Monday, September 30, 2013

The reasons the Republicans state will shutter the government tomorrow is opposition to health care.

However, be aware of plenty of mischief once there is no one carrying out federal authority tomorrow and until the House resolves their inability to function. There is more to this shut down than meets the eye.

Laws of the land are still in force, they will be difficult to ENFORCE tomorrow going forward.
Harry, I am proud of you!

My son is a small business operator with five young children. He is looking forward to tomorrow. 
 

PROOF. Republicans can't govern.

Posted: Monday, September 30, 2013, 3:01 AM
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20130930_Shutdown_Looms_or_D_C__Stalemate.html#zZfS2fM7OdZM0rVG.99
Lori Montgomery and David A. Fahrenthold, Washington Post
Posted: Monday, September 30, 2013, 3:01 AM
...McCarthy(click here) predicted the House will "send another provision not to shut the government down but to fund it. And it will have a few other options in there for the Senate to look at."...
Posted: Monday, September 30, 2013, 3:01 AM
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20130930_Shutdown_Looms_or_D_C__Stalemate.html#zZfS2fM7OdZM0rVG.99

The US House is making a wish they got it right this time. I suppose being a Freshman never meant more.

Predicted? That is governing? That is not governing, that is politics.

Just in case the Freshmen needed an example of governing, this is it.

The President’s Fiscal Year 2014 Budget (click here) demonstrates that we can make critical investments to strengthen the middle class, create jobs, and grow the economy while continuing to cut the deficit in a balanced way....

...The Budget does all of these things as part of a comprehensive plan that reduces the deficit and puts the Nation on a sound fiscal course.  Every new initiative in the plan is fully paid for, so they do not add a single dime to the deficit.  The Budget also incorporates the President’s compromise offer to House Speaker Boehner to achieve another $1.8 trillion in deficit reduction in a balanced way.  When combined with the deficit reduction already achieved, this will allow us to exceed the goal of $4 trillion in deficit reduction, while growing the economy and strengthening the middle class.  By including this compromise proposal in the Budget, the President is demonstrating his willingness to make tough choices and his seriousness about finding common ground to further reduce the deficit.
McCarthy predicted the House will "send another provision not to shut the government down but to fund it. And it will have a few other options in there for the Senate to look at."
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20130930_Shutdown_Looms_or_D_C__Stalemate.html#zZfS2fM7OdZM0rVG.99
McCarthy predicted the House will "send another provision not to shut the government down but to fund it. And it will have a few other options in there for the Senate to look at."
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20130930_Shutdown_Looms_or_D_C__Stalemate.html#zZfS2fM7OdZM0rVG.99

It would seem as though the Giant Panda Cub program is very successful.

Giant panda cubs in the Chengdu giant panda breeding research center in Sichuan Province, southwest China.

China to upgrade tourism industry (click here)

Updated: 2013-09-29 17:32

NANNING - He Yuhan feels both happy and disappointed while visiting Detian Waterfall on the China-Vietnam border, eleven years after her first visit. Back in 2002, the then 15-year-old girl traveled from Beijing to admire the breath-taking waterfall.
Located in Daxin county in south China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, it is the biggest cross-border waterfall in Asia.
But the scenic area has not improved over the decade-long period, according to He, who thinks the local tourism industry is poor.
It took her more than three hours by bus to reach the destination after she arrived in Nanning, Guangxi's regional capital. It is exactly what happened a decade ago.
Adding to her disappointment was a lack of facilities such as restaurants and good resting areas, where the only visible change was retailers selling Vietnamese perfume.
"I could not find a good place to rest after more than two hours of walking and I had to go back to Daxin county to have supper, which is far from the scenic area," He said.

Ohio must have received debris from the larger meteor.


MOSCOW, September 30 (RIA Novosti) – A 15-meter (approximately 50 feet) asteroid, similar to the one that exploded above Russia in February, was detected hours before it narrowly missed the Earth over the weekend, Russian scientists said. 
Vladimir Lipunov of the Moscow State University and the Sternberg Astronomical Institute said on Sunday a network of telescopes operated by his team recorded a celestial body approaching the planet. 
"[The asteroid] was discovered on Friday night by our station near Lake Baikal and nine hours later it flew within 11,300 kilometers of the Earth surface, below the orbit of geostationary satellites. It was about 15 meters in size,” he said. 
The scientists originally thought that it could be a man-made object, such as a spent rocket booster, but rejected the idea when they couldn’t find a match in the space junk catalogue.... 
 
I didn't know space junk had a catalog.
 
