Oh, yeah.

One more thing.

When the EPA considers the carbon footprint of fracking along with it's methane footprint, it needs to consider the diesel fuel used in transportation of vast amounts of water AND that of the mining operation of vehicles for mining and the sands' transportation. When all the carbon dioxide and methane is added up; fracking for natural gas is a greenhouse gas intensive operation.

The US EPA doesn't necessarily get that correct.

Scott Walker, the Twitter-verse Candidate.

Indeed, Mr. Walker can hardly keep up with the latest ad from Kohl's. He likes to accumulate vast amount of purchase points for free stuff. I'll tell you something though; his shopping is covert. I have yet to see one report of anyone witnessing him shopping with his free Kohl's points. 

July 10, 2015
By Stephen F. Hayes

When Scott Walker (click here) formalizes his presidential run Monday with a long-anticipated announcement, he will have at his side a seasoned veteran of Republican politics and an architect of the modern conservative movement. THE WEEKLY STANDARD has learned that Walker is expected to name Michael Grebe as campaign chairman as early as Friday....

But the worst of Scott Walker as Governor is that he has used Wisconsin as a spring board into the Presidency. He is insincere and lacks morals of a real leader.

The people of Wisconsin are simply steps on his ladder. He'll walk all over them to satisfy his ambitions. He states, "If I'll do it in Wisconsin, I'll do it in the rest of the country, too." Those are words of a leader or a follower of chronic Koch money.

March 3, 2015

Wisconsin sand (click here) is in great demand by the natural gas industry. The sand, used in frac mining, is creating a business boom for the state while some debate the merits of the mining practice.


"We have great sand, and it's needed for the fracking industry," UW-Stevens Point Professor Anna Haines said. She said 100 new sand mines have been put online in just the last four years....

..."We have thousands of acres now in mines," said Ken Schmidt, a farmer near one of Wisconsin's sand mines. "If they go on for a while, thousands more, what are we going to have left after the mining industry is gone?"...

... "(You've) got a train engine running," he said of the noise created by the nearby mine and processing plant. "It's like that constant water drop on your head. Day after day. Hour after hour."

Shier said trucks come and go 24 hours a day, seven days a week. His family had to move out of their bedrooms to try to escape the noises. They now sleep in the basement....

...UW-Eau Claire environmental public health director Crispin Pierce said sand mines are hurting air quality. A pollutant called PM 2.5 can cause lung problems that could contribute to heart attacks, cardiovascular disease and lung cancer.

Pierce said sand mines are a source of PM 2.5, but the state is not measuring it....

That is not a leader, that is a man with ambitions while on a short leash to the Kochs.

The term fine particles, or particulate matter 2.5 (PM_2.5), refers to tiny particles or droplets in the air that are two and one half microns or less in width. Like inches, meters and miles, a micron is a unit of measurement for distance. There are about 25,000 microns in an inch. The widths of the larger particles in the PM_2.5 size range would be about thirty times smaller than that of a human hair. The smaller particles are so small that several thousand of them could fit on the period at the end of this sentence.

It seems silly to most people why such a small particle would be of concern. But, the facts are very plain, human lungs doesn't discern good particles from bad particles. If that was the case no one would have pollen allergies.

Everyone remember the damage of asbestos? 

Depending on their shape and size, asbestos fibers deposit in different areas of the lung. Fibers less than 3 mm easily move into the lung tissue and the lining surrounding the lung (pleura). Long fibers, greater than 5 mm (1/5 inch), cannot be completely broken down by scavenger cells (macrophages) and remain in the lung tissue. These asbestos fibers can cause inflammation. Substances damaging to the lungs are then released by the cells of inflammation that are responding to the foreign asbestos material. The persistence of these long fibers in the lung tissue and the resulting inflammation seem to initiate the process of cancer formation.

The smaller the 'rock' introduced into the lungs the more likely it will lodge in the tissues. This blog has discussed this before.

This is from the American Lung Association:

Silicosis is a lung disease (click here) that is caused by inhaling tiny bits of silica. Silica is a common mineral that is part of sand, rock and mineral ores like quartz. People who work in jobs where they could breathe in these tiny silica bits—like sandblasting, mining, construction and many others—are at risk for silicosis. The silica dust can cause fluid buildup and scar tissue in the lungs that cuts down your ability to breathe. Silicosis cannot be cured, but you can prevent it if you take specific steps to protect yourself and your family. 

While Wisconsin doesn't have as many fracking wells as Oklahoma and Texas, the mining of sand is as dangerous as the fracking wells and their dust and methane discharge. Wisconsin has a major health problem for residents and workers alike. It is time of OSHA to pay a visit to the workers and the EPA to set up air quality monitoring.

