, close to the Lebanese border....

There ya go. I didn't read paragraph before I posted the title. 

...Iran is a staunch supporter of the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, providing both with military and financial support. Syria gives Iran physical access to Lebanon and Hezbollah, which is strategically important for Tehran's leaders because of the group's geographical position in respect to Israel. Iran does not recognise Israel as a country and usually refers to it as "the Zionist regime"...

Assad is Shi'ite. Iran is a Shi'ite nation. Iran is stating the rebels are a Zionist regime to inspire other militants to attack the Syrian rebels. The West needs to end the agitators in Lebanon, like this guy, through information releases on radio and television about the status of the Syrian rebels and their cause. That will end the Zionist propaganda and any chance of escalation of tensions in Lebanon. The same is true throughout the Middle East for that matter.

Information vacuums are not a good idea for free people still finding their way though the maze.

Shateri may have staged a faux death of a Shi'ite Imam, too. It is a perfect theme to stimulate hatred between Shia and Sunni.

No evidence Sadr is dead: Lebanese official (click here)

February 14, 2013 01:18 PM 

(Last updated: February 14, 2013 07:07 PM)

The Daily Star

BEIRUT: There is no strong evidence that missing Lebanese Imam Musa Sadr is dead, former Lebanese minister Tarek Mitri said.

“There is no hard evidence so far of his [Sadr’s] death from those responsible for his kidnapping,” Mitri said in remarks published Thursday by the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat.

Mitri, who is now the chief of U.N. mission in Libya, said a judge from Libya and another from Lebanon were following up on Sadr’s case....

If I remember right, President Obama is due in the Middle East next week while Congress is in recess. It seems to me there was a real effort by Shateri to synchronize the escalation of tensions while the President was there.

In Iraq, the faith in the young cleric al Sadr is proving to be worthwhile. I think he needs to give lessons to Iran.

By By ADAM SCHRECK 

Associated Press – Fri, Jan 4, 2013

BAGHDAD (AP) — Firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr (click here) visited a Baghdad church that was the scene of a deadly 2010 attack as well as one of the Iraqi capital's main Sunni mosques on Friday, an apparent overture to other religious groups as opposition mounts against his rival, Prime Minster Nouri al-Maliki....

I understand he seeks to keep the country together. He isn't interested in Iraq splitting up into three different nations. He seems content with three separate provinces. He has a lot of convincing to do with the Kurds, though. 

This visit is to a Sunni mosque. It is an outreach for peace and acceptance in Iraq. Cleric Muqtada al Sadr is a Shi'ite. The only surviving Shi'ite cleric in a ancestral line of Ayatollahs. His family was assassinated by Saddam Hussein. He was about 13 years old when he was saved and protected. It would seem he is dedicated to peace, no different than his mentor the Grand Ayatollah Sistani. It is welcome to the Middle East. He is important and should take very good care of himself. This simply proves not all Shi'ites are agitators seeking to hate Israel.

I hope he is happy. I hope his people are happy. I hope the fishing in the wetlands is again abundant.

The Senate Filibuster regarding President Obama's nomination is about politics. It is about dirty politics.

Everyone know Senator Hagel is highly qualified for Secretary of Defense. 

The Senate Republicans are setting the these vital nominations to the national security of the USA to pump the Executive Branch of any type of information to seek impeachment. The Senate Republicans are pushing all their options to attempt to remove the President from office. They cannot get over the fact President Obama is an honest man, capable of leading the nation in a good relationship with the people and still stand legitimately on issues they are seeking to exploit for the 2014 elections. The Republicans believe there is some kind of deep dark secret in the Executive Branch that will FINALLY let them win elections, even if winning through corruption.

Is there nothing the GOP can find in the Executive Branch that will stop the defense cuts? Stop the adverse outcomes to their elections? Stop the honesty, the decency that the GOP cannot mimic? Is there nothing that can be found to protect the cronies?

...At these meetings (click here) the US Secretaries of State and Defense represent the US during discussions on NATO’s most pressing security challenges including Afghanistan, Capabilities, Kosovo, and Missile Defense. Generally attended also by many of NATO’s partners, these meetings are a chance for NATO to strengthen its relationships around the world....