By Ben Sutherly
The Columbus Dispatch Sunday September 29, 2013 8:15 AM
 
...“The initial trajectory (click here) suggests it passed over Columbus, Ohio, moving slightly north of west,” Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environments Office told The Dispatch in an email. Cooke said there were some reports of sounds similar to sonic booms, which suggests some of the fireball’s fragments made it to fairly low altitudes.
NASA’s meteor camera in Ohio and Pennsylvania first detected it at 67 miles up, and it began breaking apart 41 miles above the earth. Cooke said it’s not yet certain, but it’s unlikely that the fireball produced meteorites on the ground given the “tremendous” speed at which it was moving....

Sunday, September 29, 2013

I am watching a finale with friends.

Have a good evening.

Representative Diane Black is typical of the misleading GOP message surrounding Affordable Care Act.

I value all feedback (click here) from residents of the 6th Congressional District of Tennessee. I am here to serve you, and so is my staff. Below please find the best means by which you may contact me or my offices.

States Rights still exist with the state exchanges. The Red States have chosen to treat the Health Care Exchanges as a penalty rather than an asset to the people of their states. Red States are not in support of the exchanges and it shows. Rather than demanding quality exchanges that compete for best OUTCOMES they only ask there are barebones provisions.

The problems Republicans such as Ms. Black speaks about is not from the federal law, but, the lack of will and ability of the state exchanges.Possible the worst of the State Exchanges is Missouri.

September 28 
By DAVID A. LIEB 
The Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri residents (click here) can begin enrolling Tuesday for health coverage offered through a new online insurance marketplace. But patients searching for insurance may want to practice some patience... 

The private sector is not convinced it is in their best interest to participate in the State Exchanges, so in many Red States they simply don't participate and in the case of Missouri, they actually seek to cause citizens concern of their only option. 

BJC HealthCare (click here) is one of the largest nonprofit health care organizations in the United States, delivering services to residents primarily in the greater St. Louis, southern Illinois and mid-Missouri regions. With net revenue of $3.6 billion, BJC serves urban, suburban and rural communities; and includes 13 hospitals and multiple community health locations....

Missouri's Health Care Insurance Exchange originally had one company participating, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield. Anthem was not providing BJC (Barnes-Jewish) as a provider for their 'in network' policy. Excluding BJC from 'in network' providers scared people because it is a Level 1 trauma center. The BJC health care system also houses St. Louis Children’s Hospital which is vital to pediatric medicine in the state. Needless to say there have been many worries about access and outcomes. 

Just a couple of days ago Coventry joined the Missouri exchange. It is sure thing for them. Coventry is offering BJC as a provider. Anthem put themselves out of favor now that Coventry is participating.


September 27, 2013 6:45 pm 
BJC Healthcare’s 13 hospitals will (click here), in the end, be available for residents who buy insurance on the federal health care exchange in Missouri.
Officials for BJC and the insurer Coventry Health Care Missouri both confirmed Friday afternoon that Coventry would offer BJC, Missouri’s largest hospital network, as a provider here.
Earlier this week, the Post-Dispatch reported that brokers had been told that Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Missouri would sell only individual exchange plans that excluded BJC as a health care provider. They said Anthem was unable to reach agreement with BJC on costs. The insurer had declined to discussed its policies....

This is the gamesmanship the Red States participate in for the benefits of Wall Street and their strain of politics. The problems people are running is not the Affordable Care Act, but, it's application at the state level. Those finding frustration with this new law need to complaint to their state legislators, not their federal representatives. It is the lack of political will, the inefficiency in state governments and lack of state infrastructure that is the problem. The federal law has nothing to do with it. Citizens might want to investigate state level corruption in preparation of the health care exchanges. The opportunity to have a smooth beginning on October 1st was given plenty of time and attention by federal agencies.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/09/28/4514873/advocates-advise-patience-with.html#storylink=cpy
Iran has to lead the Shi'ites as a peaceful nation. They have to stop supplying arms to groups such as Hezbollah. Lebanon has a right to exist no differently than Iran has a right to exist.

By David Lev
First Publish: 8/26/2013, 4:43 PM

A rift has developed (click here) among various terrorist groups, who until recently had overlooked religious differences to cooperate in fighting Israel and other western interests, as they find themselves fighting on different sides of the Shi'ite/Sunni fault line which increasingly characterizes fight for or against the rule of Bashar Al-Assad.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Command (PFLP-GC) terror group, which has conducted numerous terror attacks against Israel, is ready to defend Assad and ensure he remains president of Syria. Any group or nation that attacks Syria, said Popular Front spokesperson Anwar Rajah, will be a target of attack by Popular Front terrorists....

