The George Washington Bridge. It is such a beautiful bridge and named after our first president. It is a shame there is a scandal that brings attention to it.

I have differed in opinion of the majority before, why should that change now?



December 8, 2014
By Bob Jordan
The probe's findings (click here) include records showing Christie and his current chief of staff, Regina Egea, exchanged messages while Egea monitored testimony of Port Authority officials last December about the bridge lane closures.
Yet Christie, in August, said he had "no recollection" of the texts and that "it obviously was something of no moment or no import because I have no recollection of it at all."...

I first want to congratulate the New Jersey Democrats. They have held steadfast to their commitment in finding a resolve to this obvious problem and they are now at the front door to the truth. Magnificent.

I am not a fortune teller or a mind reader and my own perspective is based in the lessons of life and nothing else.

When it comes to Chris Christie one has to know there is little to no connection to his involvement in Bridgegate. Now, perhaps my memory doesn't serve me well, but, when the first e-mails were found was it not from an anonymous source? Not that the emails were good information, but, the emails were not volunteered by anyone is my recollection.

That enters doubt into the issue of deleted emails throughout the proceedings. So who is to say how the emails in question were deleted or by whom. Naturally, a staff to the governor would state they were deleted in the normal process of any work day. 

But, fathom this. What if the Governor is not at all involved. Not in any way. What would bring attention and circumstantial evidence to the forefront of any investigation? Missing documents.

So, while there is a good reason to be proud of the Democrats in New Jersey in their dedication to bring the most truth to any circumstance and to resolve problems for the state; there is doubt that will create a degree of difficulty in prosecuting the Governor. They should realize that perspective exists as they wade deeper in to legal proceedings.

I wish everyone involved well. The best lessons learned are sometimes the hardest to face.

This is an absolute joke. A CIA operative was outed by this administration,....

...how dare he state these people are valuable patriots and good Americans. The American people don't need a Bush to tell them what is a good American or a bad American either.

I think the issue was yellowcake,right? Something about a statement about Iraq having weapons of mass destruction. An essay by Joe Wilson in the New York Times (click here) and then Valerie Plame's life is put in danger. 

Don't tell the American people who is a good American or a bad American; we've already witnessed the best and the worst.

Senator Feinstein is correct the report needs to be released now.

Why would anyone believe if the report wasn't released it would circumvent violence? That is ridiculous. If the facts are known there are leaders that can assure the truth of the report or not. Many of these activities were conducted overseas without the consent of foreign leaders. The reason the torture took place was because the USA CIA could conduct it, not that it should conduct it. The Black Sites are USA not any foreign government. The jails may have been considered torture, but, no more than the sponsoring government conducted.

I cannot believe the people most in question in the USA are actually going to be able to oppress the report.

December 5, 2014
By Josh Rogin

Secretary of State John Kerry (click here) personally phoned Dianne Feinstein, chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Friday morning to ask her to delay the imminent release of her committee’s report on CIA torture and rendition during the George W. Bush administration, according to administration and Congressional officials.

Kerry was not going rogue -- his call came after an interagency process that decided the release of the report early next week, as Feinstein had been planning,  could complicate relationships with foreign countries at a sensitive time and posed an unacceptable risk to U.S. personnel and facilities abroad.  Kerry told Feinstein he still supports releasing the report, just not right now.

“What he raised was timing of report release, because a lot is going on in the world -- including parts of the world particularly implicated -- and wanting to make sure foreign policy implications were being appropriately factored into timing,” an administration official told me.  "He had a responsibility to do so because this isn’t just an intel issue -- it’s a foreign policy issue."...

If these reports are not released now they could be censored forever and/or destroyed. Such antics have existed in the federal government before. Secretary Kerry needs to move any embassy staff ahead of the release if he believes the embassy cannot be defended. Harm will come anyway no matter the decision. It is foolish to believe otherwise.

The winds that will be creating chaos and tragedy in Europe are actually off Africa.

I have never seen that before. There was always a heat conduit from west Africa to South America, but, never a complete loop from west Africa to Europe.

December 8, 2014
1200 SSEC
METEOSAT
Full Disk Africa, Europe, Atlantic Ocean Water Vapor Satellite Imagery (click here for loop).