July 15, 2015

An Estonian man (click here) who ran an organized cybercrime ring that infected more than four million PCs in over 100 countries with moneymaking malware has pleaded guilty in New York to wire fraud and computer intrusion charges.

Vladimir Tsastsin, 35, ran an online Web hosting and advertising empire in Estonia called Rove Digital. From 2007 to 2011, Tsastin and six other men cooked up and executed a scheme to deploy malware that altered the domain name system (DNS) settings on infected computers (there were versions of the malware for both Mac and Windows systems).

Known as DNSChanger, the malware replaced legitimate ads in victim Web browsers with ads that rewarded Rove Digital, and hijacked referral commissions from other advertisers when victims clicked on ads. The malware also prevented infected systems from downloading software updates and visiting many security Web sites....

Rove is turning a favorite son in Donald Trump into a bastard child.

Rove stated Mr. Trump was another Todd Akin. That is a very bad decision by Rove. Rove is not a candidate and doesn't respect the office. But. I suppose that is obvious in his six testimonies before the Plame Grand Jury before he stopped lying under oath. 

July 9, 2015
By Katie McHugh 

In an exclusive interview (click here) with Breitbart News, GOP frontrunner Donald Trump doubled down on his criticisms of former Bush advisor Karl Rove, who called for repealing the Second Amendment and declared Trump was a “complete idiot.” 

“Karl Rove spent $430 million dollars on various campaigns last cycle. Didn’t win one. Which is pretty hard to do,” Trump said. “But Karl Rove spent $430 million dollars and didn’t win one race, and I think that’s pretty sad, and I can’t imagine how anybody would listen to him.”

Trump leveled the same accusation on Twitter at Rove days earlier. Rove responded in a Wall Street Journal op-ed:...

Rove volunteers with GPS. So, how do you make your money Mr. Rove, by investing in GOP legislated projects? Karl doesn't like Senator Cruz. Wow.

July 10, 2015
 
Cruz also claims that in 2009, (click here) as he considered a run for Texas Attorney General, he secured an endorsement from former President George H.W. Bush – only to have Rove push Cruz to downplay the senior Bush’s support.

“He suggested that the elder Bush was too old to have good judgment anymore”, Cruz wrote. “It was hard to imagine that Bush 41 was unaware of the consternation that his endorsement would cause Rove”.

“I am accustomed to being criticized for others’ political benefit, but am disappointed in how Senator Cruz decided to raise the name of one of the finest presidents our country has ever known, President George H.W. Bush“.

At the time, Cruz reportedly wrote, Rove was raising money for the younger Bush’s presidential library.

The spat escalated late Sunday when Cruz released an email exchange with Rove from 2009 that supports parts of the Cruz version, though not the assertion that Rove yelled at him or questioned the elder Bush’s judgment....

The reason Donald Trump is first in the country as a GOP nominee is because of his obvious virgin status as a politician, he represents the little guy and he has NO CRONIES.

July 10, 2015
Sophia Tesfaye

...This is the first national poll (click here) showing Trump leading the Republican field. He’s previously come second and third in national polls.
Ted Nugent is #TeamTrump 
Trump defenders are a special bunch. Right-wing rocker, Ted Nugent, has unsurprisingly joined #TeamTrump. Nugent wrote in a WorldNetDaily op-ed that Trump deserved the Medal of Freedom for speaking out against “the professional political punks in D.C.”:
Donald Trump’s message sings to Americans because he doesn’t play politically correct brain-dead games. He calls them like he sees them. That’s refreshing to millions of Americans who believe political correctness is a public cancer that has eroded free speech and everything else good about America....

Here is an example of the little people:

Los Angeles 
Trump Rises in New Hampshire (click here) 

To the Editor:

Considering the formidable nature of the current field, what are we to make of Donald Trump reaching a lofty second in a recent poll among GOP presidential candidates in New Hampshire? Granted, polls can be perfidious, but still, Mr. Trump’s early taste of glory suggests he actually appeals to the intellect in a state which reveres lucid thinking, recognizes sound logic and acknowledges penetrating insight. 

Or perhaps the candidate takes his exalted place among this pantheon of leaders because he is one of those who refreshingly “speaks his mind” — no matter what it is that lurks therein — an approach that seems to be all the rage among candidates this season.

There is, however, a measure of hope, especially if one considers that this builder of mighty casinos might be riding high simply because New Hampshire voters really do have a wicked sense of humor.

Tom Brody
Lebanon  

Personally, I think Donald Trump likes women. I also believe he respects them. His interview with Katie the other day was a man that took her seriously and even allowed some advise in asking questions.