In actuality, the involvement of the USA as advocated by Senators Graham and McCain against the Assad government is a thinly disguised assault against Iran. For the USA to position itself among ethnically opposed groups is highly immoral. It also serves only one purpose and that is to draw the Shi'ite nation of Iran into a proxy war.

For the USA to arm opposition groups when there is no viability of their governance is nothing short of an assault against humanity.  Anarchy is among the cruelest of governance. A person does not know whether his or her life is guaranteed to them. 

Human Rights abuses the USA and other nations complain of are best handled through the United Nations, sanctions and leveraging of power. I am confident Iran has come to understand the brevity of sanctions when they are fully implemented. Sanctions work with international consolidation of loyalty to the outcomes.  

The peace the Middle East needs requires stability of all nations. That means all nations contributing to the instability by supplying a flow of weapons to facilitate anarchy have to stop. The peoples in uprising for the reason of their own religious affiliations are pawns in international power struggles. No matter whom is participating in those power struggles are wrongfully involved in victimizing innocent people best allowed to live their lives uninterrupted and within a stable nation. 

The best international power struggle belongs only in economic competition, not trading weapons to promote anarchy. 

Assad needs to do a couple of things.

He needs to recognize Lebanon as a stable and autonomous nation.

He needs to re-establish a valid chain of command within his own military. Ultimately, it is up to Assad to deal with al Qaeda within his nation. The USA cannot arm those rebels.

He needs to allow UN Peacekeepers into Syria to carry out the removal of chemical weapons. He does not have to accept any other armed forces into Syria except those that are sanctioned by the United Nations with an understanding the UN forces will leave after the mission is complete unless he decides it would be best for them to stay to assist in stabilizing the nation.

He needs to declare a Cease Fire in order to facilitate NGOs to do their work while the weapon inspectors are in his nation.

In the RT video appears Said Arakat states, "...this opposition is primarily an Ad Hoc organization, each 3 or 4 people, sometimes 10 or 20 people..." That is exactly what has been occurring in Libya. There is no respected central authority. It is easy to defeat 3 or 4 or 20 people at a time. The reason they look cohesive is because they enter the fight together to survive the day. They are not affiliated, they are fighting together only to return to their own territories.

As Libya’s Prime Minister asks Britain for help in ridding his country of weapons, The Independent discovers a flourishing online arms market (click here)

On a late July day in downtown Tripoli, a young man steps into a car idling next to the Libyan capital’s iconic Martyrs’ Square. From the back seat, he hands to the driver what Libyans refer to as a “Turkish pistol” and some bullets. In return, the driver hands him a thick stack of 10-dinar notes. The exchange had been arranged using one of the numerous Facebook “groups” created in recent months to link gun-sellers to gun-buyers through the social network.
The driver, Muhammad, an unemployed, 23-year-old Tripolitanian, is one of hundreds of Libyans who are taking advantage of a security vacuum in a country awash with weapons nearly two years after its successful revolution removed a dictator.
It is these weapons that Libya’s prime minister, Ali Zeidan, asked for help in removing from his country while on an official visit to Britain yesterday. After meeting with David Cameron, Mr Zeidan called the mass of Gaddafi-era weapons an “international matter” and asked for assistance in disposing of them....

This blog is familiar with online sites where very dangerous weapons are for sale. The NRA and it's extremists in the USA are profiting off of death in other nations. That is illegal. Any escalation of instability in a nation puts the USA in the precarious position of entering a forever war, exactly as what is being witnessed in Libya and now Syria.

The Libyan military mission by NATO was correct as it stopped the slaughter of people in Benghazi. But, the after math has left the country in chaos. With the easy access to weapons 'online' the central governments of these nations haven't got a chance.

3 Libyan army officers assassinated in Benghazi (click here)
 
Posted: Sep 29, 2013 8:14 AM EST Updated: Sep 29, 2013 8:14 AM EST 
By ESSAM MOHAMMED
Associated Press

 
TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) - A Libyan security officer says unknown attackers have assassinated three army officers in the eastern city of Benghazi.
Sunday's killings are the latest to hit the security forces in Benghazi, where like much of the country the government faces a challenge from armed groups, many descended from the rebels that overthrew dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.
Col. Abdullah al-Zayedi, spokesman of joint security operations in Benghazi, said two of the officers, one a lieutenant colonel, were killed by bombs attached to their cars. He said a third, who held the rank of colonel, was shot dead by unknown gunmen.
Benghazi has been hit by a months-long wave of targeted killings. Victims have included political activists, judges and members of security agencies.

