Sunday, March 15, 2015

Did anyone read it? It is important to read it.

The 47 Republicans did not only write to all the Leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran, they lied. That is where this letter falls into a category all by itself. Is this a citizen's letter conveniently using Congressional stationary or is this an actual function of the US Senate?

I think that is very important to decide about the brevity of THE ACT of writing this letter. This won't go away. It is part of history now. This letter has to be put into  legal context and ACTED ON. 

There has to be a determination as to whether this action by 47 US Republicans was more than simply a political mistake as some like to call it, or was it something more? I think it is something far more than most want to call it.

If this is a political stunt, then there is a violation of law that has occurred. Political rants on US Senate stationary? Really?

One of the reasons this letter will be causing the USA to lose esteem in an international theater is because it is a deception as well as a mistake.

The words state, "...under our Constitution, while the President negotiates international agreements, Congress plays the significant role of ratification...."

All International agreements are not ratified by the US Senate. That is a lie. It goes on from there...

In the case of a treaty the Senate must ratify it by two-thirds vote. That is true, however, all international agreements are not ratified by the US Senate, yet the signators of the letter puts this fact in regard to treaties immediately after a frank lie. It is an obvious contextual lie that is meant to leverage power over talks with Iran.

Then there is this verbiage about a Congressional-Executive Agreement. 

What is a So-Called Congressional-Executive Agreement? Where does that come from in the US Constitution? There is no such thing. The branches of government are separate and autonomous and act as checks and balances to the power of the USA. What the heck is that? It doesn't exist.

Three fifths vote of the Senate? A treaty or any international document to pass through both the House and the Senate requires  a three-fourth's vote. What is McConnell doing signing a document that is completely inaccurate? Was this some kind of joke? A joke on Senate stationary? 

A filibuster needs a two-thirds majority and that is simply by the rules of the Senate. It has nothing to do with the US Constitution.

The only place a two-thirds majority is mandated is when passing an Amendment to the USA Constitution. Is Tom Cotton stating the Iranian document is going to be an amendment to the USA Constitution? What foreign authority is going to understand this letter and quite frankly is going to care about procedural issues of the USA Constitution?

Article V
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; provided that no amendment which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that no state (in this case, state means one of the thirteen original states), without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate
 
Then Cotton and the other 46 signators of the letter start this school room instruction of how the Senate is in office for six years and the President is 4 years. Huh? Why would Iran give a damn about that? 

What Cotton and the rest of the signing Republicans go on to state is the talks of P5+1 doesn't matter a rat's ass. 

Excuse me? There are five other countries involved in the talks with Iran. The talks take up time and money to be conducted. That time and money to all the countries involved, including Iran, is an investment in the future. THE FUTURE. 

Tom Cotton and his signators have done something really terrible in addressing a foreign power without including what the definition of leadership means in regard to "Leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran." Just any leader? The leader of the Iranian Girl Scouts will do? 

This entire venture by 47 Republicans cannot and should not be swept under any carpet. It is a document on Senate stationary addressed to Leaders of a foreign power discussing a delicate issue that will create a balance or imbalance of power in the Middle East. This is not a minor issue.

P5 + 1 are acting on the enforcement of the UN Treaty on Non-Proliferation. The USA is a member of the UN, a signator to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, the responsibility of the US Senate is over. OVER! The Executive Branch has the responsibility of carrying out the business of the country. That is what President Obama and Secretary Kerry is conducting. They are not asking pretty please to enforce the UN Treaty, they are taking on the responsibility of the USA in it's status as a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council. There is absolutely no role for the US Senate in this matter. The ONLY role the legislature will have is if the President asks for sanctions by the USA as a unilateral action. 

I also see no reason why President Obama or Secretary Kerry has to explain reality and/or how to interpret the US Constitution, the UN Charter or the Non-Proliferation Treaty. There is no reason for the Executive Branch to be involved with the US Senate at all regarding the talks with Iran. When the President comes to the people with an agreement, then and only then can the USA decide about unilateral actions in addition to the UN agreement.