Our allies in Europe is involved in an offensive into Mali and the Republicans are postponing the confirmation of the new Secretary of Defense? For political FODDER? 
Really?

By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2013

...“I had the opportunity (click here) to congratulate the French on what is so far a very successful mission in Mali, and also to discuss with them where they go from here,” Carter told American Forces Press Service aboard his aircraft during his return flight.

“I was pleased to learn that they have a clear strategy for making the effort there -- one that includes a political settlement in Mali between the government in Bamako and a longstanding separatist group … that contributes to making the [northern part of the country] a place where radicals can take hold,” the deputy secretary added.

Carter said such a settlement has to be part of the future in Mali, as does helping the Malian forces bolster their capabilities until they can assume full responsibility for their own national security.

In remarks at the 49th Munich Security Conference, Carter said European defense spending is “falling to a level below which they will be incapable of independent action, and that’s inconsistent with the historic role of Europe in security affairs.”...

Do Republicans actually want to prevent the next attack on the USA? Seriously. Do Republicans actually care about protecting the infrastructure of the USA? It is a legitimate question. After all, the Republicans aren't interested in rebuilding it, now are they?

Oren Dorell, USA Today

8:24 p.m. EST

February 14, 2013

As jihadists start an insurgency in Mali, (click here) U.S. officials say France should stay in the lead. U.S. will assist with transportation, surveillance and funds.

WASHINGTON -- Obama administration officials said Thursday that France will lead the fight against terrorists in north Mali without U.S. combat support, but one adviser to U.S. forces in Africa warned that the United States may not be able to avoid direct involvement.

French and Malian forces continue to fight remnants of jihadist Muslim militias in north Mali that are headed by al-Qaeda's North African franchise, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

At a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Thursday, Obama officials from the State Department and the Pentagon said the militias pose a significant threat to U.S. interests and security. But the United States will not send troops to aid the effort....

Only one adviser is recommending war spending? The Republicans want another war, they sincerely want to get a war monger in the DOD. If only there was another Don Rumsfeld waiting in the wings.

Ah, yes. The profitability of drone warfare is far higher than anyone can imagine. The different kind of war. Of course.

...Currently, the US has about 7,000 aerial drones (click here) of various nomenclature and capability compared with fewer than 50 a decade ago. That number is set to expand further under the administration's 2012 budget request of $4.8 billion for drones. Drone strikes are legal according to Obama administration lawyers under the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force, which gives the president authority to capture or kill anyone suspected of having planned, executed or assisted in the attacks of September 11, 2001. Since 2008 alone, more than 300 drone strikes deliberately killed 2,500 or more people in Yemen, Pakistan, Somalia and elsewhere around the globe as part of CIA and military targeted killing operations....

I tell you what. Since the USA Congress can't find cuts to the defense budget, I think the American people can figure it out for them.

Defense: FY 2012 Budget Request, Authorization and Appropriations (click here)

As I finish downloading the document, I am sure it will make for interesting reading. I have plans for the weekend, but, after that. I am getting tired of policing the GOP. Really tired of it. I don't get paid for doing this, but, they do and can't even confirm a Secretary of Defense during a difficult time for the DOD and our allies. The Senate Republicans don't deserve to be in office when they place the USA National Defense in their political balance. They don't belong there.

Some cities know how to have fun in the middle of winter.

All Free. Come on up to Traverse City and especially bring the kids.

ICE RINK, SLEDDING HILL, FERRIS WHEEL, SPORTS ARENA, ICE SCULPTURE On main street. No traffic unless you have ice skates.

National Association of Elementary School Principles (click here)

They are most concerned with the high drop out rate in the USA today and have conducted a 6 month study to find the link between early childhood learning and a successful education and life.

“Building and Supporting an Aligned System: A Vision for Transforming Education Across the Pre-K-Grade Three Years,” (click here)

Below is a University that has instituted a Three Year Learning program. It is established as an open enrollment as an education cooperative.

Program Philosophy (click here)

The Pre-3 Cooperative is a place for parents, grandparents, and caregivers with young children to come with their child each week for a wide variety of activities led by an experienced Early Childhood Education teacher. Parents join others in a parent discussion with a Parent Education Instructor from Peninsula College. The Peninsula Pre-3 Cooperative has been offering programs to parents of young children on the Peninsula for more than 30 years.