The Arms Market with or without the access to the internet is creating danger for people everywhere, not just within the USA domestically.

Inspectors and funding needed.

The timeline may be too short, there are only half the number of weapons inspectors to do the work and the civil war is still being carried out. Where are the peacekeepers coming from to protect the weapons inspectors that will work to remove the chemical weapons?

Funding is going to be needed to hire and train HONEST and RELIABLE inspectors to carry out the timeline. 

Bombing missile sites does not do anything to complete the task, so there is no back tracking on this resolution.


...Experts say the OPCW (click here) will need up to 200 inspectors for the Syria force. It currently has less than half that number who already have a heavy regular workload. The watchdog has had to appeal to the major powers to send scientists.

Those who go will become a new target in the 30-month-old conflict and the strife means the noxious potions will have to be moved out of Syria to be destroyed.

The US-Russia plan sets a target date of mid-2014 for completion, but few people believe it is achievable.

"No operation this big has been carried out before and certainly not in a war," said Dina Esfandiary, a disarmament specialist with the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.

The Syrian government has declared one list of chemical sites and weapons. It has until Friday to send more information to the OPCW. "The first obstacle is it is very difficult for us to know for certain whether Assad has declared all his stockpiles," Esfandiary told AFP.

"The inspectors will then become perfect targets in a situation of civil war. Anyone who wants to derail the process — and I am sure a lot of people will want to do that — will be able to target them as they visit the various sites."

UN investigators have already been the target of snipers in Damascus.

Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a consultant and former commanding officer of Britain's chemical and nuclear defence force, said that destroying the chemicals in Syria is not an option in the middle of a war... 


There are actually two United Nations missions in Syria regarding the chemical weapons.

September 29, 2013 11:26 AM (Last updated: September 29, 2013 11:53 AM)

...The United Nations has said (click here) the experts are investigating seven alleged chemical weapons attacks and expect to wind up their work on the ground on Monday.

They hope to have a comprehensive report ready "by late October".

The UN mission is separate from a team of Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons inspectors due to start work in the coming days to destroy Syria's chemical arsenal.

The alleged attacks being probed include a March 19 incident in Khan al-Assal, in Aleppo province of northern Syria, that both the regime and rebels reported, each accusing the other of responsibility.

Other sites being investigated include the Sheikh Maqsud neighbourhood of Aleppo city, allegedly the site of an April attack, and Saraqeb in the northwest province of Idlib on the border with Turkey....

When are the peace talks beginning in a way that will result in a ceasefire so NGOs can do their work, too? There is a huddle to accomplishing any shared governance as the group representing the oppositional forces aren't speaking for the actual rebels.

The reality is that the oppositional forces in Syria are taking on the characteristics of Libya's dynamics. They are many, not consolidated into one group and carry questionable outcomes to their policies for governing. Basically, the rebel forces Senator McCann is backing aren't really capable of governing at all. There needs to be an end to the pretense of American Neocons to continue their charad. As a matter of fact the Senate needs to investigate this mess. How is it the USA has gotten involved with rebel groups who are not interested in democracy and is providing weapons and otherwise to those that seek to destabilize a government without another to come to bear?

September 26, 2013
Syrian Opposition Groups Stop Pretending
The pretense (click here) that the so-called Syrian opposition-in-exile speaks for those inside the country, never firm to begin with, was further exposed late on Tuesday, in a two-minute video statement called “Communiqué No. 1,” which was issued by eleven armed rebel groups that are influential in northern Syria. Their message was simple: the Western-backed hotel revolutionaries jetting from capital to capital, claiming leadership in the political National Coalition and an interim government-to-be, don’t speak for them—and they won’t listen to them. The new coalition, which has yet to announce its name, also said it wants Islamic Sharia law to be the basis of any future government, and that the various opposition parties should unite within “an Islamic framework.... 

I am beginning to believe Israel and the USA rather have anarchy in these nations rather than stability. 

It is time for Senators McCann and Graham to explain to the USA Senate why they believe they have the best idea for the use of the USA military in destabilizing governments based in "I don't like him (Assad)." If the American people are suppose to accept Acts of War dictated by the Legislative Branch of the USA government, there better be good reasons why this war mongering existed in the first place.

This is another Iraq. So far the Republican Neocons are responsible for TWO illegal wars. Iraq and the burgeoning impetus into Syria. TWO. The rebels are being armed by the USA. The rebels don't even know what they are going to do to govern except instill Sharia law. How convenient, the Quran has a 'Default Setting' for governing in Islam. 