Tuesday (click here)
As the winds come around to the south west, will be a milder today. These winds will strengthen throughout the course of the day with severe gales across northern Britain by the afternoon with gusts of 60 to 70 mph around exposed coasts of Northern Ireland and Scotland and 60 mph also over the northern Wales and northern England. Outbreaks of rain will spread in across all but the East Midlands, East Anglia and the south east during the day. This will be heavy in the north and the west and as colder air slips south, snow is likely across the hills of northern Scotland. This may extend down to low levels in the evening as may some snow showers into northern England overnight. Rain across England and Wales will be clearing but mat linger across East Anglia and the south east overnight. Very windy overnight. Expect maximum temperatures of 5 to 10 Celsius. 

It was obvious Senator Landrieu was out spent by the Republicans. It was her obligation to continue to strive to win the seat.

My choice in discussing Louisiana has nothing to do with sour grapes over a lost election. The facts that appeared on this blog are real and the problems with poverty in Louisiana more real than anyone wants to recognize.

The reality of Louisiana is stark to recognize how a GOP state government can impose political oppression of it's people. The people are in bad condition. It is directly related to Republican majorities in the state government with a Republican governor. 

The Republican leadership in Louisiana is typical of the governance they impose with results in the impoverished condition of the people. Louisiana is wealthy in natural resources, but, there is no reflection of same in the quality if life of the people. It is outrageous.

Louisiana is completely dependent on federal monies. There is no governance in these states, but, simply act as parasites to the federal government. If the Republicans carry out the same priorities in DC, where will Louisiana go to feed it's people and supply health care.

Considering the flights over Syria to disarm the war, this is within Israel's purview.

December 8, 2014

By Amos Harel

The Sunday attacks (click here) on two locations in Syria that were attributed to the Israel Air Force seem like a continuation of Israel’s policy with regard to the Syrian civil war for more than three years.

According to reports from Syria, Sunday’s attacks were aimed at two targets – the area of the Damascus airport and the Syrian border with Lebanon. To judge by past attacks, the airport air strike was probably aimed at warehouses where arms shipments that arrive by air from Iran are stored, while the border area was bombed to prevent an arms convoy from moving toward Lebanon....

This isn't about distracting from settlements. The settlements into Palestine is wrong and outside the expectations of any international understanding to the Palestinians.

Israel is allowed to protect it's people and borders. The settlements and this air strike are separate topics. The settlements are suppose to be sovereign Palestinian land. Airstrikes into Syria is being conducted by a coalition and I am certain Israel is considered an ally to the coalition. If not then it is an ally to the USA.

...Sunday’s attacks came after a relatively long period of quiet. As far as is known, there have been no Israeli bombings since the bombing of Jenta, on the Lebanese side of the border, in February. The bombing on Sunday was exceptional, however, in at least three aspects: It came after Hezbollah had tried to set new rules of the game with Israel on the northern front; it occurred after the international community had clearly changed its priorities regarding the war in Syria (from toppling the regime of Bashar Assad to defeating his rival, ISIS), and it is also the first Israeli operation in Syria since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he was planning new elections....

If this is due to arm shipments by Iran to the Assad government, the coalition has to decide how it discerns such support to Assad. If the Assad forces are the legitimate government of Syria, attacks to weaken him is not a good idea.

Assad can add to the defeat of the Islamic State. The UN has recognized the need for a power sharing government in Syria. If the Assad government is going to survive as a partner in Syria (which is necessary due to the minority Shia in Syria) there has to be recognition of the legitimate need for arms. If Iran is arming Assad to survive the Islamic State's uprising that has to be recognized.

Israel has every right to act in defense of it's people, however, Israel has to also recognize the need for stability in Syria and whom is going to supply it.

"Morning Papers" 

The Rooster

Okeydoke

Ayam Cemani is a rare breed of fowl has the fibromelanistic traits as that most coveted as a chicken breed from Indonesia.

"Good Night, Moon"

Waning Gibbous or Full Moon

16.4 days old

97.1 percent lit

December 7, 2014
By Pattarawadee Saengmanee

...John Nurminen Events, (click here) in cooperation with the US National Aeronautics and Space Agency, is presenting 350 artefacts from America's venture into the heavens. The show continues at the Bangkok Convention Centre at Central Plaza Lat Phrao all this month and through January.

The interactive, educational exhibition is touring the world and arrives in Thailand courtesy of Central Pattana, BEC-Tero Entertainment and Thaicom. 

"BEC-Tero wants the children and the Thai people to see interesting exhibitions from around the world," says Neil Thompson, the firm's deputy managing director, recalling its first such extravaganza, "Titanic", a collection of mementoes from the doomed passenger ship. 

