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A national speed limit of 55 MPH?
An influential Republican senator suggested Thursday that Congress might want to consider reimposing a national speed limit to save gasoline and possibly ease fuel prices.
Sen. John Warner, R-Va., asked Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman to look into what speed limit would provide optimum gasoline efficiency given current technology. He said he wants to know if the administration might support efforts in Congress to require a lower speed limit.
Congress in 1974 set a national 55 mph speed limit because of energy shortages caused by the Arab oil embargo. The speed limit was repealed in 1995 when crude oil dipped to $17 a barrel and gasoline cost $1.10 a gallon.
As motorists headed on trips for this Fourth of July weekend, gasoline averaged $4.10 a gallon nationwide with oil hovering around $145 a barrel.
Warner cited studies that showed the 55 mph speed limit saved 167,000 barrels of oil a day, or 2 percent of the country's highway fuel consumption, while avoiding up to 4,000 traffic deaths a year. An influential Republican senator suggested Thursday that Congress might want to consider reimposing a national speed limit to save ga... more -
Real Talk Poets
Poets from every where feature Go Hard Entertainment
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Obama got discount on home loan
Shortly after joining the U.S. Senate and while enjoying a surge in income, Barack Obama bought a $1.65 million restored Georgian mansion in an upscale Chicago neighborhood. To finance the purchase, he secured a $1.32 million loan from Northern Trust in Illinois.
The freshman Democratic senator received a discount. He locked in an interest rate of 5.625 percent on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, below the average for such loans at the time in Chicago. The loan was unusually large, known in banker lingo as a "super super jumbo." Obama paid no origination fee or discount points, as some consumers do to reduce their interest rates.
Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt said the rate was adjusted to account for a competing offer from another lender and other factors. "The Obamas have since had as much as $3 million invested through Northern Trust," he said in a statement.
Shortly after joining the U.S. Senate and while enjoying a surge in income, Barack Obama bought a $1.65 million restored Georgian mans... more -
Army Releases Controversial Report Faulting Plan in Iraq
In essence, the study is an attempt by the Army to tell the story of one of the most contentious periods in its history to military experts — and to itself.
In 2005, the RAND Corporation submitted a report to the Army, called “Rebuilding Iraq,” that identified problems with virtually every government agency that played a role in planning the postwar phase.
The study’s authors were instructed not to shy away from controversy while withholding a final verdict on whether senior officials had made mistakes that decisively altered the course of the war, said Col. Timothy R. Reese, the director of the Combat Studies Institute at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., who, along with Donald Wright, a civilian historian at the institute, oversaw the volume’s preparation.
“I can remember asking the question during our war gaming and the development of our plan, ‘O.K., we are in Baghdad, what next?’ No real good answers came forth,” Col. Thomas G. Torrance, the commander of the Third Infantry Division’s artillery, told Army historians. In essence, the study is an attempt by the Army to tell the story of one of the most contentious periods in its history to military ex... more -
Ecstasy Is the Key to Treating PTSD
At last the incurably traumatized may be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. And controversially, ecstasy may be key to taming their demons.
By Amy Turner, The Times of London UK.
At last the incurably traumatized may be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. And controversially, the key to taming their demons is the 'killer' drug Ecstasy
An Ecstasy tablet. That's what it took to make Donna Kilgore feel alive again that and the doctor who prescribed it. As the pill began to take effect, she giggled for the first time in ages. She felt warm and fuzzy, as if she was floating. The anxiety melted away. Gradually, it all became clear: the guilt, the anger, the shame.
Before, she'd been frozen, unable to feel anything but fear for 10 years. Touching her own arms was, she says, "like touching a corpse." She was terrified, unable to respond to her loving husband or rock her baby to sleep. She couldn't drive over bridges for fear of dying, was by turns uncontrollably angry and paralyzed with numbness. When she spoke, she heard her voice as if it were miles away; her head felt detached from her body. "It was like living in a movie but watching myself through the camera lens,"she says. "I wasn't real." (continued...)
Unknowingly, Donna, now 39, had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). And she would become the first subject in a pioneering American research program to test the effects of MDMA otherwise known as the dancefloor drug Ecstasy on PTSD sufferers. At last the incurably traumatized may be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. And controversially, ecstasy may be key to taming ... more -
TAKE ACTION: Tell Congresss to Stand Up and Check the Balance
In exactly two weeks, we are going to find out whether members of Congress have any respect for the institution they represent. We will see whether they have the courage to stand up to the Bush administration and defend the Constitution they took an oath to protect. Specifically, we will discover whether they are willing to take the measures necessary to ensure that Bush administration officials testify before Congress.