Got that!

The US Senate has already done it's work when it became a member to the UN and signator to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. 

Given that reality, what the hell is the letter for except to use official stationary of the US Senate to leverage personal and party politics in an international venue?

It is the responsibility of the Senate Democrats to sort through the ramifications of this letter and bring ethical charges at the very least. Quite frankly, the 47 Republicans wrote a personal view of the world which excluded allies, the United Nations, the Non-Proliferation Treaty or any number of other countries on a Senate letterhead. This has to be litigated. There are serious issues here and there can be no precedent tolerated regarding any of their actions.

Today, because of this letter, the entire world is looking curiously at the USA wondering if they have to understand the US Constitution and it's interpretation to discern whether or not this is a coup government.

There is no excuse for Mr. Cotton and the others. They range in their expertise from months in the US Senate to decades. This is nonsense. A freshman Senator is the tail waging the dog and expects to get away with it? 

This entire episode needs to be addressed through laws and protocols. It is my estimation this letter is a violation to the UN Non-proliferation Treaty as well as a violation in US laws and ethics.

The Letter


Iranian talks need to be sure the right wing extremists don't return to the governance of Iran.

March 12, 2015
By Josh Zeitz

It’s been over 200 years (click here) since members of Congress wore white silk stockings and silver shoe buckles on the House floor, but if you read Tom Cotton’s letter to the leaders of Iran, you wouldn’t necessarily know it.

On March 9th, 47 Republican members of the United States Senate appeared to violate the Logan Act—a law dating to 1799 prohibiting unauthorized citizens from negotiating with foreign governments during a dispute with the United States.

The law was a response to the actions of George Logan, a physician and zealous Republican from Pennsylvania, who undertook a lone voyage to Paris in an effort to negotiate an end to the Quasi-War with France. Logan had no official standing or stature, and his private diplomacy stoked Federalist fears of a widespread plot among Republicans (as members of the Jeffersonian party, also known as the Democratic-Republican party, called themselves) to subvert the elected government in Philadelphia. 

Ironically, Logan was never prosecuted under his namesake federal law—quite the contrary: He was elected to the Senate in 1800. In fact, the statute has only been officially invoked once (in 1803, against a Kentucky farmer who wanted a Western chunk of the United States to secede and ally with France) and it may or may not pass constitutional muster. No one has really bothered to test it....

The Democrats need to bring important issues to their platform.

Kindly, keep the extremism and personality out of the standards of the DNC platform. The platform needs to relate to everyone and everyone should be able to relate to the platform. It is my opinion that extremists are very bad for the US economy. So, while the Republican continues to espouse their right wing agenda while they play with words; kindly be sure the Democrats have worked out all the rough spots.

In regard to unions and pipelines? Kindly consider that replacing existing infrastructure and improving on the commodities applied to those new replacement pipelines includes ethanol, too.

Unions will have plenty of jobs once the USA begins to replace it's infrastructure including the removal of old pipes with new ones. There is absolutely no reason for unions to believe they won't have work when the administration truthfully addressed the climate crisis. That is not an issue, nor should it be. There will be plenty of construction jobs when the USA finally has a Congress that reflects the needs of the people, including a strong Middle Class that is secured by union representation.

The Democrats need to address the debt ceiling and the national debt in their platform. Both need to come down. Realistic time tables that are measurable and appropriate to allow for climate emergencies has to be included. The people will appreciate honesty and an HONEST ATTEMPT to bring down the national debt. The Democrats have already achieved bringing down the national deficit, now let's address the national debt realistically including Tax Reform. Please give an accurate assessment as to what tax reform MUST contain. 

Let's also address the political volleys of the Republicans and how a Democratic majority insures the lack of any threat to refuse to fund Homeland Security. Kindly address the military budget as well and a return to less 'techy' military and budgets that actually support a military our Joint Chiefs can work with. After the sequsester there were ships stuck in port because they couldn't stock all their needs for the crew. It is ridiculous to have ships that can't sail because they don't have enough food and trillions spend on F35s that don't fly and when they do they cost other needs to be scaled back to ridiculous.