Marsha Blackburn stated...

"I want to see people make more money, but, I do not support minimum wage."

Okay, than how are people going to make more money? 

I don't care about personal hero rolls and status as some kind of victory over adversity. Every American is their own personal hero. They all work to make their lives better, I don't care if Marsha was captain of her bowling team.

I want to know what she is going to do to encourage increases in wages to elevate people out of poverty and into the struggling American Dream.

How is Marsha Blackburn going to stop blaming the impoverished as lazy Americans, less than American than she has been and is today, to actually provide a PATH to financial success other than working two and three jobs. Because working two to three jobs at minimum wage with a minimum of a 60 hour work week provides a whopping gross income of $435.00. That is POVERTY level wages. There is no finding their way out of poverty if all their skills are not improved or the education expanded. Working 60+ hours per week allows no time for quality of life or quality parenting. 

So, what is Marsha Blackburn's IDEAS to provide a path out of poverty for this growing population within our society?

Voting for a higher minimum wage of $9.00 per hour is a no brainer. The states highlighted in green already have higher minimum wage requirements in their state laws. The states highlighted in blue rely on the federal laws for their minimum wage determination at the state level. The yellow highlighted states don't provide for a law governing minimum wage and default to the federal level. The other red highlighted states and orange territories have laws with a variety of lower than federal law minimum wages in their laws. The people there would have to provide a lawsuit AND/OR a union to have their wages elevated to the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

A minimum wage of $9.00 per hour for a 60 hour work week that allows little time to actually change the trajectory of a life through new skills or education,  would provide a gross weekly income of $540.00 per week. That is an increase of $105.00 per week. That raises citizens to at least $28,000 per year. It would bring them closer to success, especially if there were two working adults in the household. That means they will start to disqualify for food stamps and other subsidies.

Marsha Blackburn is promoting the poverty levels that enforce the subsidies to the average family and exploitative profits of companies well able to do better.

At Walmart, one of the most profitable companies of Wall Street, pays their Guest Service Team Member in at least 216 stores an average of $8.46 per hour with a range of $7.00 to $12.00. Some of these employees aren't even paid the current minimum wage. Walmart makes profits on the backs of the American citizen, both through underpaid labor, insufficient benefits and social subsidies to their employees.

The same company, Walmart, pays their cashiers an average of $8.53 per hour. That is the case in 157 Walmart stores with a range of $6.00 to $13.00 per hour. 

This is outrageous and what Marsha Blackburn is promoting is more Wall Street Welfare. She is proposing to grow the National Debt to benefit Wall Street. She is talking out of both sides of her mouth for the sake of an under educated electorate about their own rights and best interests.

Marsha Blackburn isn't half the American of any of her constituents. She needs to do far, far better than this.

Most employers are paying nearly $9.00 per hour now and it will never be that much of a burden to increase the wage to a sustainable level to benefit most Americans.

The proponents of the Zealous Pro-Gun attitudes are rhetorical.

Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) cited a general misunderstanding of assault weapons by the populous as a major problem. “This entire discussion does not concern machine guns, and yet I would venture to say a large percentage of Americans do not understand that”. In fact, machine guns have been illegal without special permission since 1934 under The National Firearms Act.

In this statement Ted Cruz wants us all to believe the dangerous weapons are already under control. What Ted Cruz does not cognate well is that military style weapons is a manipulation of the gun industry to circumvent the law to ban machine guns.

What difference does it make if a gunman has to pull the trigger one time or thirty times to get the same result? 

The result is the same. In the days of Al Capone it was the machine gun that needed to be banned, in the years of civilized society the manipulated technology of the gun industry has to be banned.

When the result of weapons within the borders of the USA is the same as Al Capone, it needs to be stopped.

 STEWART COOK/AFP/GETTY IMAGES - Publicist Tony Makris  speaks at a press conference given by Charlton Heston on Aug. 9, 2002 in Los Angeles.

When the NRA cries the Right Wing Zealots react to a well financed campaign to maintain profits while innocent people die. There is no social conscience within the gun lobby. The people of the USA cannot reward the lack of social conscience of any industry. People are dead because of the culture of these people. Our government has to reflect the control of the lack of our safety net in the face of such people.