"We spent many millions of baht on this project. You'll see the rocky moon and the lunar landing vehicle in an interactive environment."...

Is there any doubt, the Blue States have it right?

Collins Dictionary defines quality of life as the general well-being of a person or society, defined in terms of health and happiness, rather than wealth.

There are elements to the understanding of quality of life; health, self-esteem, goals and values, money, work, play, learning, creativity, helping, love, friends, children, relatives, home, neighborhood and community.

There can be surveys regarding the quality of life from -6 to +6. Negative being dissatisfied and positive being satisfied. Then a person can define where they are most unhappy and move out of that area.

A problem occurs where a person or community doesn't have the clear understanding of satisfaction and/or the resources to make change.

Politico conducted their own study on quality of life. In their assessment the "Right to Work" laws impacted that quality of life.

Politico quality of life study. (click here) They used standard data in their assessment.

This past election there were referendum in some states that are basically Democratic issues. The ballot measures passed while the election did not necessarily include the Democratic candidates. It is likely the lack of attention of ads encouraged the issues to pass. The reality that Republicans were elected in states obviously more liberal than conservative lends itself to a 'throw the bumbs out' movement rather than party choice.

I could go from state to state and assess the quality of life of the people in a similar way I focused on Louisiana. But, the Red States out number the Blue States in difficulty of life and opportunity and the result on happiness. 

This is a population density map from 2000. (click here)

The Red States also exhibit some of the least dense areas of population in the country. Is it that Blue State population density brings life's harshness into clear view by many more people than Red States? Maybe. But, when it comes to the federal government the entire of the USA has to be examined and not just one state in particular to set policy.

The approach to governance by the political Left and Right is starkly different. The next two years can be productive if the Republicans want to solve problems rather than cause them. But, for Republicans to pretend they have the answers for all Americans is hideous and ridiculous. The Red States profoundly lack the quality of life in comparison to the Blue States even though as in the example of Louisiana receives a lion's share of federal monies.

I would suggest the next two years be harmonious in solving the problems of minorities, civil rights and equitable treatment for women in the work place. I would like to see the Red States redeem themselves rather than play politics for the benefit of cronies. Let the pay to play elections be reformation to the ills of our people rather than a slash and burn priorities that will only harm the country, especially the poor. There better be upward movement to preserve and build the Middle Class over the next two years without compromising the climate.

Just adding a little perspective.

The 2006 Gallup World Poll (click here) data shows a positive correlation between per capita income in a country and average self-reported life satisfaction. One report on the World Poll data concluded, "high-income countries have greater life satisfaction than low-income countries...there is no evidence that the cross-country effects of greater income fade out or vanish as countries increase their income."

Figure 8.3 (click here) shows population pyramids typical of low- and high-income countries in 1995 and those expected to be typical in 2025 if current population trends continue. Note how these shapes represent higher birth rates, higher death rates (particularly among children), and lower life expectancies in low-income countries. Think about why in poor countries the base of the pyramid is broader and the pyramid is basically triangular rather than pear-shaped or rectangular as in rich countries. Explain also the changes expected to happen to both pyramids by 2025.

This is the age distribution for Louisiana (click here) in the year 2000. 

The ages of 20-34 are worrisome. It would have to be discerned as to the percent dead over the number of births in those years. If death rates are higher in those age groups, is it work related and/or socially related causes. There also has to be an accounting of migration in Louisiana for these age groups as well. This report might prove helpful as to movement in and out of Louisiana as a trend to the state. (click here)

14 % of pregnancies resulted in induced abortions in 7 clinics as of 2011.

Louisiana (click here) was ranked 6 out of 51 (50 states + the District of Columbia) on 2011 final teen births rates among females aged 15-19 (with 1 representing the highest rate and 51 representing the lowest rate).  On a similar scale – where 1 is the highest teen pregnancy rate and 51 is the lowest – Louisiana was ranked 8 out of 51 (50 states + the District of Columbia) in pregnancies to females aged 15- 19 in 2008.

One might note the abortion rates in the USA have been falling for over two decades. Women don't need to be controlled to lower abortion rates, they simply need contraception that works. They also need to be able to pay for the contraception. The Anti-abortion crowd finds more and varied reasons to assault a woman's right to self-determination. There is no doubt in my mind, the political right wing wants women to be dependent on their spouses. No doubt.

This graph is from Pew Research based on USA Census information. The Pill was approved for use in 1960. There is some variation over the years of birth rate since the introduction of the pill, but, for the most part it has remained the same starting in 1970.