If the Dems want to make women's right an issues which will be unavoidable in 2016 elections, please be sure they have their pulse on the needs and wants of the American woman and family. Don't create a scenario out of thin air. Let's keep it real.

By the way, keeping it real will bring the Millennials to the side of Democrats that reflect their values. No one can argue that a higher minimum wage will reduce poverty and return a great function to the USA economy. That is the approach the Democrats need to take, not that it is simply politics and the ideology that is important. Democrats have always had their VALUES set in reality, it is time to make that translatable by the American Public.

In 2012, First Lady Michelle Obama said it best, "It is not political, it is personal." (click here)
By Aurora Saldivar, Coachella Unincorporated
CHARLOTTE, NC – It got personal for me at the 2012 Democratic National Convention.
Election day is just around the corner, and the Democrats humanized campaign issues for me at the DNC, bringing them down to earth, into the hearts and homes of Americans across the nation.
As Michelle Obama so eloquently explained in her speech, “It’s not political, it’s personal.” The Time Warner Cable Arena echoed with similar sentiments all last week as the Democratic Party addressed the nation to nominate Barack Obama for a second term and introduce their campaign platform.
- See more at: http://coachellaunincorporated.org/2012/09/12/opinion-2012-presidential-election-got-personal-at-dnc/#sthash.jWKmpp8M.dpuf
.
One of most important personal rights in the USA is voting. That has to be on the Democratic platform as it was discussed and marched in Selma this month.

By Aurora Saldivar, Coachella Unincorporated
CHARLOTTE, NC – It got personal for me at the 2012 Democratic National Convention.
Election day is just around the corner, and the Democrats humanized campaign issues for me at the DNC, bringing them down to earth, into the hearts and homes of Americans across the nation.
As Michelle Obama so eloquently explained in her speech, “It’s not political, it’s personal.” The Time Warner Cable Arena echoed with similar sentiments all last week as the Democratic Party addressed the nation to nominate Barack Obama for a second term and introduce their campaign platform.
- See more at: http://coachellaunincorporated.org/2012/09/12/opinion-2012-presidential-election-got-personal-at-dnc/#sthash.jWKmpp8M.dpuf

Speaking of Socialism.

Seattle has one of the few Socialist Party that have been successful in elections. Seattle now has laws based in a far higher minimum wage. 

$15.00 per hour.

In a forty hour work week that is $600.00. That is more than $30,000 per year. A single parent family could actually begin to afford the apartment her family lives in.

If she eventually finds a husband or wife and they both make $30,000 per year that means the household now has an income of over $60,000 per year.

What does that do to the Seattle economy?

What does that do to the poverty rate in Settle and the health of it's workers?

I understand the franchisers like McDonalds are not happy with the Seattle law because they have to raise the minimum wage earlier than other Small Businesses. I they filed a lawsuit against the city. I also think that was the wrong conclusion by the franchisers. 

The city has a right to leverage laws that improve the lives of it's citizens. What the franchisers should have done is come together and jointly in a Class Action lawsuit sued the companies that hold their contracts as franchisers.

The companies holding the contracts like Burger King are squeezing the franchise owners to accept smaller amounts of income due to the increase in minimum wages. That is not the city's problem or the employees problem that is the problem between the franchiser and it's contract with the company that has been raking in billions upon billions in profit. 

It is time the franchisers start to stand up for themselves no different than their employees and the City of Seattle has to reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of all their citizens.

Right to work states have higher unemployment, lower wages and include 48 percent of the USA population.

48 percent. Those folks are subsistence workers and the only growth they provide to the USA economy is the birth of children so their children can become subsistence workers.

What I fail to understand is why the unions are taking this lying down. They should be screaming at the top of their lungs they are being eliminated from the face of the USA. The union culture has brought American workers safe working conditions and we can go from there in relation to benefits and good pay.

