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Challenges for the Next Green President
Here is just a spattering of what awaits the next Administration:
– Climate Change. Throughout our nation’s history, for all pieces of crucial legislation (the 1933 National Recovery Act, the 1964 Civil Rights Act), there was a fleeting legislative moment. That moment is here for climate change. The scientific evidence is overwhelming, the inter-generational impacts make action a moral imperative. Waiting is just not an option. The Bush Administration squandered the last decade. The Obama or McCain Administration cannot squander the next.
– Natural Resources. Where to start? The Bush White House declared open season on the nation’s resources. There was the Orwellian “Healthy Forest Initiative” that reduced wildlife protection, open contempt for the Endangered Species Act, repeal of the Roadless Rule protecting public lands, a U.S. Navy sonar assault on whales, and a “stream buffer rule” allowing Appalachian hilltop mining. Repair of these and many more offenses will require an Interior Secretary of historical significance (think Gifford Pinchot).
– Public Health. OSHA has been decimated, with only one new standard issued in eight years. Permissible exposure levels for numerous contaminants were weakened in the workplace, drinking water and air. We had lead in toys, formaldehyde in trailers, and biphenyl in baby bottles - as well as pathogens in our spinach, lettuce, beef, and now tomatoes. Most American public health statutes are woefully outdated and in need of complete overhaul, starting with the Toxics Substances Control Act (”TSCA”).
– Water. From Georgia to California, climate change is bringing increased drought and water shortages (and ironically, elsewhere flooding). T. Boone Pickens is now buying up most of the aquifers north of Dallas for good reason. Salmon and other fish are disappearing in droves (if fish travel in droves). In cities, the most favored solution to drinking water shortages seems to be recycling sewer water - shades of Solvent Green. Current water policies, such as providing subsidized irrigation water to agri-business giants, need fundamental reform.
– Global Reach. The greatest environmental threats at home now are from abroad. Nearly half the mercury in Midwestern lakes comes from Chinese coal fire power plants. China’s global warming gas emissions now exceed the U.S. From food to pharmaceuticals, imported consumer products present unnecessary health risks. Through far more aggressive trade policies and tougher domestic laws — on what is allowed within our shores and within our stores — we can better protect both the planet and our own citizens.
This election season, there will be no ducking (no pun intended) the environment. Both Obama and McCain will be required to address — with specifics — how they will clean up the Bush mess - and, where they intend to lead the country. FDR had his New Deal in the 1930’s. What is the Obama or McCain Green Deal for 2008? Are their promises of change real or illusory?
If fate and the voters give us President McCain, one hopes for the leadership of Republican Teddy Roosevelt, not the “wink and nod” environmentalism of either Bush. If it’s President Obama, one hopes for the political skill of Lyndon Johnson — since that and more will be required to navigate the Washington, DC special interest thicket. The essential question both will need to answer was posed nearly a half century ago — by Rachel Carson: “Man’s attitude toward nature is today critically important simply because we now have acquired the fateful power to alter and destroy nature. The question is whether any civilization can wage relentless war on life without destroying itself.”
Here is just a spattering of what awaits the next Administration: ... more -
Obama Tours Israel, Meets Barak
The Democratic nominee-in-waiting is on a tour of the Mideast and Europe, a journey financed by his campaign and designed to reassure skeptical voters back home of his ability to serve as commander in chief. The Democratic nominee-in-waiting is on a tour of the Mideast and Europe, a journey financed by his campaign and designed to reassure ... more
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John McCain's Neverending War
John Mccain 2002 to the present his stance on war and his flip flop. be the judge.
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Politics of Fear and Hatred
Posted by Senator Kevin Bryant on his blog at www.kevinbryant.com
His response for putting up this hate-fueled picture is even more appalling than the picture itself:
“It was meant tongue in cheek. I’ve got some questions about Senator Obama’s ties to — such as his comment that we should negotiate with Iran. Iran’s a country that would like to destroy Israel, that bothers me. But is this picture appropriate? I don’t know.”
“You know, blogs are for satire and whatnot and, um, that’s why it’s up. It’s similar to the New Yorker picture. Maybe that’s why this has gotten so much attention, because of that thing that came out a couple days ago.”
Do Republicans not see that this sort of fear-mongering will backfire in the fall? Posted by Senator Kevin Bryant on his blog at www.kevinbryant.com ... more -
McCain indicates US troops could withdraw in 2 years
"BUFFALO, New York, July 21 (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain appeared to leave a door open on Monday to a large-scale drawdown of U.S. troops from Iraq in the next two years.
McCain, who has wrapped up his party's White House nomination, has long argued against setting a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal.