The USA needs to review it's militiary budget for further cuts. The world does not need a push button arsenal.
 
Just a minor adjustment to the image of Rep. Meadows. He is from western North Carolina, the Smokey Mountains, where Eric Rudolph lived undetected for five years (capture 2003) after bombing abortion clinics for two years (1996-1998) killing two people and injuring 150.

I'm just sayin'.

Meadows wouldn't know what good government was if it bit him in the arse.

The last Republican to be in the House was Charles Taylor. Taylor was a Right Wing Nut, too. Taylor came to the House a lawyer of reasonable means, but, was voted out of office the wealthiest member of Congress. 

These legislators don't govern, they just craft give aways to cronies. 

The American Conservative Union (click here) doesn't have a rating on him yet. Schuler was the House member that retired before Meadows was elected. Schuler had 45 out of 100 rating. Taylor had a 92 out of 100 rating. Extremist. The ACU doesn't rate Speaker Boner because he hasn't been casting votes.

So good of you to notice.

MIAMI — Forecasters say a tropical depression (click here) is moving over the central Atlantic far from land.The National Hurricane Center in Miami said early Sunday that the depression has maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 kph) and could become a tropical storm later in the day.
The storm is about 1,000 miles (1,605 kilometers) east-southeast of Bermuda and is moving northeast at 9 mph (15 kph). Forecasters say there are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

Evidently, Western North Carolina US Rep. Mark Meadows is the instigator in regard to government shutdown.

(L to R) U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) shake hands as U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) looks on, during the "Exempt America from Obamacare" rally, on Capitol Hill, September 10, 2013 in Washington, DC. Some conservative lawmakers are making a push to try to defund the health care law as part of the debates over the budget and funding the federal government. 

He is one of those Republicans that believe deconstruction of the government is vital to his purpose. He is an anarchist.

He plays with words to victimize. In a discussion of the supposed IRS Scandal he stated Lois Learner in taking "The 5th" was not a patriot. He stated if she was telling the truth and not breaking the law there was no reason to "take the 5th." He doesn't care about the law or the people, he cares about making trouble. He complained that "The Tea Party Investigation" was changed to "Advocacy Group Investigation." It is silliness intended to undermine credibility. That is his tilt. There is no credibility in anything that goes on.

In the case of the Affordable Care Act he states there is no credibility in verifying the income of people receiving the subsidy. He won't stop saying these things. The validation is already set up across the country, it is called Social Services. There are verifications for food stamps, Medicaid and any other local, state or federal programs. It has long been established and there is no reason to believe there is widespread fraud for decades.

The movement by men and women such as these Tea Party Freshman has been ongoing in seeking to make The Affordable Care Act the center of their political clout and defunding every aspect of it, including the IRS budget, since they came into office. 

The real question to Mark Meadows is, why defund vital agencies of the government if you are worried about fraudulent subsidy applications? What the House is currently doing is to CREATE INEFFICIENCY so the Affordable Care Act appears to be the worst legislation on the planet. If a Congressman or Congresswoman is that concerned about the credibility of income reporting to receive a subsidy, they should be funding agencies sufficiently to catch cheaters. That is not what the US House is doing, they are defunding vital agencies so the capacity to do their work creates inefficiency. They are incompetent legislators in that they are very savvy in committing crimes against the people. It is malpractice of his legislative capacity to seek to cause the USA government to become ineffective. It creates the opportunity for crime and extends the need for lawyering within the country.

He knows what he is doing and seeks to do more of it. He is unethical in his performance as a legislator and incompetent in his ability to carry out his responsibilities to the people. He thinks he is slick, but, in fact he is criminal in the content of his focus. These are the Republicans of North Carolina. They have fought to create dysfunction in that state's government for decades and this is how they do it. North Carolina is becoming the worst state in the country to live in and now Meadows is attempting to bring that focus to the federal government. They don't want government, they want guns.

"The South shall rise again." 

This is still yet another example of "How to create bad government." It is a choice in case no one thought it wasn't.

By Scott Wilson and Karen DeYoung 
Published: May 21

...A close reading (click here) of recently released government e-mails that were sent during the editing process, and interviews with senior officials from several government agencies, reveal Petraeus’s early role and ambitions in going well beyond the committee’s request, apparently to produce a set of talking points favorable to his image and his agency....

Everything is politics and not governing. Petraeus had ambitions and misused his power. He victimized every agency of the government other than himself. He was making decisions from within the CIA to enhance his political ambitions. Little Tin Gods. They can do no "W"rong. Obama needs to rid his administration of traitors. He needs to get rid of Bush appointees.