The Miss USA and Miss Universe Pageant are examples of opportunities for women based on their beauty, brains and talents. I suppose some could say it is a cattle call, but, it is a legitimate way for women, even in 2015, to achieve a college education and map a career. It is that reason the beauty pageants still stand. If the pageants lost their legitimacy it would be all over, but, the opportunities are still there after decades of competition.

So, the Akin comment doesn't come close. I doubt the pageants require birth control.

And I doubt they require contestants to sign a plead to not raise taxes. 

The existing law was designed for this to happen.

The fact the FBI check failed regarding this purchase should not be any surprise. Three days is ridiculous. Roof went into the licensed dealer on Saturday. Why? Why on Saturday?

There would only be one working day in the three day waiting period. The weekends have less personnel anywhere there is an office. The drug conviction wasn't going to be found in time. The FBI is not the problem and I'll be damned if the FBI will be scapegoated by gun legislators across this country. 

July 10, 2015
By Elisha Fieldstadt

The errors (click here) that led to accused Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof purchasing a gun even though he faced drug charges fueled both sides of the debate over stricter gun laws Friday.
On Wednesday, two days before the FBI said Roof should not have been allowed to buy the gun he allegedly used to gun down nine church parishioners, those victims' families rallied on Capitol Hill for a bill that would expand background checks on would-be gun buyers.
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence said Friday that the bill, H.R. 1217, could have prevented the missteps, including a background check oversight, which allowed Roof to acquire the weapon.... 

The gun associations demands less and less regulations regardless of it being sound public policy. 

Gun background checks should require seven days AT LEAST. The hand guns and exotic weapons that are not reasonable hunting guns, should require a 30 period for all background checks to surface. Military style weapons should require an indefinite period until a standardized background check is completed.

Where does Jeb Bush stand on taxes?

We now need a translator in order to understand Jeb Bush?

Really? 

His comments about work was tangent to the issues of the ACA and income inequality. The answer he proposes is far from where the country is. 

He mentioned the ACA has reduced the hours of workers to 30 hours per week. What is going to cure that? Recalling the ACA. That is what Bush is alluding to. I mean we are all allowed to translate right? 

Income inequality is reflected in the fact all people need to do better by working longer hours. He isn't talking to the public. He is talking to the Republican base. What would the Republican base believe those comments are contextualized in? Minimum wage to begin with. Jeb Bush is different than the other Republicans in the field. He speaks tangentially to hide his extremist views that are no different than the rest of the Republican field.

Why pay minimum wage, when people can work longer and harder.

By Howard Schneider

MINNEAPOLIS, July 10 (Reuters) - It is too early (click here) to tell how a recent round of tax hikes and a minimum wage increase will play out in Minnesota, a state where liberal and conservative forces have often swapped control and policies.
But the state's experience may give pause to a crowded field of Republican presidential hopefuls who largely swear by tax cuts and small government as a recipe for prosperity.

Judged by those standards this state on the Canadian border should be a train wreck in process.

Instead, Democratic Governor Mark Dayton's Minnesota could become a touchstone in the national debate over how to bolster the middle class - an example of how solid growth and low unemployment can coexist with some of the highest income and corporate tax rates in the country.

Born into family wealth but a left-leaning Democrat by temperament, Dayton said in an interview that, to him, one fix for income inequality was pretty obvious: take some from the better off and spread it around.

"The wealthiest pay a smaller percentage of local tax than anyone, all the way down to the bottom," Dayton told Reuters. "From a tax equity standpoint I felt an additional two percent on the wealthiest two percent was appropriate."...

Who came first, Senator Elizabeth Warren or Senator Bernie Sanders?

Actually, neither came first.

They each developed their own policies quite on their own. 

Senator Sanders was well versed in public policy from the time he was mayor. 

Senator Warren had the path of learning and teaching. She decided on politics when the country was obviously heading down the wrong path. 

But, to say Senator Sanders popularity is because Senator Warren speaks out is not at all accurate. They both have their own decision tree. It is interesting though how very close their policies are regardless of their independent development.

We need to more from South Carolina Representative Joseph Neal.

Perhaps State Senator Neal could help the country focus on the heritage of African Americans. They didn't come through Ellis Island as my family did. Senator Neal's family had a very different trajectory than my family.

Why is it as a country we do not talk about all the heritage that occurred within the USA? Why is it as soon as these lives are presented in dialogue they become invisible as soon as the dialogue ends. Is it safety? Are African Americans safer if the slaves of the past remain invisible? What is the reason we don't talk about your heritage and the incredible survival of the men and women who brought you to us now? 

I think State Senator Neal needs to travel to Washington, DC to speak as a favor to the US House. He should be allowed to speak in "Morning Business" accompanied by the Democratic Black Caucus. It is important his words reach the House to impact the dialogue regarding hate and the symbols of hate and the depth of that impact on lives in this country. The official record of the US House is missing vital information about State Senator Neal and his family and heritage.