Federal Aid as a percentage of State General Revenue.

Figures are from 2011 (click here). Louisiana is only second to Alabama in the amounts of monies received from the federal government in relation to their overall state's income.

So, let me get this right. Louisiana has some of the largest oil facilities in the country and ranks among the most impoverished people relying on federal monies to fund it's state government. 

Delaware has the lowest percentage amount of federal dollars to their state treasury. That is so strange. I would expect a long standing Senator like Joe Biden and then Vice President to have higher and higher amounts of federal dollars in their state treasury. It gets even stranger to realize the GDP for Delaware is 62.703 billion (click here) US per year and Louisiana's GDP is 253.576 billion (click here) US per year as of 2013.

Louisiana has 20 hate groups within it's borders.five

In the immediate wake of the 2012 election, (click here) Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal called on his fellow Republicans to “stop being the stupid party.” He said it was “no secret we had a number of Republicans damage our brand this year with offensive, bizarre comments – enough of that.” Jindal was referring to theinfamous remarks by top-tier GOP candidates, most notably former Rep. Todd Akin of Missouri, about rape and pregnancy.

So much for that! Jindal has appointed Akin’s most prominent defender, Tony Perkins, to a seat on the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement. Perkins is president of the D.C.-based Family Research Council (FRC), an anti-gay hate group known for making its share of “offensive, bizarre comments.” Perkins and the FRC earned that designation by consistently demonizing and smearing gays and lesbians – including calling them pedophiles – with falsehoods.

Perkins has deep Louisiana roots. He served in the state House of Representatives from 1996 to 2004 and ran unsuccessfully for the US. Senate, placing a distant fourth, in the 2002 GOP primary. Before that he was a TV news reporter and a reserve police officer, until he was suspended in 1992 for failing to report an illegal conspiracy by anti-abortion extremists to his superiors. He became head of the FRC in 2003 but never fully left Louisiana.

In fact, Jindal named Perkins to the Louisiana Commission on Marriage and Family in 2008, supposedly on the basis of “expertise in community programs and assistance.”

The Commission on Marriage and Family website provides meeting minutes for the past three years. Perkins is listed as absent for seven out of seven meetings. Since Perkins has a day job in Washington, D.C., and is apparently unable to attend those meetings, it’s hard to imagine he’ll be any better about attending the Commission on Law Enforcement meetings.

The 20 hate groups within Louisiana's border are four KKK groups, five Neo-Nazi groups, two racist skinheads, one Christian Identity, five White Nationalist, one Neo-confederate, one Black Separtist and one general hate group called M.A.C.S. Klan Merchandise. True to form of any big box store, the Klan Merchandisers don't discriminate in their identity for commercial purposes.

General Hate Groups are described as: these groups espouse a variety of rather unique hateful doctrines and beliefs that are not easily categorized. This list includes a “Jewish” group that is rabidly anti-Arab, a “Christian” group that is anti-Catholic and a polygamous “Mormon” breakaway sect that is racist. Many of the groups are vendors that sell a miscellany of hate materials from several different sectors of the white supremacist movement.

This is about as ineffective a state government as any in the country.

LOOP - Louisiana Offshore Oil Port

LOOP LLC
137 Northpark Blvd.
Covington, LA, 70433
985.276.6100

Oil (click here) delivered to LOOP is temporarily stored in the LOOP crude oil storage facilities in Clovelly, Louisiana - the largest privately-owned crude oil storage facilities in the nation.

LOOP operates eight underground caverns that have a total storage capacity of 58 million barrels. The man-made LOOP storage caverns are cylindrically-shaped, vertical spaces that were hollowed out from a vast underground salt formation. While salt dome storage is not an unfamiliar technology, the LOOP Clovelly Salt Dome facility is the only repository in the world continuously receiving and distributing crude oil.

The Louisiana Governor and it's majority state congress sports the largest off shore crude oil storage facility and enormous amounts of impoverished people.

One third of Louisiana's jobs are low wage with no minimum wage. The Republicans are bad for Louisiana. 

Louisiana poverty rate is astounding.

• Child poverty rate: 28%
• Senior poverty rate: 15%
• Women in poverty: 21.5%
• Percent of single-parent families with related children that are below poverty: 46%
• Number of Black and Hispanic children below 200% poverty: 391,000

• Poverty rate: 19.8% (click here)
• Extreme poverty rate: 9.0%
• Unemployment rate: 7.1%
• Food insecurity: 16.5%
• Low-income families that work: 36.3%
• Minimum Wage: No minimum wage law
• Percent of jobs that are low-wage: 31.4%
• Percent of individuals who are uninsured: 20%
• Number of Black and Hispanic children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment: 232,000

Republican governor and majority Republican in state house and senate.