Unions work under a contract. Since when do legislators carry out initiatives that destroy contracts?






















What about this do union organizers not understand? This is a culture that directly benefits the vitality of Wall Street.

The history to destroying unions begins with Reagan, but, at the time the country never viewed it that way. Americans wanted their jets taking off and landing. That is all they knew. They never knew the companies were sitting on their hands for months before the contract expired. As the end of the contract drew near the unions should have been handing out pamphlets at airports or from picket lines stating the facts. 

I would like to see unions spelling out in their contracts the benefits the union brings to the people they represent and how it is only right those that voted in MAJORITY for the union has the right to collect fees from others that do not sign up for memberships.

Every union contract should reflect the need for non-members to participate in costs of the union when they directly benefit from the union activities that brought the contract. 

One other thing. If union contracts can be legislated so unions lose their ability to protect American workers and their incomes what does that do to other contracts?

The wording in contracts from here forward have to include the adverse effect "Right to Work" has on unions and the people that BENEFIT directly from the contracts of those unions. INCLUDING safe work environments.

Are unions important to minorities?

Is Right to Work laws actually racism?

Where are the impoverished when it comes to the ability to experience upward movement in the USA economy which is their birth right? 

I believe given the demographics of poverty, Right to Work is a racist agenda.

Does any part of this map look familiar?

NO?

This is the site I found with this map.

A Right to Work (click here) law secures the right of employees to decide for themselves whether or not to join or financially support a union. However, employees who work in the railway or airline industries are not protected by a Right to Work law, and employees who work on a federal enclave may not be. Moreover, a Right to Work law does not prohibit limitations on when a dues deduction authorization card can be revoked. Workers should carefully read the fine print before signing such a card....
 
Now, put your thinking caps on.  

Is there nothing about that map above that hasn't appeared somewhere else?

Let me help. 

Hint: Think ACA.

Still not yet?

There is a direct relationship between poverty and states without the ACA or unions.

This is how adults talk about issues of the day.

AND

These are the questions every adult should be asking themselves.

...Gut oddly, (click here) average working people have continued to vote against their own best economic interests. While it's understandable that many voters have a difficult time voting because of voter suppression laws — and that many times, when they do vote, their vote doesn't count because of gerrymandered districts. But even so, many others continue to vote for those who oppress their wages and worker rights — even after tons of evidence over the years should have convinced them to vote otherwise. Why is that?...

This is from the CDC.

Yes, the CDC of the United States of American. The Center for Disease Control recognizes poverty as a significant risk to American's lives.

Figure 5. Classification of counties by rate of poverty and spatial situation. The distinctive north–south divide across most of the United States, in which concentrations of low poverty and spatial outliers of high poverty are confined to the northern half, and concentrations of high poverty and spatial outliers of low poverty are confined to the southern half, is termed the continental poverty divide. Data source: Community Health Status Indicators. 

This online document was from 2000 and the compilation of information began in the Clinton Administration. I am confident this data still exists today, however, budget cuts may have caused a drop in quality of the information. The point is anyone interested in the health of the people of the USA now have information to how their health has improved or NOT improved under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. I think the information will be startling in states that refused exchanges and where deaths have been reported when they could have been prevented.

The release of the Community Health Status Indicators (CHSI) (click here) database provides ready access to a rich compilation of data for researchers and individuals interested in the health of communities (1). CHSI data cover a wide range of county-level attributes that describe the sociodemographic context in which people live. These attributes, often referred to as social determinants of health (2), have been found to have important proximate and distal influences on health-risk behaviors and health outcomes for individuals.

There is significant racism that still exists in the USA, Ferguson is a prime example of that inequity of minorities.

That is the dichotomy of the lives of our minorities. And kindly get this right, they are OUR minorities. In Australia the people recognize there are minorities that live in tribes in the outback, but, also live with other citizens in the cities and towns. These people are OUR minorities.

Minority - the smaller number or part, especially a number that is less than half the whole number.

Minorities will only have representation in our government and will never achieve a majority, ever. They should have at least a strong representative number in our government. They have issues no one else in the country have.