I thank him for bringing his heritage to the floor of South Carolina. Why was I surprised by the words he spoke? Could it be because we don't hear it enough?

South Carolina Rep. Joe Neal (D-Richland) speaks during a special session of the Legislature at the South Carolina Statehouse during a debate about the removal of the Confederate flag from the Statehouse grounds. 
(Rainier Ehrhardt / AP)

July 9, 2015
By Matt Pearce

..."I find it (click here) interesting that no one brought up the fact that there were a million-plus Africans here who were suffering under the weight of enslavement. And it wasn’t really mentioned and no one talked about what they were going through. And they went through it for almost 400 years. ... Let’s remove that flag, let’s do it now. ... 

"My heritage is based on a group of people who were brought here in chains. Who were denigrated, demagogued, lynched and killed, denied a right to vote, denied the right to even have a family. 

"Let me tell you a quick story of my family. My family was taken here to South Carolina. There were four brothers — that much we know. They were purchased by a slave owner by the name of Neal. He brought them to Sumter County. And one of them was taken to Kershaw County — that much we know. We know that two of them immigrated to Richland County, and one remained in Sumter....

Ms. Stenie was buried today and understand what exactly happened in the release and arming of Sanchez is still unclear.

July 8, 2015
By Jaxon Van Derbeken 
 
Mirkarimi’s agency (click here) requested custody of Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez as he was completing a 46-month stint in federal prison in March in San Bernardino County, according to a Sheriff’s Department letter obtained by The Chronicle. Lopez-Sanchez had been deported five times to Mexico and had been imprisoned for illegally re-entering the U.S.

The federal Bureau of Prisons alerted the Sheriff’s Department in March that Lopez-Sanchez was going to be released. Mirkarimi’s agency, realizing that Lopez-Sanchez was wanted on a $5,000 bench warrant related to a 1995 marijuana possession-for-sale case, asked prison officials March 23 to hold him and to notify San Francisco authorities “when the subject is ready for our pick-up....
 
...In the end, the legal division told deputies they had no basis to hold Lopez-Sanchez, and he was released April 15. He was arrested last week in the July 1 shooting death of 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle on San Francisco’s waterfront, and has pleaded not guilty to murder charges....

So, the immigration agencies was disregarded and Sanchez was released. And somewhere between April 15 and July 1, Sanchez stole a gun from a federal agent from the BLM and shot a rather wonderful woman. 

To make things more strange, Sanchez has two other alias.

July 6, 2015
By Lee Romney, Cindy Chang and Joel Rubin

Federal authorities (click here) give his real name as Jose Inez Garcia-Zarate. But the Mexican national has also traced a path through the U.S. immigration system and criminal courts for nearly a quarter of a century as Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez and Juan Jose Dominguez de la Parra....

Sanchez's recent history reveals someone entrenched in the drug culture.

...Handed over to the San Francisco County Sheriff's Department in March on a bench warrant for a 20-year-old marijuana sales case, he was cut loose when prosecutors declined to charge him.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had lodged an "immigration detainer" with the Sheriff's Department asking to be "notified prior to his release," but "the detainer was not honored," ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice said in a statement....

...California's Trust Act, which went into effect in January 2014, bars local law enforcement from detaining defendants with most minor convictions past their release dates in order to hand them over to ICE, but it allows jurisdictions to turn over people such as Sanchez with past felony convictions....

Actually, at first glance, the law doesn't seem to be the issue. I think it can be modified to state a longer period of detention if ICE can't respond before the release date, but, the time would have to be as minimal as possible otherwise the judge from Clackamus County is correct. It would be unconstitutional to hold anyone beyond what a release date stated. - 4th Amendment

The fact the law wasn't honored by San Francisco's lawyers is the issue IF ICE provided a warrant or other legal requirement. The San Francisco County attorneys will have to answer questions on how they came to the conclusion it was correct to release Sanchez with such a long criminal record. 

The law states an illegal immigrant can be detained by a sanctuary city if, "unless there is a warrant or other legal requirement to do so,".

...The issue was complicated further when a federal court in Oregon ruled in April 2014 that Clackamas County had violated a plaintiff's 4th Amendment rights by holding her for immigration authorities beyond her release date. A slew of jurisdictions that had been complying with the detainer requests soon stopped doing so....

Sanchez's case is among more than 10,000 in California and 17,000 nationwide since January 2014 in which an ICE request that an immigrant in the country illegally be detained for pickup was declined or ignored, ICE officials said....