Alaska and Hawaii both rank below 11%

The worst poverty (click here) in the USA is found in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and Michigan.

Michigan's poverty is fairly easy to dissect, out sourcing of jobs. The rest of the states have some astounding issues. When examined more closely is completely due to pandering to wealth.

People with income 50% below the poverty line are commonly referred to as living in deep poverty.

...Census figures (click here) reveal a stark contrast in the percentages of non-Hispanic whites living in poverty as compared to Hispanics and blacks. In 2012, 9.7% of non-Hispanic whites (18.9 million) were living in poverty, while over a quarter of Hispanics (13.6 million), and 27.2% of blacks (10.9 million) were living in poverty.

The figures are more dismal when looking at the rates for deep poverty. Compared to non-Hispanic whites, Hispanics are more than twice as likely to live in deep poverty, and blacks are almost three times more likely to live in deep poverty. In 2012, 12.7% of blacks (almost 5.1 million), 10.1% of Hispanics (almost 5.4 million), and 4.3% (8.4 million) of non-Hispanic whites were living in deep poverty....

...In 2012, over five million more women than men were living below the poverty line; and two million more women than men were living in deep poverty. For women aged 18 to 64, the poverty rate was 15.4%, compared to 11.9% for men of the same age range. At 11%, the poverty rate for women aged 65 and older is almost double that of men aged 65 and older—6.6%.

Families headed by a single adult are more likely to be headed by women, and these female-headed households are at a greater risk of poverty. Almost 31% of households headed by a single woman were living below the poverty line—nearly five times the 6.3% poverty rate for families headed by a married couple. For households headed by a single male, 16.4% were living in poverty....

By Madeline Drexler

July 15, 2007

FOUR YEARS AGO, (click here) researchers identified a surprising price for being a black woman in America. The study of 334 midlife women, published in the journal Health Psychology, examined links between different kinds of stress and risk factors for heart disease and stroke. Black women who pointed to racism as a source of stress in their lives, the researchers found, developed more plaque in their carotid arteries -- an early sign of heart disease -- than black women who didn't. The difference was small but important -- making the report the first to link hardening of the arteries to racial discrimination.

The study was just one in a fast-growing field of research documenting how racism literally hurts the body. More than 100 studies -- most published since 2000 -- now document the effects of racial discrimination on physical health. Some link blood pressure to recollected encounters with bigotry. Others record the cardiovascular reactions of volunteers subjected to racist imagery in a lab. Forthcoming research will even peek into the workings of the brain during exposure to racist provocations....

...Boston's Disparities Project, launched in 2005 by Mayor Menino's office and the Boston Public Health Commission, is one of the most progressive blueprints for change. It includes partnerships with medical institutions, detailed public reports tracking progress, and community grants to tackle such entrenched problems as street violence and lack of access to fresh produce. In May, lawmakers on Beacon Hill held a hearing on proposed legislation that would reverse the root causes of health inequities. The bill would establish a state office of health equity, among other measures....

..."Across multiple societies, you're finding similar kinds of relationships," said David Williams, a sociologist at the Harvard School of Public Health. "There is a phenomenon here that is quite robust."

For decades, experts have agreed that racial disparities in health spring from pervasive social and institutional forces. The scientific literature has linked higher rates of death and disease in American blacks to such "social determinants" as residential segregation, environmental waste, joblessness, unsafe housing, targeted marketing of alcohol and cigarettes, and other inequities....

...Jules Harrell, a Howard University professor of psychology, said he was moved this spring by a photo of the Rutgers University women's college basketball team, sitting together with dignified expressions, after radio talk show host Don Imus had labeled them with a racist epithet.

"The expressions on their faces," said Harrell. "All I could think was, 'Good God, I'd hate to see their cortisol levels.' "...

Addressing poverty includes safety within our society. "2009 study ... found it is okay for boys to hit girls."

Learning to be a second class citizen begins early in the USA.

Changing Yes to No

Capito - WV

Cassidy - Louisiana

Cotton - Arkansas

Daines - Montana

Ernst - Iowa

Gardner - Colorado

Perdue - Georgia

Rounds - South Dakota

Sullivan - Alask

Tillis - North Carolina