Politics should never simply seek to destroy their voices by assigning them status of complainers or those able to leverage an election for Democrats. The USA's minorities are to be listened to when they speak because they bring concerns and problems from their communities.

August 25, 2015
By Cary L. Biron

One UN committee member (click here) is shocked that “in spite of several decades of affirmative action in the United States to improve the mixing up of colors and races in schools … segregation [is] nowadays much worse than it was in the 1970s.”




...“While we have made visible progress that is reflected in the leadership of our society, we recognize that we have much left to do,” Keith Harper, the U.S. representative to the U.N. Human Rights Council and the delegation’s leader, stated on Aug. 13. “Issues covered by this Convention are of such fundamental and deep importance that we must continue to make progress.”...

Racism and segregation are still a problem for the USA. What that translate into is a country weak with it's economic advantage for everyone. 

...Another expert noted that “some 39 million African Americans [are] particularly affected by structural racial discrimination in the United States … part of the broader heritage of slavery,” according to the summary.(click here)...

The United Nations cited several problems both historically and modern day:

Worker's Rights
Voting Rights
Environmental Rights 
State Violence 
Children's Rights
Housing Rights
Education Rights
Implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

...A representative of the Los Angeles Human Relations Commission, speaking in a joint statement, said little had been done to publicize international human rights treaties in the United States and most local authority workers had never even heard of the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.  The Commission asked for more funding for local projects, and for the Committee to urge the State party to create an institutionalized monitoring mechanism for implementation of the Convention.... 

Immigration
Health care and Reproductive Rights 
Criminal Justice

A representative of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the United States, said the impact of criminal law and policy on racial and ethnic minorities was without question one of the most critical issues faced by the United States today.  The United States’ criminal justice system was in crisis.  Policies had been enacted which had contributed to an incarceration rate on a scale that existed nowhere else in the world; which in turn, had resulted in a system that was racially and ethnically discriminatory – and ultimately unsustainable....

The Rights of Indigenous People

Read the report (click here).

The international community is fully aware of the level of discrimination in the USA. That is not a minor observation. Discrimination causes poverty and poverty impacts the USA economy.

Isn't she pretty? This is Haditha Pendleton.

September 13, 2013
By Trymaine Lee

Two alleged gang members (click here) have been arrested and charged with murder in the shooting death of Hadiyah Pendleton, the 15-year-old Chicago honor student killed little more than a week after marching in Barack Obama’s inaugural parade.
Police say Michael Ward, 18, and Kenneth Williams, 20, opened fire on Pendleton and a group of friends last month in retaliation for a shooting last year in which Williams had been injured.
Ward confessed to police that he and Williams had mistaken the group for the rivals in the earlier shooting, according to police....

How are minorities suppose to wade through the vast dichotomy of violence. The USA government expects them to understand the difference between gang violence and police violence. It isn't that simple to dispel fears when both the police and criminals bring about the same end result. 

Both are authorities.

The police are the authorities, but, the gun toting gang members are their own type of authority and our minorities are exposed to a world without definition.  

Would it matter if the age of majority was 21 again?

The memorials are being posted while the police tape is still there? What the hell is going on?

March 13, 2015
and in Madison, Wisconsin

Tony Terrell Robinson (click here) was born into poverty and spent the last moments of his life bleeding from a gunshot wound, surrounded by no one but local police officers on the porch of his shared apartment....

Do authorities realize the public does not understand police work. Nor are they living in anticipation of a police presence. Most Americans live their lives without the thought they will soon be involved with police officers called with guns drawn. 

Have we become a police state in this country? Should all people simply be mindful of the police all the time to insure their safety? I want an answer, but, so far there aren't any. I sincerely think a prosecution needs to go forward for these killings. It is incomprehensible police are slapped on the wrist when they kill an unarmed individual.

The media can put all kinds of visuals regarding in support of good police work but this is not good police work. To simply apologize to the community once a member is dead is too late. 