There needs to be a way to discern a difference in detention between an illegal immigrant without a record and one with a record, especially a record such as Sanchez. There was an observation made recently that Mexican illegal immigrants comprise 77 percent of the illegals in federal prison and 16 percent of all inmates, including Americans, in federal prisons.

It is obvious with Sanchez that Mexico is completely unsuccessful in handling a dangerous person. He returned five times to the USA. So, when illegals are dangerous they are in prison in the USA. 

The question with Sanchez is his status with ICE. Did they issue a proper document to detain Sanchez? And considering there seems to be a large number of illegal aliens with criminal records released from January 1, 2014 would Sanchez have been released anyway?

Those are the issues facing this case. Sanchez was known to have a significant criminal record. He was brought to San Francisco County because of a 20 year old warrant. And that was a 20 year old warrant. Sanchez has been between the USA and Mexico for over 20 years.

The charges were dismissed by the county attorneys and when asked if he should be detained for ICE, the response was no Sanchez was to be released. According to statements in the media about 2 days ago, ICE did not issue the proper documents to detain Sanchez. 

There should not be this much ambiguity over the law. This is what happens when a law is not adhered to; people die.

The other issue is the gun and how Sanchez got his hands on it. Regardless of what I am reading there is no clear understanding of how the gun was found and taken in order to kill a woman on Pier 14.

There are at least two issues that contributed to the death of a 30 year old woman.

The moment of the gun shot was facilitated by ambiguous handling of the detainment request and the negligence of a federal agent to secure his gun.   

July 9, 2015
By Chris Nguyen

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- (click here)

The memorial service for San Francisco resident and Pleasanton native Kathryn "Kate" Steinle who was fatally shot on San Francisco's Pier 14 last week was held at a winery in Pleasanton Thursday afternoon....

My sincerest sympathies to the family and friends of Ms. Kathryn Steinle.

Mr. Trump is financing his own campaign. That is admirable. He does not want have to compromise to millionaires and billionaires. However, he may find there are people that would like to donate to his campaign. He should accept donations even though unnecessary. The reason he should accept donations is the fact people who vote like to feel they have taken part in something. 

Running for office is about the people, not the person. People believe they are important to the candidate when they donate. The little guys want to provide a way to say thank you and we appreciate the ambition to govern. 

I suppose he has many reasons to not accept donations into a campaign fund, but, he should consider it. It will be an investment for people into the future and they just might stay with him knowing he was gracious enough to include them. He should think about it. A dollar, five dollars or ten or more matters when it comes time to promote and vote. 

Bumper Sticker - "I own a piece of tomorrow with Donald Trump."

I thought David Duke was voted out of office.

In 2012 Ezra Klein found 14 reasons why Congress was the worst ever. Today they sincerely proved this Congress is far worse than any other. They passed a bill that enforces racism. I never thought I'd see the day. 

I thought the country's Republican Party was slated to welcome minorities as an important electorate in the USA. I thought this was going to be the Congress that would embrace the Hispanic vote and work toward Immigration Reform. Wow, was I wrong. They have every reason to be ridiculed and cast as the "Congress of Hate." Even Lincoln didn't have this problem. 

I look forward to President Obama vetoing any bill that comes to his desk with racist directives. I don't care what bill it is. Hatred is not what the American people value. 

July 13, 2012
By Ezra Klein

This week, (click here) the House of Representatives voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act. On its own, such a vote would be unremarkable. Republicans control the House, they oppose President Obama’s health reform law, and so they voted to get rid of it.
But here’s the punchline: This was the 33^rd time they voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Holding that vote once makes sense. Republicans had promised that much during the 2010 campaign. But 33 times? If doing the same thing twice and expecting a different result makes you insane, what does doing the same thing 33 times and expecting a different result make you?...

I don't see any hurry to negotiate with Iran or reconcile trade agreements. Happy adjournment.

There is only one person(s) capable of bringing all the House Republicans to cast a hate vote; the Kochs. Their silence is deafening. 

I would fully expect any donor to the Republican Party to think twice before writing that check. 

I congratulate Governor Haley on moving to a safer place for all South Carolinians. I am sure her thoughts ranged across the state including some of the most important people to South Carolina's future. 


 




She received respect for her courageous asking to bring citizens of South Carolina that much closer together. That is important.

Donald Trump is correct Ford is buiding engine and transmission plants in Mexico.

What Donald Trump stated is that this plant was for cars sold in the US. 

We enable (click here) our plants and facilities around the world to produce world-class products for customers everywhere. We ensure flawless and efficient vehicle assembly and the design and installation of the production tooling that makes it possible.

I am not surprised former President Calderon won't talk to Mr. Trump. This is the thing, we have witnessed the loss of jobs in the USA because of outsourcing. Will there be good paying jobs lost in the US because of this plant? If this is a new facility in Mexico while American jobs are static or even increasing because of this plant, then there isn't much to complain about. 

