Monday, June 03, 2013

Bradley Manning prevented Eric Prince from leaving the USA while being investigated. He did that. He loved his country. He was not about to let someone like Prince escape accountability for the violence Blackwater caused in Iraq. The government has no case against Bradley Manning.

I congratulate the House of Representatives on an absolutely magnificent session today.

There was a session in the US House which was incredible to watch for the bipartisan support today for legislation which would have received the enthusiasm of the late Senator Lautenberg.

Today, the House passed a bill for the Department of the Interior that would provide electronic purchase of The Duck Stamp. It passed with 401 "Yes" votes with no opposition to the bill. Two appropriate amendments were included to aid the wild horses of the North Carolina Coast and increase the size of the Alamo National Historic Park.

It was wonderful to watch today. It was a delight. I watched the session.

The second bill was to provide a fee on the purchase of animal medications to benefit the FDA. Very nice. The FDA is important.

After the second vote a deeply respectful tribute to Late Senator Lautenberg was conducted by the NJ House. It was wonderful. I thank you. A copy of the resolution passed to honor him will be sent to the family and a longer recollection of the Late Senator Lautenberg will be conducted next Tuesday in session in the House. 

I congratulate the House today. I can't tell you how wonderful it was to witness such function in the House today. If the Late Senator can inspire such bipartisan work, then please remember how that worked so well today as we go forward after his honor today. 

Even Representative Waxman made Climate Change a focus of today's House.

Frank Lautenberg was a Great American and today he would be smiling to realize how much of an impression his work made on his peers and colleagues.  Well done, today.

"We formed an effective trio, (click here) with complementary strengths--me in accounting, Joe in organization, and Frank in marketing--and very compatible in personality and business 
style."  – Henry Taub, Founder of ADP, Inc.

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADP) was founded in 1949 by a Patterson, New Jersey businessman named, Henry Taub under the name of Automatic Payrolls, Inc.  The company’s first account was New Era Dye and Finishing in Fair Lawn, New Jersey.  In 1958, the company changed its name to Automatic Data Processing and began using new technology for its time like punch card machines, check printing machines, and mainframe computers.  ADP’s  first full-time salesman was future U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg.  In 1961, ADP became a public company....

There is absolutely no proof that the leaked records compromised any battlefield or killed any US military personnel. They don't have a case of pre-meditated anything.

Bradley Mannning was not a general. He was a low level clerk. He didn't have access to classified information that would matter. If the military continues down this path they will make a fool of themselves.

If Bradley Manning was able to pull the pin on the military's plans on any war front, that doesn't say much about the USA military.

The guy hated the war and everything about it. He was not alone, many military have returned to the USA stating what an insane mission they were all on. He simply didn't carry a gun into battle or deserted his post or lost his mind to PTSD. He didn't assassinate innocent Afghans in a rage. He put low level information on Wikileaks in protest of the insanity everyone else already knew existed.

The trial is another Republican Gitmo dreamscape.

By CHARLIE SAVAGE
Published: June 3, 2013

...“This is a case about a soldier (click here) who systematically harvested hundreds of thousands of classified documents and dumped them onto the Internet, into the hands of the enemy – material he knew, based on his training, would put the lives of fellow soldiers at risk,” said the prosecutor, Capt. Joe Morrow of the Army.
But a defense lawyer for Private Manning told the judge that his client had been “young, naïve, but good-intentioned” and that he had, in fact, tried to make sure that the several hundred thousand documents he released would not cause harm.
“He was selective,” said the defense attorney, David Coombs. “He had access to literally hundreds of millions of documents as an all-source analyst, and these were the documents that he released. And he released these documents because he was hoping to make the world a better place.”
The dueling portrayals underscored the oddity at the heart of the trial, which is expected to last as long as 12 weeks. There is no doubt that Private Manning did most of what he is accused is doing, and he has already pleaded guilty to 10 charges for that conduct, for which he could be sentenced to up to 20 years.
But his plea was not part of any deal with the government, and prosecutors are moving forward with the trial because they hope to convict him of a far more serious set of charges, including violating the Espionage Act and aiding the enemy, that could result in a life sentence.... 

Great Americans are being remembered today.

Senator Lautenberg and Secretary Salazar at the dedication of one of the newest National Parks, Paterson Great Falls NHP (click here).

I suppose this is to be expected with persons his age,but, it is quite a shock actually. All anyone had to do was to look at Senator Lautenberg's Facebook Page and realize how active he was in securing the nation from harm.

He was a strong supporter of environmental concerns, gun rights and violence prevention, violence against women, recovering from Superstorm Sandy and a redress of the laws governing the problems faced by persons living near chemical plants as the one in Texas.

I would expect any of his successors to pick up on his work where he left off. Senator Lautenberg left no stone unturned. He loved this country and it's people and worked endllessly to bring about their best interests.

He will be missed. He is one of a kind. Sincere sympathy to all those that surrounded his life. 


Senators Lautenberg and Vitter Reach Groundbreaking Agreement to Reform Nation's Chemical Laws (click here)

Bipartisan Legislation Would Protect Americans From Risks Posed by Exposure to Chemicals

Lautenberg Press Office, 202-224-3224
Wednesday, May 22, 2013


WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, U.S. Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and David Vitter (R-LA) announced a groundbreaking, bipartisan agreement to modernize the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and ensure the safety of everyday consumer products to better protect American families.  Their legislation would significantly update and improve TSCA, which has proven ineffective and is criticized by both the public health community and industry. The Lautenberg-Vitter legislation would, for the first time, ensure that all chemicals are screened for safety to protect public health and the environment, while also creating an environment where manufacturers can continue to innovate, grow, and create jobs....

There is also a very dear lady being remembered today. She carried my values and was an outspoken critic of the extremists her party had fallen to.