By Peter Finn and Sari Horwitz, Published: February 13

“Are the president’s kids (click here) more important than yours?” the deep and dramatic-sounding voice intoned. “Then why is he skeptical about putting armed security in our schools when his kids are protected by armed guards at their school?”...

In recent days we have witnessed innocent people gunned down by very dangerous weapons in the hands of a former police officer. He killed without conscience, with a resolve that was to break down the very law enforcement system in the country. The physical stature of that man accompanied by weapons was enough to overcome anyone attempting to defend themselves. Here again we have witnessed a person better armed than the people surrounding him to stop the violence. We witnessed the same in a Colorado theater and now a police killer. Gun control is necessary in the USA and it is needed now.

The gun lobby wants every American to believe they can control their every outcome with the assistance of manipulated and dangerous weapons. The NRA wants to sell guns while people die. There is no way the average American struggling to maintain their mortgages can afford the type of home defense the NRA is promoting as 'an every man' solution.

Wayne LaPierre Only Said What Gun Nuts Have Been Posting on Facebook (click here)

ELSPETH REEVEDEC 21, 2012

If you were baffled or shocked by the National Rifle Association's Wayne LaPierre calling for more guns in schools at his riveting post-Newtown press conference, odds are it's because you don't speak LaPierre's language....

Isn't that the point? LaPierre bows to the gun purchasers of his lobby interests? He provides living commercials called testimony. He is not a leader, his Congressman in his pocket are not leaders, they are followers of very dangerous and dysfunctional mouth breathers.

When are the proponents of zealous gun purchasers going to stop the brain washing and demoralizing of a civilized nation?

Basically, the lack of sufficient gun control has instilled the faux value of "Bring it on!" of the average American. That is irresponsible and journalists seeking to back such attitudes are as irresponsible as the people they seek to promote as innocent practitioners of our democracy.

Greed and Power

I have never witnessed hatred of a President the way Republicans hate President Obama for absolutely no reason at all. President Obama bends over backward to bring about bipartisanship, they simply slap it away. They have proven to be untrustworthy of confidence by the American people.

This is abuse of power to play to the lucrative interests of the Republican war machines. If ever there were a group of people more misguided to the best interests of the nation, it the Senate Republicans.

Hagel Becomes First Filibustered Defense Nominee (click here)
by FRANK JAMES
February 13, 2013 7:09 PM

...Then on Wednesday afternoon, Reid announced he was filing a cloture motion, Senate-speak for an attempt to end a filibuster. He couldn't reach agreement with Sen. James Inhofe, the Oklahoman who is the top Republican on the Armed Services panel, to end debate.

Among Inhofe's stated concerns about Hagel, he has said, is that the Iranian Foreign Ministry supports his nomination. Sen. Carl Levin, the Michigan Democrat who is the committee's chairman, has suggested that perhaps the Iranians are being bomb throwers and trying to cause mischief in American policy circles.

In any event, Reid has scheduled the vote to end the debate for Friday unless an agreement is reached beforehand....

They always think it is politics most important, even when a teacher from his home state sees it differently.

...“Tonight we heard President Obama (click here) emphasize the importance of building and supporting a strong American middle class, one that gives opportunity for all to achieve the American dream. Tonight, Ms. Susan Bumgarner, an exceptional teacher from my state of Oklahoma, from Norman, Oklahoma, sat in a seat of honor with the First Lady. As a teacher, Susan plays one of the most important roles in helping young Americans someday achieve this dream. As for the President, his four-year record on quenching these opportunities speaks louder than his rhetoric tonight....

Republicans are scared down to their skivvies. They are losing their grip on their crony's money and they don't know which way to point the gun, so every direction is better than a possible losing direction.

• By Frank Oliveri
• Roll Call Staff
• Feb. 7, 2013, 4:36 p.m.

...James M. Inhofe of Oklahoma said (click here) his panel would focus on the military’s response to the assault. But, he said, “as bad as everything that I’ve stated is, what I think is worse is the cover-up.”...

It is easy to cry cover up when there is nothing there is nothing to cover up. It is like building a bridge to nowhere. While the bridge is being built it seems like the correct path to take, but, to realize it has accomplished nothing in the end is the real proof of the putting.

...Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Inhofe,(click here) the incoming Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, expressed outrage over the leak that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s will lift the ban on women in combat Wednesday....

Inhofe has major control issues. I heard he wets his pants everything a dime is cut from the military budget. Not because it is necessary to bring down the national debt, but, because he is afraid of the country being invaded.

...While the Oklahoma senator expressed frustration at the leak, he spoke highly of women’s abilities in the military and noted that he served on the House Armed Services Committee with Les Aspin, a former Wisconsin congressman and secretary of sefense under President Bill Clinton....

Now, dear God, what is the USA going to do when a woman needs to power her nose before capture? Secretary Panetta should have worked out all these details before releasing this to the press!

Why Republicans Can No Longer Be Trusted on National Security (click here)

Because their leaders have become shallow, ignorant, and totally unserious on the issue that matters most.

By Fred Kaplan

Posted Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013, at 6:22 PM ET

...Hagel’s Jan. 31 confirmation hearings had been appalling enough—not just for his own lackluster performance, but more for his inquisitors’ bizarrely narrow focus. They asked almost nothing about the issues that will face the next defense secretary: the budget, the roles and missions of the Army, the balance of drones vs. manned aircraft, the size of the Navy, the future of Afghanistan, or the “pivot” from Europe to Asia. Instead, they hectored the nominee about the adequacy of his fealty toward Israel, his animosity toward Iran, and whether he was right or wrong about the 2007 troop-surge in Iraq....

...Sen. Claire McCaskell went further, warning Inhofe and Cruz, in a “have you no shame, senator” moment, to “be careful” with their tactics of character-smear and guilt-by-association....

Oh, my God, Hagel is going to deactivate the USA nuclear silos!

...Hagel’s co-authorship of a 2012 report by an ad hoc group called the U.S. Global Zero Nuclear Policy Commission. Ayotte expressed shock that, in the wake of North Korea’s third nuclear test, Hagel had not removed his name from this report, which called for eliminating one leg of our nuclear triad. “We have three legs to our nuclear triad,” she said (yes, senator, that’s why it’s called a “triad”), as if it were some nuclear holy trinity.

Ayotte too is new; she seems not to know what a nuclear triad is. She certainly isn’t aware that, even among conservative thinkers in the nuclear-weapons realm, the idea of scrapping one leg of the triad—namely, land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles—is at least a respectable notion. The argument is that ICBMs are vulnerable to nuclear attack and, at the same time, tipped with multiple, highly accurate warheads that make an opponent’s ICBMs vulnerable to attack. In other words, by their very existence, ICBMs create an incentive for both sides to launch a pre-emptive attack in the event of a crisis.

But Ayotte’s remarks were seconded by Sen. Jeff Sessions, who does know something about nukes yet seems trapped in 1982. Hagel, he charged, “comes out of the anti-nuclear left,” as if, first of all, there is such a thing these days. It’s worth noting who wrote that Global Zero report along with Hagel: Thomas Pickering, a veteran U.S. diplomat and former ambassador to Moscow; Richard Burt, a State Department negotiator in the Reagan administration; retired Gen. John Sheehan, former commander-in-chief of U.S. Atlantic Command; and—not least—retired Gen. James Cartwright, former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and, before that, head of U.S. Strategic Command, which manages the nuclear arsenal. Hardly a pack of lefties....

Incompetence rules the GOP. The more incompetent and rhetorical they are the more they shiver in fear with demands for greater and greater spending on weapons THAT DO NOT WORK!

These are the men that sent our troops into battle in Iraq with little to no armor to protect them and forced them to cannibalize any and all metal in the immediate vicinity to protect them from bullets, bombs and flying frying pans.

They should be ashamed of themselves. And if they can't find the dignity to be ashamed of themselves, then their constituents should be ashamed for them.

Army rushed defective body armor into the field, says Pentagon (click here)

Steve Tarlow August 17, 2011
In a 51-page Aug. 1 report, the U.S. Department of Defense’s Office of the Inspector General found that the Army did not properly test body armor before sending it into the field in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Associated Press reports that more than 5.1 million pieces of body armor were rushed into action at a cost of $2.5 billion, and most — if not all — of the body armor escaped testing for minimum safety standards.