The sincere way of protecting American jobs is to grow the Middle Class in other countries. When there is a global Middle Class the economic markets will be incredibly successful. However, the Middle Class of one society may have very different product demands due to a difference in culture. Does Wall Street understand what steps are required to bring about a strong Middle Class in all countries? I am not sure they do. 

July 6, 2015 

Production Supervisor (Process Coach - Production) 

July 6, 2015 

Engineering Specialist - Controls 

July 1, 2015 

Controls Engineer 

June 30, 2015 

Global Labor Optimization Industrial Engineer 

Above are the job openings at Ford for Americans. There are currently 98 openings. All are skilled jobs that require college degrees, except, for the Production Supervisor. The Production Supervisor position(s) can be filed with High School graduates, but, they need to have years of experience with Ford or a similar company. There are better paying jobs to those on the assembly line that can be filled by those assembly line workers. None of these jobs are manufacturing positions in an assembly plant. Supervisors are not direct manufacturing jobs. 

The Mexico plant looks like a 'ground to car' manufacturing plant. They are pouring hot metal into engine block molds and transmission parts to build engines and transmissions out the door to assembly plants in the USA. I am assuming these important drive train components will be shipped to the USA for assembly.

Good paying jobs are vital to a global economy that will thrive and grow. The USA has sacrificed dearly while Wall Street outsourced jobs. The idea behind investments in other countries is that the manufacturing will raise citizens out of poverty and into a position to participate in a growing economy, not a subsistence economy.

Up to this point the majority of outsourced jobs put huge profits in the pockets of stockholders and CEOs. CEOs have been rewarded with enormous bonuses to do exactly what they did to the US Middle Class. Those actions by a company have caused stemmed growth relying only on population growth and even then there weren't people within the reach of their products.

The jobs in Mexico is vital to that economy. Of that I have no doubt. But, will the jobs result in increased demand for products from the USA? Will people in Mexico be purchasing cars assembled in the USA? Or will these jobs dissipate into an internal economy that will never benefit the USA trade gap?

To raise people out of poverty is a difficult thing and for Wall Street to seek to grow by building stronger Middle Classes in countries around the globe is an achievement all by itself. But, we don't want another failed company. Are the CEOs looking at the whole picture. Does a CEO see a quick bonus at any cost, or is the CEO growing a community globally that actually sell more product and increase company profits permanently. It is the CEO that increases profits through long term planning that will be the one best receiving the bonus and only a bonus reflecting the increased profit structure for the company.

This is Ford. Ford has been a company with long range plans. They were the 'last man standing' in 2008 because they were looking toward long term goals when they borrowed money while at zero percent interest. These monies were not needed, but, with a zero percent interest the investment was made to fill the treasury to over flowing. These plants are probably a direct result of that long term strategy. 

I have no way to know if Ford did their homework to sustain jobs in the USA at current levels while making investments in foreign countries. I have no doubt this decision to build engines and transmissions in Mexico is due to NAFTA. I hope Ford is also building a safe plant with environmental concerns both inside and out to protect lives. Knowing Ford that is not an option. I do not believe Ford will build plants anywhere that imperil lives. So, in this instance I'd have confidence in realizing these jobs in Mexico will translate into growth. 

That should be the real goal of Wall Street. Their growth needs to be real and continuing and sustainable to add more and more foreign markets to bring about a Middle Class. Sacrificing the Middle Class in the USA is not a reflection of a sustainable company.

I wish Ford good will to understand the USA will not be hurt by this investment, but, will find opportunity to expand markets and bring down the USA's trade deficit. In many ways if this is a Ford we have come to call our own, we can be confident in the decision to build these plants. We look forward to greater demand of USA products because of Ford's investment today.

April 17, 2015 
Mexico City 

Further building (click here) its lineup of increasingly fuel-efficient engines and transmissions, Ford today announced a $2.5 billion investment in two new facilities building a new generation of engines and transmissions in the states of Chihuahua and Guanjuato, respectively.

The investment, which comes during the celebration of Ford’s 90^th anniversary in the country, will bring 3,800 direct new jobs plus additional indirect jobs to Mexico. Ford officials announced the investment today during a ceremony with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and other members of the country’s Federal Government.

“Ford is making a significant commitment to our business in Mexico with investment in two new facilities, while aiming to make our vehicles even more fuel-efficient with a new generation of engines and transmissions our team in Mexico will build,” said Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s President of The Americas. “These new engines and transmissions will help deliver even better driving experiences and fuel economy gains for customers around the world.”...