But the discussion on troop levels has shifted in recent days after Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki seemed to endorse Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's call for troops to be gone within 16 months of his taking office. "BUFFALO, New York, July 21 (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain appeared to leave a door open on Monday to a lar... more -
McCain: SECRETS
Presidential hopeful spills the beans and tells us the darkest secrets of his past.
Will this cost him the election? Only time will tell.
FYI - This is a bit on Conan O'Brien
Click the link or picture to see the video. Presidential hopeful spills the beans and tells us the darkest secrets of his past. ... more -
McCain owns first foreign policy gaffe during Obama's Iraq trip
As Barack Obama began his trip to the Middle East and Europe, the media was already speculating about the possibility of a gaffe. Obama's travel "carries political risk," the New York Times reported, "particularly if Mr. Obama makes a mistake."
But the only foreign policy error made in the last few days came this morning on ABC's Good Morning America, when John McCain made ANOTHER geography gaffe while trying to criticize Obama's visit to Iraq. (Just last week, McCain repeatedly referred to Czechoslovakia, a country that hasn't existed since 1993.)
Asked by Diane Sawyer whether the "the situation in Afghanistan in precarious and urgent," McCain responded: "I think it's serious. . . . It's a serious situation, but there's a lot of things we need to do. We have a lot of work to do and I'm afraid it's a very hard struggle, particularly given the situation on the Iraq/Pakistan border."
But as ABC's Rick Klein noted: "Iraq and Pakistan do not share a border. Afghanistan and Pakistan do."
As Barack Obama began his trip to the Middle East and Europe, the media was already speculating about the possibility of a gaffe. Obam... more -
Zimbabwe Rivals Sign Agreement
Zimbabwe’s feuding political leaders appeared jointly for the first time in years on Monday to sign a preliminary agreement laying out terms for negotiations to wrest their land out of political chaos.
The ceremony brought together President Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. News reports said the two men had not met for a decade, when Mr. Tsvangirai was a labor union leader before he emerged as the head of the main opposition group in 1999.
While the so-called Memorandum of Understanding was a modest step in light of Zimbabwe’s chaos and collapse, the sight of Mr. Mugabe in the same room as Mr. Tsvangirai seemed a dramatic departure from their land’s more usual images of political bloodletting, electoral rigging and economic ruin.
The two men did not shake hands, according to news reports.
The ceremony in a Harare hotel was overseen by Thabo Mbeki, the president of neighboring South Africa who labored for months as a mediator, defying critics who said his efforts merely gave Mr. Mugabe time to outwit his opponents. Mr. Mbeki sat between the two men as they signed, Reuters reported from Harare.
The agreement “commits the negotiating parties to an intense program of work to try and finalize negotiations as quickly as possible,” Mr. Mbeki said, without giving details.
Mr. Tsvangirai said the accord was “the first tentative step towards searching for a solution for a country that is in crisis.”
Mr. Tsvangirai had grown increasingly hostile to Mr. Mbeki’s mediation, saying the South African leader was biased in favor of Mr. Mugabe. But the mood shifted last week when Mr. Mbeki agreed to a role for the African Union, the United Nations and a 14-nation grouping of southern African nations.
The ceremony on Monday offered Mr. Mbeki some vindication for his efforts and provided ammunition to justify his resistance to demands by the United States and Britain for punitive sanctions against Mr. Mugabe and his close supporters.
Mr. Mbeki flew to Harare on Monday as word emerged of the agreement to sign a preliminary agreement setting out the framework for negotiating a substantive agreement.
In a telephone interview, Ronnie Mamoepa, the South African Foreign Ministry spokesman, called the occasion a “positive step forward in the ongoing dialogue.”
Analysts in Zimbabwe said the toughest issues would not be addressed until full negotiations got underway between deeply opposed and mutually hostile political figures seen by many analysts as unlikely partners in a power-sharing agreement of the kind that emerged earlier this year from Kenya’s post-election bloodletting.
Under that power-sharing arrangement the authorities created a post of prime minister for Raila Odinga, the main challenger to President Mwai Kibaki.
... Zimbabwe’s feuding political leaders appeared jointly for the first time in years on Monday to sign a preliminary agreement laying out... more -
Chavez Goes Weapons Shopping in Russia Amid Arms Race (Update2)
July 21 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez heads to Moscow today to shop for air defense systems, submarines and other weaponry as Latin America's arms race quickens amid signs that his regional influence is waning.
Past Venezuelan arms purchases from Russia have strengthened ties with Moscow as its rivalry with the U.S. intensifies over President George W. Bush's plans for an Eastern Europe missile defense system and other issues. Chavez, 53, also plans to visit Belarus, a Russian ally that the U.S. considers a dictatorship.