The Republicans of both Houses are seeking to create bad government. It is a strategy. You might call it treason, if nothing else it is completely unethical. Dangerously unethical. 

Who wants bad government? Why have government if it is bad in the first place? 

Saturday, September 28, 2013

This is not an investigative process; this is paranoya. Socal media? Gee whiz, how many lies and how much false information exits in "I could be your next loverland."?

It is time to end this program. There is vast amount of personal information being gathered and it has no basis in priority of national security. This is a whole lot more than metadata. 

Published time: September 28, 2013 16:56
Edited time: September 28, 2013 19:14


The US National Security Agency (click here) has been exploiting US citizens' personal information drawn from its large collection of metadata to create complex graphs of social connections for foreign intelligence purposes, the latest Snowden leaks have revealed.

Documents obtained by the New York Times from the former NSA contractor Edward Snowden say that the practice has been going on since November 2010, after restrictions prohibiting the agency from working with  US citizens’ data were “lifted” by NSA officials. 

The NSA was then authorized to conduct “large-scale graph analysis on very large sets of communications metadata without having to check foreignness” of the e-mail addresses, phone numbers or any other identifiers, the documents reportedly said. 

The policy shift was intended to help the agency “discover and track” connections between intelligence targets overseas and people in the US, a January 2011 NSA memorandum cited in the documents explained. 

According to the report, the agency has been allowed to “enrich” their communications data with materials obtained from public, commercial and other sources while preparing the graphs. Such sources reportedly include Facebook profiles, bank codes, insurance information, passenger manifests, voter registration rolls and GPS location information, as well as property records and unspecified tax data.... 

...The NSA has denied it abuses its practice of vast data collection, which includes the private information of the US citizens, with the agency’s spokeswoman saying that “all of NSA’s work has a foreign intelligence purpose” and that “all data queries must include a foreign intelligence justification.”...

There are existing laws requiring the reporting of suspected and/or actual criminal activity.









31 USC Chapter 53, Subchapter II (click here)
RECORDS AND REPORTS ON MONETARY INSTRUMENTS TRANSACTIONS

It is the purpose of this subchapter (except section 5315) to require certain reports or records where they have a high degree of usefulness in criminal, tax, or regulatory investigations or proceedings, or in the conduct of intelligence or counterintelligence activities, including analysis, to protect against international terrorism. 


Realizing what the attacks of September 11, 2013 did to the US Stock Exchange, I can't imagine anyone involved with banking or markets withholding suspicious information to track down international criminal networks willing to do severe damage to them.

...As a result of the Patriot Act, (click here) persons who are or are required to be registered as futures commission merchants (FCMs), introducing brokers (IBs), commodity pool operators (CPOs), and commodity trading advisors (CTAs) are or may become subject to requirements for establishing AML programs, reporting suspicious activity, verifying the identity of customers, and applying enhanced due diligence to certain types of accounts involving foreign persons....

The reason this is going on is because the program is not turning up enough results to justify it in the face of citizen invasion of privacy. This is desperate acts of autocrats who say things like, "...but, we get results, the REAL problem is we don't have all the available data to make it work the way it needs to...."

...public, commercial and other sources while preparing the graphs. Such sources reportedly include Facebook profiles, bank codes, insurance information, passenger manifests, voter registration rolls and GPS location information, as well as property records and unspecified tax data....

This is far more than metadata. These same autocrats will victimize people if after having all the data they state they need and still aren't performing to a standard which justifies this level of information gathering. They will enforce their own purpose. They are creating profiles of people to find the most 'susceptible' citizens to 'fall victim' to carry out heinous acts. That is victimization as any one person with supposed characteristics because there  are never guarantees anyone will act in predictable ways.

This is very dangerous and if the NSA is applying this information to foreign peoples then we are really in trouble. People of other nations have far different priorities, life styles and values then Americans and are even more unpredictable. 

This is a waste of money, time and causes more danger to our society than it prevents. 

Senator Joe Machin is wrong in his opinion of the Affordable Care Act.

West Virginia is anticipated to grow 6,000 new self-employment careers with the Affordable Care Act fully implemented.
Research evidence of pre-reform job lock and empirical research demonstrating a significant increase in self-employment because of significant health care reformsor availability of Medicare benefits, strongly suggests that the level of self-employment in the United States will increase as a consequence of full implementation of the ACA. Taking into account the most recent findings in the economic literature on this topic, we make a rough estimate that the number of self-employed individuals will increase by about 1.5 million, a relative increase or more than 11percent. The anticipated effects vary by state, since somestates have already taken policy steps that facilitate independently purchased coverageby the self-employed. Most notably, we do not predict any change in self-employment in Massachusetts or Vermont, the states that have gone the farthest in this regard. With those exceptions, we do, however, expect noticeable increases in self-employment across the country as the ACA’s provisions for guaranteed issue, modified community rating, essential health benefits, improved transparency, and financial assistance for those with incomes below 400 percent FPL are put in place.
 