Let me state this as well. I would be far more confident regarding this investment by Ford if the Mexican government is open to Union representation of their employees. A Union will bring the work force condition to the table and insure a better quality of life that lends itself to increased of foreign trade. The Mexican government has to work to defeat corruption which can be rampant in the country. 

I would hope the Mexican government can also provide a strong secure environment that won't destroy a company because of drug cartels.

This is from the Charleston "Post and Courier."

Thank you South Carolina.

I don't know what it is to be an African American to realize my friends, relatives and elected officials are in continual threat of death because of the hate filled values of some people. I do know it scares me to think about their safety. I feel helpless to protect them, but, this is a beginning to tell those that hate it will not be tolerated. 

I appreciate this action by the South Carolina legislation. It and Governor Haley have acted to honor State Senator Pinckney. I don't want to imagine what it would be like today, if the South Carolina House acted any differently. It was a great act of love of brethren we witnessed in this legislation and I thank you very much.

Rep. Wendell Gilliard and other representatives of the Lowcountry gather to remember the victims of the Emanuel AME Church shootings before the House voted early Thursday morning to bring down the Confederate flag from the Statehouse grounds. Paul Zoeller/Staff 

July 8, 2015
Cynthia Roldan 

...House members (click here) first approved of the bill on a 93-27 vote around 12:58 a.m. They followed up with a second and final 94-20 vote around 1:11 a.m. 

Gov. Nikki Haley said in a written statement that House members, as senators did before them, served the state and her people with great dignity. 

“I’m grateful for their service and their compassion,” Haley said. “It is a new day in South Carolina, a day we can all be proud of, a day that truly brings us all together as we continue to heal, as one people and one state."... 

There are more pictures, including, Rev. Jessie Jackson (click here).

The reason Donald Trump is getting attention is because the issue of immigration is finally moving.

The Republicans are being forced left because of Mr. Trump. But, the best Republican candidates are stating is that they don't like the words Mr. Trump is using to describe the Undocumented.

Words are easy to oppose. WHERE IS THE LEGISLATION that will result in immigration reform? 

The Republican establishment wants to stop Mr. Trump. They can do it very easily, they can do their jobs in Washington and pass immigration reform.

The IT is failing in too many instances.

A United Airlines (click here) computer fault that disrupted travel for thousands of fliers began with a router malfunctioning and prevented the carrier from ticketing passengers and dispatching crews.
Wednesday’s two-hour failure was separate from other recent digital mishaps, United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said. But United’s persistent travails raise the prospect that customers may pick other carriers, according to consultants such as IdeaWorksCompany’s Jay Sorensen....

In testimony to Congress the CEO of CSX stated the software for the Positive Train Control was defective. If that went into operation the nightmare would be surreal.

At a US Intelligence Committee (click here) hearing this afternoon, Sen. Barbara Mikulski confronted FBI Director James Comey with some real talk about the strange shitstorm of tech failures today: The New York Stock Exchange, United Airlines, and the Wall Street Journal all went down, citing technical difficulties.

“I don’t believe in coincidences,” Mikulski said. “Is the FBI investigating these as breaches?”...

Nov. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (click here) was fined 56 million pounds ($88 million) by British regulators for the 2012 collapse of its computer system that left millions of customers without access to their accounts for weeks. 

US based soft drink company Coca-Cola's IT (click here) system was hacked by Chinese hackers three years ago, but the company kept the cyber attack secret.
According to Bloomberg, the hack came when Coca-Cola was looking to acquire the China Huiyuan Juice for about $2.4bn in 2009.
Bloomberg claimed that the deal, which was collapsed three days after the cyber-attack, would have been the largest foreign takeover of a Chinese firm at the time....

Let's not forget the failure of the federal health care exchanges. 

There is the military problems as well. The number of problems experienced with military IT is an assault on national security. The incompetence in the IT industry is considerable. 

Every year that goes by there are more and more computer engineers coming out of universities across the globe. The number of computer experts do not think alike as their computers are made to do. The variety of computer engineers find their work interacting with other computer programs created by other engineers. The interface is horrible. 

Today United Airlines went down. It was not long after that Wall Street was experiencing problems. That would be a very interesting coincidence and I don't believe in coincidence. 

19 November 2013
By Paul Rubens

...In the height of the summer, for example, the Sabre reservation system used by more than 300 airlines crashed for several hours, resulting in flight cancellations and delays, with some airline staff resorting to paper and pen to check in passengers manually....

...Making the software (click here) more reliable would undoubtedly be possible, but to do so the developers would have to invest so much more time and money that the price of the product would end up having to be unacceptably high....

The New Jersey legislators are stating they will force Christi to resign to run for President.

According to New Jersey State Senator Loretta Weinberg, the New Jersey legislators will pass a bill that will prohibit the Governor to run for another office while serving.