Body armor or hillbilly armor

Defense contracts awarded between 2004 and 2006 for ballistic inserts were found to include either defective body armor plates or plates that were the wrong size. The harsh environment and temperatures in Iraq and Afghanistan made extracurricular field tests impossible, so potentially a few million U.S. Army troops were forced to use the body armor in trial-by-fire scenarios.

As The Moderate Voice reminds, reckless safety testing has been an issue in the U.S. military before. In December 2004, then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld met with Army specialist Thomas Wilson. Wilson asked Rumsfeld why U.S. soldiers had to dig through scrap heaps on the field of battle in order to assemble “hillbilly armor” for themselves and their Humvees. Rumsfeld’s response was accurate, if catastrophically inappropriate:

“You go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you might want or wish to have at a later time.”

And the Republican Bozos have the audacity to ask questions of qualifications to Senator Hagel who has pledge to be on the side of the soldier?

I don't think so!

The band of Republican Senate Brothers are incompetent and untrustworthy. And McConnell leads the way. This is his first filibuster of this session of Congress. Well done on that filibuster reform, Harry. A little egg on your face, Harry?

I would suggest the LA Police Department continue with their inquiry to the decision to discharge Mr. Dornan.

I don't believe his death should be questioned. He killed people. He killed cops and innocent family members. It is not a racial issue. It is a hate problem within the culture in Los Angeles. The Ghost of scandals past.

By Silvereen Bai and Nick Edmonds

Monday, February 11, 2013 | 3:45 p.m. PST

UPDATE | 3:45 p.m. PST: 33-year-old Christopher Jordan Dorner (click here) was charged with capital murder Monday as well as special circumstances that could lead to the death penalty, according to Riverside County District Attorney Paul Zellerbach.

 Dorner, the suspect behind the 6-day manhunt spurred by the LAPD, was charged by Riverside County prosecutors today for the shooting death of Riverside police officer Michael Crain, as well as three counts of attempted murder for the alleged shooting of Crain's partner and two LAPD officers in Corona....

Mr. Dornor was not murdered, he murdered other people. He brought the manhunt on himself. Every action of the LAPD was justified. Every action was correct.

Mr. Dorner is old news, except, for those that hate police. I hope he is dead. I don't care if he killed himself or were killed by police or burned to death. It doesn't matter to me. I know he was guilty. He knew he could have given himself over to authorities. He didn't want to. He went down a path of no return. It is over now. It is no one's fault. I am quite sure the police involved conducted very good police work to try to stop him and when he continued to kill, he left police very little choice. I am happy he was stopped. His death was his own choice no matter what killed him.

People cannot go on killing sprees and expect to live long. All we hear today from many people are how it is necessary to 'Stand their Ground' and have weapons in their home and how they have to have their own way in obtaining and owning weapons. Well, then when they turn themselves loose on innocent people, this is the result.

The police are innocent and they have suffered enough.

Marco Rubio plagiarized Romney's speeches?

Amazing. He really has a rudderless career. Does he pay attention to anything the people need? Does he or is he being harassed by the GOP to play a role that will sell to Hispanics?

By L.V. Anderson
Posted Monday, Oct. 15, 2012, at 4:34 PM ET

The creator of the television show Friday Night Lights, (click here) Peter Berg, accused Mitt Romney of plagiarizing the slogan, “Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose” in a letter obtained by Hollywood Reporter. Coach Taylor and his team, the Dillon Panthers, utter the phrase frequently on the Texas football drama. Romney has used it in speeches and on his Facebook page. Can you really plagiarize a catchphrase?

Sure. Plagiarism is an ethical transgression, not a legal one, and there’s nothing inherently unplagiarizable about slogans and catchphrases. Plagiarism is usually defined as passing off someone else’s words or ideas as your own. If Romney had claimed to be the author of the phrase “Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose,” he would certainly have been guilty of plagiarism. As it stands, the Republican nominee is in a bit of a gray area....

It is not just an ethical issue when it is used in a campaign that seeks funds for a successful campaign.