Matthew Simon @MSimonReporter Follow
#TonyRobinson funeral begins with 800 mourners filling East High field house. Song playing: Gone Too Soon #news3

Women are beautiful. They love their bodies and fun with fashion.

It's Sunday Night.

This is not porn. Women have breasts. Sometimes they are unruly in bathing suits. It depends on the cup size. It is life. Get over it.

This woman is not inviting rape. Oddly enough that is the truth. When do men learn they can admire from a far, but, not touch? Ever? Do men ever learn that women are not in this world for their sexual needs?

It is long understood American minorities fled to the Democratic Party.


"Gone Too Soon" By Michael Jackson (click here)
Like A Comet
Blazing 'Cross The Evening Sky
Gone Too Soon

 
Like A Rainbow
Fading In The Twinkling Of An Eye
Gone Too Soon


Shiny And Sparkly
And Splendidly Bright
Here One Day
Gone One Night

 

Like The Loss Of Sunlight
On A Cloudy Afternoon
Gone Too Soon

 

Like A Castle
Built Upon A Sandy Beach
Gone Too Soon

 

Like A Perfect Flower
That Is Just Beyond Your Reach
Gone Too Soon

 

Born To Amuse, To Inspire, To Delight
Here One Day
Gone One Night

 

Like A Sunset
Dying With The Rising Of The Moon
Gone Too Soon

 

Gone Too Soon

The USA has been under a class struggle since 2000 leading to a plutocracy....

...and it's own theocracy. The global community might examine the financiers to the extremism within the USA. The financiers are primarily international companies.

Today, quite surprisingly, a CNN program called GPS equated the USA entitlements such as Social Security to the reason there was less funding for space exploration. Surprised was not the word I would use to hear that parallel. 

While the US space program has been helpful to the country as a by-product in it's discoveries, it has no program currently to feed and cloth the elderly or provide medical treatment. It would be an interesting outcome if those responsibility should be considered part of that program. I sincerely doubt the space exploration would go forward at all if it had that as part of it's budget. 

This is only one example to the feeding frenzy occurring in the private sector as it foams at the mouth for a greater budget to their priorities. Ever since the US space program has been privatized the companies involved are more and more realizing their budgets are woefully inadequate to their ambitions. It takes more than a village to deliver that budget. 

I admire their ambitions that drive the private sector and it's profits, these huge spending activities should be within the governance of government and not greedy stockholders with CEO's relying on bonuses.

To the relief of the community a gunman has been arrested.

The letter has skuttled the Iranian talks for the USA.

The real question is that have the Republicans become the 'ideological' leader of the USA and to what extent does that dictate the balance of diplomacy that leads to war?

March 12, 2015


Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (click here) reacts to letter from Republicans, saying he is concerned about fate of nuclear talks because other side is ‘deceitful and back-biting’ 

I have no doubt the New P4+1 will go forward with talks with Iran and the USA will be isolated in it's demands. The US Congress can pass whatever UNILATERAL sanctions it wants, but, that won't necessarily result in anything that matters.  

What the US Republicans have done is take away the USA's voice on behalf of Israel at any talks, except at the UN Security Council. Netanyahu has directly brought about danger to Israel because of his snub of the US President and President Obama's initiative to bring about functional sanctions that would enforce Non-Proliferation. The UN has profound reasons to reassess the role of the extremists in the US Congress in relation to any global peace.

I have absolutely no doubt in examining the Republican dogma this party is extremely dangerous and the latest antics has to be viewed for the result it caused. These Republicans are no longer 'simply politics' in the USA. The very Republican Party, in it's latest bozo letter, has no expertise that develops POLICY over setting the stage for war.

The global community has less than two years to come to conclusions regarding the "Neocon Dogma" wherever it appears and how that leads to war and what the global community's response will be. 

The reaction of governments receiving such threats cannot be dismissed. The letter was a threat and I think anyone knows that. It was obvious to me. I am sure it was obvious to the other partners to the Iranian talks.

