NASA Satellite/ FDA Study on 4-MEI/ State of the Union

Image from NASA

Missoulian:  NASA launching newest communication satellite
TDRS-L to Add to Communications Constellation

“TDRS-L will become the 11th member of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System orbiting Earth following its launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Liftoff is scheduled for Jan. 23 during a launch window that opens at 9:05 p.m. EST.”

 Missoulian: FDA says it is studying caramel coloring in soda

Questions & Answers on Caramel Coloring and 4-MEI

“4-methylimidazole (4-MEI) is a chemical compound that is not directly added to food; rather it is formed as a byproduct in some foods and beverages during the normal cooking process. For example, 4-MEI may form when coffee beans are roasted and when meats are roasted or grilled. 4-MEI also forms as a trace impurity during the manufacturing of certain types of caramel coloring (known as Class III and Class IV caramel coloring) that are used to color cola-type beverages and other foods.”

Missoulian: State of the Union: High volume, low yield

The State of the Union address will be on January 28, 2014 at 7:00am mountain time.

Highway Safety/ W.V. Spill/ Sexual Assault

Missoulian: Group says Montana among 'worst states' for highway safety laws

Montana Comprehensive Highway Safety Plan

Missoulian: W.Va. tells company to disclose everything spilled
Ranking Members Waxman and Tonko Call for Hearing on West Virginia Chemical Spill

Missoulian: Obama targets college sexual assault epidemic
Rape and Sexual Assault: A Renewed Call to Action

Storm/ Child Pornography Case

Missoulian: Snowstorm shuts down federal government offices

Weather.gov

Missoulian: Court ruling due on child porn victim restitution

 Paroline, Doyle R. v. United States, et al. (12-8561)       

Respondent Amy’s Brief on the Merits

“The Court should read Section 2259 to achieve Congress’s explicit compensatory aims, not to thwart them. As the Fifth Circuit en banc interpreted the statute, it does not require a child pornography victim to establish precisely what fraction of, for example, her psychological counseling costs are the proximate result of an individual defendant’s crime.  Instead, victims like Amy must first establish that they suffered “harm” from a defendant’s child pornography crime.  See 18 U.S.C. 2259(c). This cause-in-fact link or nexus between an individual’s harm and a defendant’s crime establishes a statutorily-recognized “victim” entitled to restitution for the “full amount” of her losses. 18 U.S.C. 2259(c) & (b)(1). This case comes to this Court on a factual finding that petitioner harmed Amy—a finding that was unchallenged below and is well-supported by the record.”

Martin Luther King Jr.

  MLK Day 2014: Start a Year of Citizen Action

MLKDay.gov
"What is the MLK Day of Service?

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is: 'What are you doing for others?'

Each year, Americans across the country answer that question by coming together on the King Holiday to serve their neighbors and communities.
The MLK Day of Service is a part of United We Serve, the President's national call to service initiative. It calls for Americans from all walks of life to work together to provide solutions to our most pressing national problems"

 Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site
"A young boy grows up in a time of segregation…A dreamer is moved by destiny into leadership of the modern civil rights movement…This was Martin Luther King, Jr.  Come hear his story, visit the home of his birth, and where he played as a child.  Walk in his footsteps, and hear his voice in the church where he moved hearts and minds.  Marvel at how he was an instrument for social change."
 
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

NSA Spying/ Federal Budget

Missoulian:  Obama backs limits on NSA phone collections

Presidential Policy Directive -- Signals Intelligence Activities
“The collection of signals intelligence is necessary for the United States to advance its national security and foreign policy interests and to protect its citizens and the citizens of its allies and partners from harm. At the same time, signals intelligence activities and the possibility that such activities may be improperly disclosed to the public pose multiple risks. These include risks to: our relationships with other nations, including the cooperation we receive from other nations on law enforcement, counterterrorism, and other issues; our commercial, economic, and financial interests, including a potential loss of international trust in U.S. firms and the decreased willingness of other nations to participate in international data sharing, privacy, and regulatory regimes; the credibility of our commitment to an open, interoperable, and secure global Internet; and the protection of intelligence sources and methods.”

Missoulian: Lawmakers weary from fiscal wars send Obama budget
H.R.3547 - Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014
Senate amendment to H.R. 3547
“Reduces funds for the salaries, benefits, and expenses of any positions within the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice that were assigned to administer or enforce Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. These jobs were rendered irrelevant after the Supreme Court struck down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act in Shelby v. Holder.”

Malmstrom Cheating/ Appropriations/ Potatoes/ Benghazi

Missoulian: 34 Malmstrom officers removed from launch duty for alleged cheating
DOD: 34 ICBM Launch Officers Implicated in Cheating Probe

Missoulian: Senate approaches final OK of $1.1T spending bill
H.R.3547 - Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014

Missoulian: Congress wants more potatoes in gov't program

 H.R.3102 - Nutrition Reform and Work Opportunity Act of 2013

Missoulian: Report: Systemic failures led to Benghazi attacks

Review of the Terrorist Attacks on U.S. Facilities in Benghazi, Libya, September 11-12, 2012, together with Additional Views