This is something the Herald-Dispatch discussed on it's website.
 
Affordable Care Act will promote entrepreneurship (click here)
Jun. 11, 2013 @ 12:00 AM
A new report published last week suggests that the Affordable Care Act may be good for new business in the Mountain State. The report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that the number of self-employed people in West Virginia should rise by 6,000 after 2014. The reason? Better access to affordable health insurance. 

In addition to the usual risks involved with starting a company, a major barrier people face in setting out on their own is the difficulty in obtaining health insurance in the individual market. Those who do start their own businesses are often able to do so because they have a spouse with employer-based health insurance.

In West Virginia, where over 80 percent of those under age 65 who have health insurance get it through their employer, leaving a job means leaving the guarantee of subsidized health coverage for the uncertainty of the individual health insurance marketplace. Economists and health policy experts agree that tying health insurance to employment results in people staying in jobs that they might otherwise leave, also known as "job lock."...

When Senator Machin has venture capitalists agreeing with him, he needs to double and triple check his facts. According to Mr. Romney venture capitalists need a tactic to use against the American people. Really, Mitt?

This is Populism.

It is a legitimate thinly veiled POPULOUS message.

It is a defense of Populism which is the very basis of the Tea Party. 

"I don't like them." 

Children are the soft targets of the Tea Party. The defense of being 'a parent on our own terms' has been a cornerstone to the Tea Party. 

Anti-abortion is a strong theme because one of the political ideologies of the Tea Party is that to discover parenthood is to define life. The Tea Party is after all the 'party with a purpose' and that purpose is having a family which is a power base for life. 

When Cruz read this Dr. Suess book to his audience and stated he was putting his daughters to bed, it was a statement about 'This is what I teach my children and this is how I teach them.'

Homeschooling in a Christian dogma is another CORNERSTONE of the Tea Party. 

And, of course, IN THAT is the message God Can Cure Any Ill, so therefore no fetus should be aborted. The facts according to The Tea Party are obvious. Walk in the light of God and all troubles fall away. 

That, to many people and communities, is very powerful. Who wants to be enemies with god? Who doesn't want millions in their bank accounts like that of Donald Trump? He, after all, is a Tea Party extraordinaire. He even brought a Democratic President to his knees to publish his long form birth certificate as if that was going to save him. 

There is only ONE THING that will save anyone from the wrath of the RIGHTEOUS Tea Party and that is to be one of them and walk in the untainted light of their Wall Street God.

The message of The Tea Party is a powerful message, it is just that they can't deliver. They state, "If one walks in the light of God to work endlessly to obtain the Golden Calf, it will bring all that is good in life." It is a magnificent message that entwines God and Wealth. It is an easy vision. 

Believe - spirituality

Pray - self-fulfilling activity

Work - concrete measure of dedication

Reap - the reward promised by the spirituality

The Tea Party can't deliver on their promise because their political priorities rob people of their wealth working as cheap labor with incredible hardship including dying of lack of health care.

So, unfortunately, Dr. Suess has fallen victim to the Tea Party fanaticism. AND. Those that laughed at 'The Message of Cruz' are the greatest fools of all.

No disrespect intended to any religion, but, with an image as powerful as Christ who can go wrong politically? After all, who is the ultimate revolutionary? I think people can love God, walk in the light of religion, carry a spirituality that enhances their joy and happiness, but, they can also make reasonable decisions WITHIN their lives in a democracy. Not all gods in a democracy are Christian, nor were crucified. 

There are more Christians in the USA than other religions and if one can find their loyalty can translate into political victories. That is why President Obama in a public opinion can't be Christian. What Christians don't stop to put in check of their political identity, is the fact there is diversity in the USA, therefore their beliefs cannot be the only beliefs. Christians are not bad people, they currently in some instances, have very victimizing leaders that don't identify with diversity. 

This is going to be hard to read, but, President Obama has a visual diversity that forces one to reach into an American blank slate of diversity and what hasn't been developed in the American culture. That 'emptiness' of culture is a rich area to drive improvement in the American political culture. Ted Cruz is defending the "Old Order" to prevent the advancement of a richer and more tolerate American culture. The Tea Party does not tolerate difference, they enforce all their rigid standards otherwise they don't exist.