I am quite sure she and Betty Ford knew each other and admired the same life goals and values. She stood up for women's issues and environmental concerns. She is missed and her memory serves our nation well.

Helen Milliken
By Tim Skubick | Politics Columnist for MLive.com 
on June 03, 2013 at 6:46 AM, updated June 03, 2013 at 6:47 AM

...In fact it was 10 years (click here) after Bill Milliken became governor that she tried her hand at advancing the women's rights movement. It was her daughter who nudged her into this. "You can make a difference, Mom," Elaine advised her. As the only woman in a law school class of all men at the U of M, she had felt the sting of discrimination. Soon Mom would, too.
As Gov. Rick Snyder, U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow and hundreds of others remember the impact the First Lady had on both the state and national scene, everyone will also remember the woman who was gentle, considerate of others yet not so much so that she pulled her political punches.
During her last statewide Public TV appearance in 2006, when asked about the environmental record of then President George Bush administration, she did not flinch: "The worst I have seen."
When Mrs. M. complained about the religious right having too much swagger in her Republican Party, she conceded the point that they had a right to participate - but "not the right to tell me what to believe."
She bemoaned the mixture of politics and religion and her husband, sitting next to her, nodded in agreement. They were a dynamic team yet humble to the nth degree.
Now that she has departed, there are still warm memories of all those interviews, private conservations, and her emergence as a political force of her own....

Americans that made the needs of our country their own. I thank them.

Let there be no doubt, there is no reluctance to war in Syria. There is refusal.

War is the failure of diplomacy. I do believe the peace talks are only beginning. There is some really interesting ideology for you.

Iran is willing to take an interest in the peace talks in Geneva. There is significant reason for Iran to be interested in these talks along with Syria and Russia. I would expect that interest is shared by many American people. The fact of the matter is, the American Neocons have always been in the minority of war policy of the USA, the problem over the past DECADE was the mistake of having them in leadership.

The Bush Decade could have brought a nuclear war to this planet and yet that was okay in some strange way. If it weren't for the calm relationships Russia insisted on in that decade it is safe to say the entire globe would be looking at a far different landscape rearranged by deranged idiots that found their way into power. Dear god, where is the conscience of the USA anymore?

John McCann can take is 'poor Syria' rant elsewhere. The peace summits have a limited time line with Secretary Kerry; I strongly suggest they begin this mission with earnest. The highest priority of the USA and the global community is the access to the Syrian people to bring humanitarian aid as soon as possible. I take it Senator McCann wasn't able to get his food convoy into Syria. Oh, wait. He didn't take one.


Laura Oneale on June 1, 2013
The 33-year-old American-Iranian pastor, (click here) Saeed Abedini, held in an Iranian prison might finally be over as his wife and legal team travel to Geneva to present the case to the United Nations Human Rights Council. They will urge the organization to push harder for the pastor’s immediate release.
The American-Iranian pastor is serving an eight-year prison term in the Evin prison of Tehran. He was imprisoned for his Christian faith belief. His wife Naghmeh and their two young children reside in Idaho. She has been telling his story to various media outlets and testified before government, hoping for intervention and assistance in obtaining his release.
His wife reported that her husband had been in the brutal prison long enough, and is suffering serious injuries, including internal bleeding because of the prison torture and frequent beatings. According to several of his supporters, Pastor Abedini had endured long stints of solitary confinement. He did not receive proper medical attention and they raised a serious concern regarding his well-being. She said her husband and many other Christian believers had been imprisoned for their faith....

The Whistleblower goes on trial today.


Free Bradley Manning (click here)

Deconstructing the truth surrounds the legacy of the Iraq War and occupation. If the Press didn't lie and favor the war, where would have the Bush/Cheney administration been without them.
The lies surrounding Iraq became the culture of fear that is now a springboard for a completely dysfunctional dialogue in our government. The lies surrounding the Iraq War has pervaded our society as a truth that seeks to live through history as the basis for legitimate pre-emption to war.
Bradley Manning and his actions are nothing short of heroic to stop the false face of American war.

When trial charges are this difficult to define there is no basis for them.
Sapa-AFP | 03 June, 2013 09:34
Manning, who faces a possible 154-year jail sentence, (click here) has offered to plead guilty to several offenses but he denies prosecutors' most serious charge -- that he knowingly aided the enemy, chiefly Al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden.
The trial follows an exhaustive series of preliminary hearings that outlined the government's case against Manning, 25, over leaks of diplomatic cables and war logs to the anti-secrecy website that caused huge embarrassment to the United States and its allies.
The soldier's supporters argue that his actions shone a light in the darkest corners of the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as exposing the reasoning behind American foreign policy decisions.
His opponents, however, contend that he is a traitor whose behavior wantonly endangered people's lives around the world, including US citizens.
The lengthy nature of the case has revolved around the complexity of the charges that Manning faces and his treatment in custody since being detained in May 2010 while serving as a military intelligence analyst near Baghdad....

Protesters sign a mural as they rally to call for the release of jailed U.S. Army Private Bradley Manning, a central figure in the Wikileaks case, outside the gates at Fort Meade, Maryland. Manning, who has acknowledged giving classified Army documents to Wikileaks about U.S. conduct of the wars Iraq and Afghanistan, will stand trial in a court martial that could land him in prison for life. 
Image by: JONATHAN ERNST / REUTERS

"Good Night, Moon"

Waning Crescent

27 percent lit

By Blaine P. Friedlander, Jr.
June 1, 2013

...Mercury hangs out in the northwestern sky at dusk. (click here) On Sunday night, it will be low as the sky darkens at a negative 0.2 magnitude. Fleet Mercury changes rapidly over several nights and concurrently dims. Between June 6 and 8, it will be as high as it gets in this apparition but will continue to dim rapidly....