That would make two states that carry that restriction, the other is Kentucky where Senator Rand Paul was debating his approach to skirt the state prohibition.

In the case of Governor Christi, such a law would not take effect until the next election. Governor Christi would be grandfathered into the past legal status of other governors and would not qualify for required resignation.

This new statue might explain this though:

September 21, 2015
By Charles Stile
 
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop (click here) is often seen mingling at fundraisers for Bergen County freeholder candidates.

Phillip Murphy, a former Goldman Sachs executive who served as President Obama’s ambassador to Germany, covered the cost for a sophisticated form of polling that helped Bergen Democrats pinpoint potential Democratic voters in Republican towns.

And Senate President Stephen Sweeney, who lives about 100 miles to the south in Gloucester County, made three appearances in Bergen in recent weeks. The Bergen County Senior Citizens Picnic would have been his fourth visit, but it was rained out.

“I told him, ‘Look, we can call up some real estate people and get you an apartment in Bergen if you want,’ ” quipped Bergen County Democratic Chairman Louis Stellato.

Stellato and other veteran operatives of the Jersey political backroom say they can’t recall a time when the pursuit of the New Jersey governor’s office has started this early, and this aggressively. The governor’s race is not scheduled until 2017....

BLM agents are armed. They have to be. They run across poachers and need to be able to defend themselves.

If this is the type of gun used, it will take down a bear. (click here)

July 8, 2015
By Andrew Blankstein

Multiple law enforcement (click here) sources familiar with the investigation into the slaying of 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle told NBC News on Wednesday that the weapon used in murder belonged to an agent with the Bureau of Land Management. They did not immediately identify the agent.

BLM spokesperson Dan Wilson said the service weapon was issued to a ranger and stolen from the agent's car while he was in San Francisco on business. Originally, sources had said the gun was a personal weapon....

The family stated they don't want their daughter politicized. This isn't about politics. It is about the facts and preventing any more deaths in the unnecessary death of Kathrym Steinle.

 

Donald Trump is winning the debate over his sincereity to office.

(CNN)

 Donald Trump (click here) says he "can't guarantee" that all of the workers he employs have legal status in the United States, and warned that if he were to discover any illegal immigrants working for him, "We would get rid of them immediately."

In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper on Wednesday, the billionaire businessmen and Republican presidential candidate addressed questions about a recent Washington Post report that said there are illegal immigrants working at the Old Post Office Pavilion construction site in Washington, which Trump is converting into a luxury hotel.... 

This interview with Anderson Cooper, Donald Trump was very engaged in the topic and well spoken to any accusations. He is able to navigate the press and the GOP. He also has real ideas. 

There was another interview today with MSNBC and I have to say the same occurred. He was engaged and in this instance very engaging of the topics discussed. I think Kathy Tur did a great job, but, I bet she never interviewed anyone like that before.

In the Anderson Cooper interview Anderson made an extremely important statement about the workers cited by The Washington Post. Anderson stated, "...several of the men mostly hailed from Honduras, Guatemala or El Salvador..." and Anderson goes on to quote the article in that these men were from war torn countries, etc. 

These are the people most able to get court rulings that would recognize the hazards living within their countries. They would be asylum seekers. If they are working for contractors they would be earning a good wage so they could probably afford an attorney to help them move to a legal status.

The children that came to our southern border were from the same countries. The living conditions due to the drug cartels are horrible. It is these people the USA should be worried about. Mr. Trump should accept the fact these people need compassion and not simply shipped back home to possibly be killed. I am sure these men are capable of a good work ethic and are hoping to help their families facing the conditions they left. 

The USA has a responsibility to help people living in terrible conditions and in cases like this there needs to be a relationship with these countries and a resolve to end the violence, but, there should also be paths for these people as well as our Dreamers born in the USA to citizenship. I hope Mr. Trump will appreciate that fact, too.

We can all agree the circumstances in San Francisco is completely objectionable. The facts coming out are sincerely upsetting. Now we know the gun belonged to an agent with the Bureau of Land Management. Does anyone ever wrap a gun in a tee shirt? I would think any government employee would not be this reckless. But, at any rate, who in the Bureau of Land Management has regular contact with people entering the USA illegally?  

The truth of the matter is if it weren't for Donald Trump we wouldn't be having this conversation and finding out some really odd facts. The questions are many and the end of the path isn't even in sight. 

The man has something to say. He needs to say it. He also stated, "I read the article myself." Wow. A Republican that actually reads current events. Interesting. He isn't meeting with cronies 95% of the time begging for money. That means he is probably one of the best informed Republicans in the field. He doesn't have a staff calling the shots either. That should be obvious. So much for being politically correct.