Did anyone notice Vice President Biden sitting right behind the President? I bet President Obama didn't know this Veep was taking notes during his speech. He was. Early on in the speech, VP Biden reached into his left jacket pocket to pull out a pen and then he reached for a small tablet. He started to write down things  President Obama was saying. I thought that was interesting. They don't check in with each other about their jobs.

The Republicans have no ideas. They have rhetoric and that is all they have. They have chronic campaigns to benefit cronies that fund their campaigns. The American people are not on the agenda of the GOP. If Rubio's speech didn't convey that, especially now that he is plagiarizing, I don't know what is. The GOP isn't about the people anymore. They get paid for their loyalty to their sponsors of their elections.

Gerrymandering.

President Obama is watching the progress the nation is making on it's national debit dissipate.

The costs of Nemo aren't even in yet and the damage to infrastructure and lost revenue to businesses is significant. There are huge questions as to what occurs next with infrastructure that actually promotes the survival of citizens when a storm removes electricity and heat in the coldest times of winter.

The Climate Crisis is real whether it is called Global Warming or any other verbiage. It is costing the USA extraordinary amounts of money. We have witnessed in less than four months two historically damaging storms. Storms that create a new venue of infrastructure for the USA. The President gave the Climate Crisis recognition in his State of the Union speech for very, very real reasons.

President Obama was not speaking to his base and playing politics regardless of Right Wing pundents that always states '...it is political rhetoric.' The man was re-elected, he has many current members of Congress looking for re-election in 2014, some in marginal districts; does anyone actually believe President Obama is intentionally attempting to make their elections more difficult?

He was addressing a joint session of Congress. Both the House and Senate were under the same dome and the pressing reality of the Climate Crisis is being felt in the Oval Office. That is why he was compelled to bring the topic to the national forum.

U.S. Northeast Counts Cost of Deadly Storm Nemo (click here)

FEB 10, 2013 03:40 PM ET // BY AFP

The northeast of the United States crawled out from under a mammoth blizzard Sunday that caused at least nine deaths and paralyzed the region with high winds and heaps of snow.

More than 300,000 customers were still without power in the wake of the storm that struck a slew of states and dumped as much as three feet of snow across New England before battering three Canadian provinces....

I am tired of addressing this issue over and over again as well. Since 2004 this blog has attempted to bring attention to this dynamic coming at the global community like a railroad train. I can only reflect on the lost lives, the destroyed biotic content over that period of time and realize how the level of denial is still remarkable. It was time the President of the United States began to address this very real threat. It was President Obama that finally decided this was enough of a threat to make it real to Congress and to the nation. I am grateful for that, but, it should be the nation and the international community that is grateful to him as well.

'Unprecedented' weather hampers emergency responders in Connecticut (click here)

Published: Saturday, February 09, 2013

Rick Fontana, deputy director of emergency management operations for New Haven, said the weekend’s historic blizzard wrought havoc on the city’s emergency response apparatus — a story repeated in towns and cities across Connecticut.

“This is something we’ve never seen,” Fontana said. “This is an unprecedented storm for us.”

Fontana said that during the morning hours at the height of the storm, New Haven endured 55 mph winds and a snowfall rate of 5 inches per hour. During this time, emergency vehicles and ambulances became stuck in the snow, sometimes with patients en route to the hospital....

The fact the emergency infrastructure fell apart is not a concern if you weren't the people in need at the other end of the arriving ambulance. Okay? This is a national emergency. People died. 

The Republicans can talk about the National Debt and throw around numbers all they want, but, with the Climate Crisis demanding huge spending to recover citizen's lives, rebuild infrastructure, RETURN ECONOMIC FUNCTIONING and attempt to bend the curve on Greenhouse Gases, this is only the beginning and all the 'hot air' wasted on the Debt Fuss is becoming all too obvious.

To talk PLAIN LANGUAGE on a household BUDGET; when attempting to rein in wayward spending and bloated past spending, there has to be a realization the 'out of bounds' spending is going to stop. Right? Anyone knows that if the their debt is going to be addressed, which in some circles in the USA is a national past time, the hideous spending has to stop. Well. Here we are with the USA addressing it's national debt, it's credit rating and there is no end to the spending in sight. Not that the debt should not be addressed, but, as I have said before "Addressing the entitlements is child's play compared to the burgeoning dynamics of the Climate Crisis." 

