Check out Keith Olbermann’s 9/11 TM Special Comment. Yes, Senator McCain, if you know right now how to capture Osama bin Laden, you should go tell some responsible party that incredible information. Otherwise, you are aiding and abetting bin Laden. You are either assisting terrorists or you are using the events of seven years ago to get elected President. That. Is. Sick.
Well, well, well. As quite a few Americans have figured out (but not nearly enough, obviously), the “drill, drill, drill” mantra from the Republicans is based on … lies. Hoping to score cheap politial points this election season, Republicans have maintained a non-stop drill everywhere (but their back yard) campaign, lying to the American public that Democrats are doing nothing to bring down prices at the pump, natural gas prices, etc. Public lands off the coast of America have to be opened up for leasing by fuel corporations immediately, we’ve been told. In a bold move of hypocrisy, the U.S. Department of Energy issued and affirmed an order to export 98.1 billion cubic feet of Alaskan natural gas to Japan and other Pacific Rim countries. That much natural gas could be used instead by 1.4 million Americans in the span of one entire year. So you tell me where Republican interests lie: with Americans suffering from high fuel prices or with foreign countries. Because selling that natural gas overseas keeps domestic prices propped up. Thank goodness a Democrat is calling Republicans on their b.s.
If Republicans were proud of their party and proud of the ideology that generates their policies, would they be trying to hide a Senate race at the bottom of the ticket (against the law, btw) or would they be trying to remove their candidates’ party affiliation from the ballot? I don’t think so. They’ll talk mad game to the media, then run around like cowards trying to fool people into voting for their candidates. So sad.
The Colorado Governor’s Energy Office announced that it was selected to receive a $397,700 grant from the DoE. The GEO will use the grant to develop technical, financial and policy framworks to construct an additional 1,000 megawatts of renewable energy capacity into the state’s grid. 1,000MW of energy can power over 300,000 homes.
If we’re winning the “War on terror,” why hasn’t the color-coded terror alert level changed from Yellow to Green or Blue in 2,382 days? Another good BiPM question.
John McCain voted against legislation that stopped the practice of charging rape victims for sexual assault exams. Ironically, the legislation, known as the Violence Against Women Act, was pushed through Congress by Sen. Joe Biden, who is this year’s Democratic Vice Presidential nominee. Let that sink in for a minute. The Republican nominee for President voted to keep charging rape victims for their assault tests. That vote took place in 1994. And before anybody brings up the silly argument that that was then and this is now, Sen. McCain voted against funding the program … last year. McCain’s views on this demonstrate that he is too much of an extremist to be our President. Need more proof? His choice for Vice-President kept charging rape victims for the exams while mayor in Wasilla, Alaska. Her extremist view point on the subject matches his and was illegal at the time to boot.
Colorado Representative Christine Scanlan (D-Summit County) went to Washington D.C. with Jeff Jahnke, the director of the Colorado State Forest Service, to impress upon Colorado Congresspersons that the lodgepole pine beetle problem is continuing with minimal federal resources to help deal with it. My comments on this below.
A few things here. First, while I appreciate Rep. Scanlan’s efforts to keep attention on the subject, I don’t know if she’s overreacting somewhat to the problem. After my discussions with Wilderness Society folk at the DNC, I’m not sure there are many things humans can do about the problem – it’s simply too widespread and at its core, its mostly a natural process. As long as the response concentrates on ensuring existing human infrastructure is protected and maintained, I’m fine with that. Second, our Congressional delegation had better be aware of the problem. Rep. Udall sponsored two bills, H.R. 5216 and H.R. 5218 (and I’ve written about them here and here). At this point, it’s quite ridiculous that the bills haven’t moved in a Democratic-controlled House. I wouldn’t expect them to move in the Senate due to the Republicans’ public acknowledgement that they’re there to show how little government can get done, but the House is a different matter. Perhaps Rep. Scanlan’s visit will assist these bills’ progress prior to this Congress’ adjournment in a few weeks. Third, as much of a problem as the beetle kill is, I still question where the resources are going to come from to do anything. $208.3 million was identified as a number by Rick Cables, Chief Forester for the Rocky Mountain Region. He knows what it would take far better than I, but I wonder if that’s going to be enough, given the Forest Service’s already sad state of funding and its incredible backlog.
Pingback: Science and Energy News: 9/26/08 « Weatherdem’s Weblog
October 13, 2009 at 1:43 am
This invests the opposition, and its struggle to replace the government, with apparent legitimacy, while undermining the legitimacy of the government under attack. ,