from my UBS sources:


" This week:
The House passed multiple bills aimed at reforming the Internal Revenue Service. The Senate passed legislation to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration and an energy efficiency bill (see below).

Next week:
The House will take up legislation to loosen federal laws regarding business start-ups' ability to pitch investors and then may consider a small trade and tariff bill and a resolution to block the Department of Labor's (DOL) fiduciary rule (see below). The Senate may consider a fiscal year 2017 appropriations bill for energy and water programs.

Financial Services Issues
Fiduciary Vote. A House committee this week approved, on a party-line basis, a resolution to block implementation of the DOL's recently-released fiduciary rule under the Congressional Review Act. Republicans are eager to send a strong political message of opposition to the DOL rule at a time when Democrats will be extremely reluctant to fight the Obama Administration on a major priority and legacy issue. The full House could vote on the resolution as early as next week, when it once again will be passed on a party-line basis. The Senate also will take up a companion resolution in the coming weeks. Unlike most legislation that effectively needs a super-majority of 60 votes to pass the Senate, the resolution only needs a simple majority. While the resolution will pass Congress, it has no chance of actually blocking the DOL rule since it will be vetoed by the President.

Other Policy Issues in Play
Immigration Policy in Limelight Again. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments this week on United States vs. Texas, which may have significant presidential election ramifications.
Under the suit, 26 states are challenging the Obama Administration's legal authority to implement an executive order that would defer the deportation of 4 million parents of American citizens, most of whom were born in the U.S. to parents in the country illegally. The states fear they will be required to pay for social services associated with those subject to the deportation relief. It's difficult to know exactly how the court will rule in June on this case, but a deadlock of 4-4 seems likely. That would keep the lower courts' decision to block the executive order's implementation in place. This outcome could be a key driver not only of the general election turnout of minority voters (particularly Hispanics), but also of young voters given that the technology industry has been mobilizing its largely millennial workforce in support of the Administration's policy. Anything to get a high number of young and minority voters to the polls this year is a boom for the Democratic Party and this may be the issue that galvanizes this movement.

Iran Conflict.
Impending executive action from the Treasury Department granting Iran certain access to U.S. dollar transactions will surely set off a firestorm with a bipartisan majority in Congress who oppose this relief. Iran has complained that the sanctions relief it is receiving from its nuclear agreement with the U.S. and other major countries is limited since U.S. restrictions on Iran's access to its financial system remain in place. The restriction is a significant impediment to international trade, which is primarily conducted in U.S. dollars. The Treasury recently indicated it will provide some form of relief, which is expected any day now. Citing Iran's continued hostility, many in Congress will respond by pushing legislation denying Iranian access to dollar transactions and other parts of the U.S. financial system. We expect this legislation to pass the House and possibly the Senate too, although the President will veto the bill if it reaches his desk. The issue will receive significant attention in the weeks ahead.

No Budget Again.
Another spring season is soon to pass, and it will mark another year that Congress cannot pass a federal budget. Under current law, the passage of a budget in the Congress is to be completed by April 15, but Congress has been able to pass only one in the last seven years. The passage of a budget each year is not always critical since the government is actually funded through appropriations bills later in the year. Nevertheless, a budget can provide priorities and discipline that can help guide funding decisions in the appropriations process. One remedy to give Congress a greater incentive to pass a budget is to withhold pay for members of Congress until they enact a budget. This approach was enacted into law just three years ago, and it was effective: the House and Senate agreed on a budget that year for the first time in four years. The "No Budget, No Pay" movement has died down since then, but the bipartisan legislation has again been introduced this year. It will not advance this year, however, and Congress once again will limp on without a budget.

Modest Energy Legislation Moving.
The Senate passed an energy bill with a large bipartisan majority this week. While avoiding many of the more politically sensitive energy issues, the Energy Policy Modernization Act does speed up the permitting process for U.S. natural gas exports, promote greater energy efficiency of buildings, improve cybersecurity for power plants and support renewable energy. This Senate bill will now need to be reconciled with a House bill that passed on mostly a party-line vote last year. We are optimistic that lawmakers will come together and reach a compromise. If House and Senate negotiations go well, this could be one of the last bipartisan laws before the election in November.

Honeymoon Over?
Paul Ryan will celebrate his six-month anniversary as Speaker of the House next week. Speaker Ryan is currently facing many of the same challenges that plagued former Speaker Boehner, specifically a fractured party. House Republicans still haven't passed a budget this year and are at odds with each other of how to deal with other important issues, including Puerto Rico's debt crisis and government funding levels. Speaker Ryan seems committed to passing legislation to address the Puerto Rico situation, but he may have to do so with significant support from Democrats. While Boehner left on his own accord, his partnering with Democrats on "must pass" legislation on multiple occasions was one of the major reasons a group of ultra- conservatives plotted for his ouster. Speaker Ryan is currently holding the team together and earning high marks, but his honeymoon in the House is ending and tougher times are on the horizon if the House cannot pass vital legislation by this summer.

28 Pages.
With President Obama's travel to Saudi Arabia this week, the 28 classified pages of the 9/11 report have become even more of a hot-button issue. It is believed that these pages contain information about the financing of the 9/11 terrorists and links back to Saudi Arabia. Many members of Congress want those 28 pages declassified and released for public consumption. Other lawmakers want them kept under wraps as they are concerned about the reaction from the government of Saudi Arabia, which has threatened to sell off hundreds of billions of American assets held by the kingdom if Congress passes a bill to release the 28 pages. President Obama has said he would veto legislation mandating a release as currently written. This is worth keeping an eye on as it could have serious implications for an already stressed U.S.-Saudi relationship.

Final Word - the 2016 Presidential Primary Elections

Their Mojo is Back. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump took care of business on Tuesday with lopsided wins in New York. In the process, they regained their momentum as clearer front-runners in their parties' nominations. We don't see any path forward to victory for Bernie Sanders unless Clinton is indicted soon, which we do not expect. If Trump can win the vast majority (>60%) of delegates next Tuesday in a group of five northeastern states, he will put himself on a better path to win the GOP nomination outright rather than have to contest it in a brokered convention. An outright Trump nomination would likely sour the party's outlook for November, though many believe it may be beneficial to the party long-term. A brokered convention reflects a broken party, and seldom is a party successful when choosing a candidate in this manner. Overcoming voter perception of a rigged nomination process would likely cause more damage to the party in the long term than putting forth a candidate with historically-high disapproval ratings one time.

Hoosier Power.
In order to win the nomination outright, Trump will focus on the winner-take-all states not only next week (espe¬cially Maryland) but on May 3 in Indiana as well. Indiana will send 57 delegates to the convention, and Trump will crack the 1,000 delegate mark with a victory here coupled with a solid showing next week in the northeast. Indiana will be Trump's priority until the vote there on May 3."


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So if you are a surfer I wish you the prosperity that allows you more time to pursue the salt water dream, and the true happiness that comes from warm water, clean waves and the companionship of your fellow surfers. If you are an internet troll just spewing bs then f off.

OK, serioulsy Obamanites, you are cool with this? What happened to the "transparency" that was promised?

How about this question, are we the citizens not alloted the right to know everything that happened regarding an attack on our soil, to our own non-military citizens?

"are we the citizens not alloted the right to know everything that happened regarding an attack on our soil"

We are not

I dislike Saudi Arabia pretty intensely, so I'd like to know. He could also be protecting President Bush out of professional courtesy.

But I disagree with him on this one.


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“It is the heart of US policy to use fascism to preserve capitalism while claiming to be saving democracy from communism “ - Michael Parenti

And even if we are...the government doesn't care and they never have.



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I was right.