On July 10, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing to investigate the firings of nine U.S. Attorneys in 2006 and the questionable prosecution and imprisonment of former Alabama governor Don Siegelman. Karl Rove, a potentially key figure in both incidents, has been issued a subpoena to testify before the committee. Rove's lawyer has said that Rove will not appear.
Congress has a few options here. First, if Rove fails to appear, they could pass criminal contempt charges against him, as they did against White House chief of staff Josh Bolten and former White House counsel Harriet Miers. This is good, but will not result in immediate testimony.
The second option is to have Karl Rove arrested, under the theory of inherent contempt, and brought to Congress to testify. This is better, but may still be eventually unsatisfying if Rove ends up testifying yet asserts executive privilege repeatedly in order to avoid disclosing important information.
Another option - and the one supported by the American Freedom Campaign Action Fund - is to tell the president immediately that he will be impeached if members of his administration do not provide full testimony before Congress by a date certain in July. This has historical precedent as one of the three articles of impeachment ultimately brought against President Richard Nixon was based on his refusal to comply with congressional subpoenas.
The final option is to do nothing and set a precedent for the future by which any administration can claim that Congress does not have the ability to force executive branch officials to testify before Congress. This would be an affront to our Constitution and Congress is dancing perilously close to this line already.
We cannot allow Congress to become subservient to the executive branch. It must exert its oversight authority and force administration officials to testify. Please tell your U.S. representative to take whatever steps are necessary to compel testimony.
Thank you for sharing your feelings with your U.S. representative.
Steve
Steve Fox
Campaign Director
American Freedom Campaign Action Fund
I got the email a week ago. Sign petitions, send emails, and mail letters. heres links to legislators and bills.
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/
http://www.house.gov/
http://catalog.loc.gov/ In exactly two weeks, we are going to find out whether members of Congress have any respect for the institution they represent. We wi... more -
Barack Obama's team: Real change?
The people on Barack Obama's political team seems to have very similar ideas to politicians in power today. Is this change we can believe in?
Hopefully Barack Obama is not like them. The people on Barack Obama's political team seems to have very similar ideas to politicians in power today. Is this change we can beli... more -
Current.com sponsored 2008 Woodstock
Here is an idea, why don't we have a Current.com sponsored 2008 Woodstock of sorts.
I think that having a concert by some famous kick ass musicians and comedians sponsored by current would be sick. Think Woodstock but today, have the best musicians from not just each genre but of each era. The point is to bring as many of these like minded individuals TOGETHER as we can. We can do that by having a concert where all of our favorite musicians are gathered!
Think of it like this; I am 25 and like most people my age I listen or know a little bit about the Joplin’s, Hendrix’s, the Marley's the Al Greene’s on up to today’s politically astute musicians: Rage Against the Machine, Dave Mathews, Nas, Outkast, and Jay-Z. But society likes to separate us, so we need to show each other that we all are more similar than we think.
And that if we just LISTEN to each other’s music, really listen without judging or stereotyping we can then see that we are ALL saying the SAME things. Our message is the same; we want better governance.
Even if we cannot get the best talent by having a concert with a crazy line up is bound to give Current.com some awesome exposure.
The political atmosphere is ripe, these are the times!!!
(our ships surrounding Iran, our solar energy frozen and our hard earned tax dollars being spent wastefully, while our national debt grows higher and higher)
Vote for this to show Current.com staff our genuine enthusiasm!!!
Here is an idea, why don't we have a Current.com sponsored 2008 Woodstock of sorts. ... more -
Glen Beck: Kill Gitmo Suspects
GLENN BECK: We're going to shoot them all in the head. If we think that they are against us, we're going to shoot them and kill them, period. GLENN BECK: We're going to shoot them all in the head. If we think that they are against us, we're going to shoot them and kill them, ... more
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Ron Paul calls for march in DC on July 12
Ron Paul encourages all Americans to come to Washington D.C. on Saturday July 12th for the Revolution rally. There will be many good speakers like G Edward Griffin, Naomi Wolfe, Dr Chuck Baldwin and many others. Ron Paul encourages all Americans to come to Washington D.C. on Saturday July 12th for the Revolution rally. There will be many good s... more
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Ron Paul on war with Iran
Ron Paul discusses why it is wrong to go to war with Iran.
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