Have a better day.

Friday, September 27, 2013

See, the world can speak to each other to find common ground and peace.


27 September 2013 Last updated at 21:07 ET
Syria chemical weapons: UN adopts binding resolution (click here)

At a session in New York, the 15-member body backed the draft document agreed earlier by Russia and the US.The deal breaks a two-and-a-half year deadlock in the UN over Syria, where fighting between government forces and rebels rages on.The vote came after the international chemical watchdog agreed on a plan to destroy Syria's stockpile by mid-2014.....
 


Excellent. We have come such a long distance in such a short period of time; the peace must have been a priority for the entire time. 

This conversation between two Presidents may be viewed as decades a part, however, this is the very first time they have spoken in recognition of a Shi'ite lead nation. It is a first. This has been an absolutely an amazing day. 

Obama, Iran’s president discuss nuclear deal (click here)


By Nedra Pickler and Lara Jakes
Associated Press 
September 27, 2013 

WASHINGTON — Breaking a third-of-a-century diplomatic freeze, President Barack Obama and new Iranian President Hassan Rouhani spoke by telephone on Friday and, in a historic shift from years of unwavering animosity, agreed to work toward resolving their deep dispute over Tehran’s nuclear efforts.
Rouhani, who earlier in the day called the United States a ‘‘great’’ nation, reached out to arrange the 15-minute call. The last direct conversation between the leaders of the two countries was in 1979 before the Iranian Revolution toppled the pro-U.S. shah and brought Islamic militants to power.
Obama said the long break ‘‘underscores the deep mistrust between our countries, but it also indicates the prospect of moving beyond that difficult history.’’

‘‘While there will surely be important obstacles to moving forward, and success is by no means guaranteed, I believe we can reach a comprehensive solution,’’ Obama told reporters at the White House. Iran’s nuclear program has been a major concern not only to the United States but to other Middle Eastern nations — especially Israel — and to the world at large....
    

There is a tropical storm in the Atlantic. Just thought I'd mention it.

Approximately 30 north latitude and -75 longitude.

The way I see it.

The trick to downsizing banks is to increase availability to personal and small business interests without losing asset and liquidity in the market.

Increasing the number of autonomous small banks with credit lines to large banks will increase the capital to small businesses and increase employment.

Putting a large fine in the USA Treasury will serve a noble purpose, but, it will also remove asset value and liquidity out of the market. A market hard pressed to create jobs.

Healthier housing market sparks bank layoffs by the thousands: report (click here)

By Ed Beeson/The Star-Ledger 
August 26, 2013 at 6:00 AM, updated August 26, 2013 at 6:06 AM

Who’s hurt by a strengthening housing market?
Bank employees, that’s who.
Large lenders around the country are starting to shed workers by the thousands now that fewer homeowners are tardy on their mortgages and interest rates are starting to rise, the L.A. Times has reported.
Wells Fargo, the largest U.S. mortgage lender, last week said it would eliminate the jobs of 2,300 workers who processed refinance applications, or 3 percent of its 70,000-person consumer lending group, the newspaper said.
Likewise, JPMorgan Chase said this month it would eliminate 3,000 mortgage jobs, all a part of previously announced plan to cut the lending unit by a total of 15,000 jobs by the end of next year.
And in July, Bank of America said it had reduced headcount at its Legacy Asset Servicing division by of 20,000 over the past year. This division was set up to handle troubled mortgages the bank inherited from Countrywide Financial during the 2008 takeover, the Times noted....

Let's say JP Morgan instead of paying a fine was to take $11 billion in assets and liquidity to establish a free standing bank to service 'the little people' while having a guaranteed line of credit for it's growth. Now, $11 billion is not a huge bank, but, it is not exactly a small one if it is located in the USA where such an institutions is needed the most AND where it will also grow to establish other lending sites. There is no reason to put a bank on the back forty only to have it fail. It should go perhaps to Wichita where small family farmers can grow the bank into more locations.

If such a bank was established with government fines it would maintain the assets and liquidity in the market while serving a vital service to assist the nation to grow. Such a bank would not be directly competitive with JP Morgan, but, in time there is a real possibility it would grow and other larger banks would be finding they can downsize without doing any economy damage.

Basically, these employees now unemployed or underemployed would have a new job market with re-establishing smaller banks. We lost a lot of small banks in the USA when 2008 occurred. In downsizing the larger banks by establishing free standing banks with lines of credit will maintain the integrity of the market while shifting focus to local economies.