...“The letter by American senators indicates the collapse of political ethics in the United States,” Khamenei said on Thursday during a meeting with members of Iran’s top clerical body, which includes President Hassan Rouhani.

“Governments are bound to their commitments by international laws and would not violate their obligations with a change of government,” he said. “They [the Republican senators] said they want to teach us their own laws but we don’t need their lessons, our officials know how to make agreements binding if there’s a deal.”

Khamenei, who has the final say in all state matters, made clear that Iran’s nuclear negotiators, led by its foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif , have his full support. His backing will shield Iranian diplomats from attacks by hardliners at home as they approach a deadline for a framework deal in the coming weeks....

...“Each time we approach the deadline for talks, the other side, especially Americans, adopt a harsher and more aggressive tone. This is one of their tricks and a deception.” ...

Wow. I thought Teddy Ruxpin was revolutionary.

I can see this technology as a means any family can protect their children from being robbed out of their own homes. The technology can be a baby sitter to their safety while they find sincerely restful sleep. I sincerely think it is an enhancement to security. The other 'upticks' to quality of life is obvious, but, house security can take on a very important aspect to this technology.

Over time this technology will become affordable to most parents.

Let's take a good look at then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit with President Assad.

The Republicans are portraying this visit to President Assad equals the letter 47 Senators wrote. They don't come close.

April 4, 2007
By AP

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday for talks criticized by the White House as undermining American efforts to isolate the hard-line Arab country....

It would appear the efforts of the Bush White House to isolate and victimize Syria has worked. It has not only worked, there is obviously no exit strategy when it did work. Bush was anticipating a greater war when a delegation of the majority Democratic House arrived at his door step.

If the Democrats had not won a majority in 2006 in the US House, the USA might be looking at very different involvement in the Middle East. There is a very good chance the talks with Iran would never have occurred and the war would be raging with a very different dynamic in the Middle East.

...The Californian Democrat spoke to reporters shortly after talks with Assad at the end of a two-day visit to Syria.

She said the delegation gave the Syrian leader a message from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert whose essence was that Israel was ready to hold peace talks with Syria.

She did not say more about the message, but Israel has previously made such talks conditional on Syria’s cutting off its support for hard-line Palestinian groups and Hezbollah.

Then Speaker Pelosi was delivering a message to President Assad stating Israel's government at the highest levels was looking for a way to begin peace talks. The Democratic delegation was delivering a note from Israel, not a declaration of war.

“We were very pleased with the assurances we received from the president that he was ready to resume the peace process. He’s ready to engage in negotiations for peace with Israel,” Pelosi said.

Pelosi and accompanying members of Congress began their day by holding separate talks with Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem and Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa and then met Assad, who hosted them for lunch after their talks....

Syria was not mired in dense diplomatic relationships with international partners to avert nuclear weapons governed by the Non-proliferation Treaty as President Obama is today!!

It is obvious the difference.

By the way, seeking to end any Shi'ite Authority is a very interesting focus. Bush was attempting to kill a cleric in Iraq, he was seeking to destroy a Shia Mosque while he was simultaneously attempting "...to isolate the hard-line Arab country..." of Syria.

The United Nations is going to need to better state the rights of the Shia in the world realizing Bush was more than willing to commit genocide.

The Shia have been forced into a peripheral/marginal existence during the oil years of the USA. The Shia being forced into a peripheral/marginal existence took on the characteristic of extremists. They, without a doubt were vicious in their approach to their own survival with some of the worst reality in Lebanon where Beirut became ground zero for violence. President Assad himself can attest to the fears of the Shi'ite people in the region over the decades. He alone did not witness that reality, but, he did as his father before him.

The Iranian Revolution removed them from the margins of survival in the world and gave them a homeland. The Shah played a large part in the suffering of the Shi'ites on the streets of Iran. The Iranian Revolution provided a homeland and it is that which the Shia look at today as their gift from god.