HELLO?

President Obama did not attempt to make the elections of 2014 any more difficult for members of his party. He wants the support of both sides of the aisle because the nation demands it. He absolutely looks to the Democratic Party to work with his Executive Branch responsibilities to the nation. He spoke to Global Warming, the Climate Crisis and the burden of high greenhouse gas content of Earth for very real reasons. The American people need to take the problems this dynamic is causing seriously. We are facing chronic and devastating drought, destroyed biotic content of Earth, reduced crop yields and loss of water resources in the USA and globally. President Obama has addressed this twice, in his Inauguration speech and now again in the State of the Union speech. He means it. We all need to take his words seriously.

Fifteen commerce hubs in the USA will regionalize economic growth and feed the local economies. As a matter of fact, if the commerce centers work with freight trains between hubs it will cut down a great deal on carbon emissions.

It is an interesting speech. He is being very inclusive. I congratulate President Obama.

Didn't expect that one. $9.00 per hour minimum wage. He is correct. It is about time the Working Poor is still working, but, not poor.

President Obama is correct, education and training is still a vital reality to returning to employment for many Americans. There are jobs in the USA unfilled because our populous is not ready to fill them. That is simply wrong. What are we waiting for? There are many people ready to work, they simply need to be trained.

I am ready for them all to come home from overseas deployment in a war zone. It is going to be necessary to have training ready for them to step into good paying jobs. We owe that to them. War no more sounds good to me.

Al Qaeda is a shadow of its former self. It is more sporatic and opportunistic than it was in 2001. It is still based in deep poverty and peoples unsophisticated to discern their own reality. There are fewer leaders that are more warlords than terror leaders, but, they do not hold the same power as al Qaeda had before.

Non-proliferation. Very good. It has to be more high profile. The past has dictated an overture of aggression by the USA, when in fact we have been acting in many, many ways to move people forward to better lives. The hostile areas of the world are showcased in the media and not the places where the USA is making strides with humanitarian aid. The Non-Proliferation efforts of the President has to become a kitchen table topic across the USA so people know we are not only warring all the time, but, we are a benevolent people seeking to be more so.

That $1.00 per day theme has been in existence far too long. True as it is, the reality has existed in the world far too long. Burma is a magnificent example of the power of peace when the USA unites with the United Nations.

The Middle East. A good place for President Obama to start is with the King of Jordan. He is striving to solve problems alone these days and that can't be good.

The military and their families are the country's obligation. If we can't make that commitment, then we don't have a right to demand their dedication and loyalty.

It ain't a democracy without large participation of voters. Non-partisan commission to improve the voting experience in America. If multi-block lines and wait times in hours after hours isn't proof enough how much voting means to the people of the USA then I don't know what does.

We do not need 40 caliber weapons on the streets of the USA. There has to be limits.

It was a good speech. I liked most of it.
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I want to hear bipartisanship from Rubio. I want to hear agreement and willingness to work with the President.

I don't care about his person aesthetics. Oh, real good. Let's divide and conquer. Here we go, grandstanding. Political ideology and no answer for the problems.

Ideas, Mr. Rubio, not ideologies. You want to try to solve some problems, Marko? It would be good, because, all I am hearing is ideology.

Boohoo, boohoo; I hate the way the President doesn't say anything but nice things about everything I hold dear.

Marko there is no such thing as safe hydro fracturing. Public lands belong to us, not the petroleum industry and we would like some left over intact for beauty with untouched wildlife.

Oh, dear, the National Debt is destroying the Middle Class. I'll be darn.

Medicare needs funding and a cost contained health care system. Say those words, Mr. Rubio, "Cost Contained Health Care." You might like saying it. Ya know, rather than run away crony economics. Try saying that to, "I oppose runaway crony economics." Hopefully, you'll like saying that even more.

IF we can get our economy healthy again. Do you understand what economic hubs are Mr. Rubio? No? Look it up.

New born babies are Mr. Rubio's best friend tonight. Well, there are many, many Dreamers that were new born babies too, Mr. Rubio. Think about it.

Dreams. He must have said dreams at least four or five times by now. I think parents were holding babies when he mentioned it twice.

It was a lousy speech that said nothing. It was a campaign speech.