The United Nations knows all to well how revolutionaries hold their position when the lives of a people, ethnicity and/or religion is at stake. There are many Shi'ite organizations in the world today classified as terrorists. That is true. The basis of that reality is sincere. But, that definition has not changed over decades and it does not in any way address the reason of which these populations have achieved their violent culture. 

If the same paradigm is maintained and there is no identity of long standing ethnic groups as aggrieved and Israel does not return a leadership authority seeking peace; the world will be facing a very unstable Middle East going forward. 

President Assad and the Shi'ite homeland of Iran has to be recognized for what they are and brought to the global stage for change in settling wars and being a part of a benevolent peace for the region. The danger to the world is too great to ignore this reality.

McConnell states, "The Human Trafficking Bill" came out of the Senate unanimously.

That doesn't mean the Democrats on the committee weren't hoping for a debate and different outcome once it was moved to the Senate floor. The number of votes in committee is very different than the Senate floor vote. There is also leadership with Democrats that can bring their objection to a focus when it was disregarded in committee.

Majority Leader McConnell knows full well the outcome to the bills are different when they are brought out of committee to the Senate floor for debate. Simply stating, "They voted for the exact same bill three months ago," isn't going to make the objection go away. The lives and well being of children are involved, that is not a minor subject. The US Senate needs to get it right.

The language in the bill regarding abortion directly effects 300,000 children. They become greater victims by the law as it is worded today.
  • Human trafficking generates $9.5 billion yearly in the United States. (United Nations) (click here)
  • Approximately 300,000 children are at risk of being prostituted in the United States. (U.S. Department of Justice)
  • The average age of entry into prostitution for a child victim in the United States is 13-14 years old. (U.S. Department of Justice)
  • A pimp can make $150,000-$200,000 per child each year and the average pimp has 4 to 6 girls. (U.S. Justice Department, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children)
  • The average victim may be forced to have sex up to 20-48 times a day. (Polaris Project)
  • Fewer than 100 beds are available in the United States for underage victims. (Health and Human Services)
  • Department Of Justice has identified the top twenty human trafficking jurisdictions in the country:” Houston
• El Paso
• Los Angeles
• Atlanta
• Chicago
• Charlotte
• Miami
• Las Vegas
• New York
• Long Island
• New Orleans
• Washington, D.C.
• Philadelphia
• Phoenix
• Richmond
• San Diego• San Francisco
• St Louis
• Seattle
• Tampa  (Department of Justice)
  • A pimp can make $150,000-$200,000 per child each year and the average pimp has 4 to 6 girls. (U.S. Justice Department, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children)
  • One in three teens on the street will be lured toward prostitution within 48 hours of leaving home. (National Runaway Hotline)

There are reports coming out of Vanuatu. It is devastating news.

Marach 15, 2015
By John Bacon and Doug Stanglin

Residents take shelter as floodwaters move inland on Tuvalu island in the Vanuatu archipelago. (Photo: Plan International Australia via Getty Images)

...Pacific Red Cross (click here) chief Aurelia Balpe told The Australian that a pilot flew over the islands, reporting that on the southern island of Tanna many buildings were destroyed and even concrete buildings no longer had roofs. The southern end of the chain appeared to take the most direct hit. 

"What he told me is that he could land — that was the first positive," Balpe told the Australian. "But as they flew in and out they saw lots of trees uprooted and, what was most striking, all corrugated iron structures were destroyed as far as they eye could see.

Cyclone Pam, possibly the worst cyclone in the Pacific's history, slammed into Vanuatu late Friday. Wind speeds of more than 165 mph made Pam a Category 5 storm.

Vanuatu, about a quarter of the way from Australia to Hawaii, has a population of 267,000. About 34,000 living on Tanna and tiny nearby islands at the southern end of the chain.

But the entire nation appeared to be devastated. The New Zealand Herald reported that 90% of homes Port Vila, with a population of almost 50,000, were damaged or destroyed.

"The immediate concern is for a very high death toll but also an enormous amount of destruction and devastation," Sune Gudnitz, regional director for the UN's Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Assistance (UNOCHA), told Reuters....