Chavez ``regularly refers to us as an `empire,' opposes our initiatives in the Americas and seeks out our adversaries as friends and allies,'' Assistant U.S. Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Thomas Shannon said July 17 in testimony to a congressional committee.
Chavez will order $2 billion worth of weapons, including Project 636 diesel subs, Mi-28 combat helicopters and airplanes made by Ilyushin Co., the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported May 12, without saying how it obtained the information. The Russian Interfax news service, citing an unnamed defense ministry official, said today Chavez may order $1 billion of weapons, including three Varshavyanka subs and up to 20 Tor-M1 air-defense systems.
`Some Shock'
``What Chavez likes to do is to shock, and this will create some shock in Washington,'' said Riordan Roett, a professor of Latin American studies at Johns Hopkins University.
Chavez, who plans to meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev tomorrow, has bought more than $4.4 billion of Russian arms since 2003. He says the hardware, including jets and submarines, is needed to counter a military threat from the U.S. and its main regional ally, Colombia.
Russia last year announced plans to build two factories to make Kalashnikov assault rifles in Venezuela.
Russia has used Venezuela to diversify its arms-selling business beyond China and India, said Dmitry Vasiliev, an analyst at the Center for the Analysis of Strategies & Technologies, a Moscow-based defense research center. Venezuela was Russia's third-biggest arms customer last year, he said.
Trade between the two countries surged to $1.13 billion in 2007 from $517 million the previous year, according to a statement published on the Venezuelan Information Ministry's Web site.
`Ideal Partner'
``Russia is trying to be good friends with Chavez because he is an ideal partner in arms trade,'' said Fyodor Lukyanov, an analyst at the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy in Moscow.
The Venezuelan president said this month he'll also discuss the creation of a joint development bank and an investment fund with Russia.
Latin American countries have gone on a military spending spree in recent years as their governments collect record income from commodities, including Venezuela's oil windfall. Regional arms spending jumped 55 percent over four years to $38.4 billion in 2007, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies
July 21 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez heads to Moscow today to shop for air defense systems, submarines and other we... more -
Obama Raises $25 Million in one day
The AP reports that Barack Obama reversed a two-month downward trend by raising more and spending less. He took in $52 million in June, more than twice the nearly $21.5 million raised by John McCain. Obama had $72 million cash on hand to McCain's $27 million.
The Politico points out that Obama raised $25 million on the last day of June alone:
His one-day haul represents nearly half of his monthly total and more than Republican rival John McCain generated for the entire month. During the month, McCain did not have a single day in which he raised a million dollars.
The AP reports that Barack Obama reversed a two-month downward trend by raising more and spending less. He took in $52 million in June... more -
Where Does Obama Stand On Iraq ? Please Tell Me !!!
Just Another Politician thinking most Americans are stupid. !!!
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A briefer on where candidates stand on the issues
This website is great because you can browse by issue or person and get a basic outline of what they believe, what they voted for, even quotes and interviews about where they stand. A good way to find out info or remind yourself where your candidate stands. Enjoy! This website is great because you can browse by issue or person and get a basic outline of what they believe, what they voted for, eve... more
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Do Presidents need to understand the Internet?
"Asked earlier this year if he uses a Mac or PC, McCain replied: "Neither. I'm an illiterate who has to rely on my wife for all the assistance I can get." The running McCain-doesn't-get-the-Web meme climbed a steeper hill nearly a month ago when a McCain aide -- his deputy eCampaign director, no less -- told a bipartisan gathering of online political activists: "John McCain is aware of the Internet." And last Sunday, in an interview with the New York Times, McCain said he doesn't e-mail.
Said Michael Turk, who ran President Bush's eCampaign team in 2004 before joining the Republican National Committee as its eCampaign director: "While I don't believe they disqualify him from being president, these comments do play into the hands of those who say McCain is too old to be president. He has essentially said he's too old a dog to learn new tricks -- to understand and adapt to the way the world now communicates."
Matt Lewis of Townhall.com, the popular conservative site, said that while "we're not hiring a blogger in chief, but the leader of the free world ... the real danger for McCain is that this narrative isn't really about technology -- it's an excuse to talk about his age.""
So what's the deal- as the internet evolves, is McCain just a dinosaur waiting to be extinct? Does the next President of the US need to have basic knowledge of technology to really understand his country?
"Asked earlier this year if he uses a Mac or PC, McCain replied: "Neither. I'm an illiterate who has to rely on my wife for all the as... more -
John McCain and Martin Luther King
John McCain received many kudos for addressing the NAACP, but unfortunately the gap between words and actions are vast for the candidate. Check out his voting record on civil rights issues in this video. John McCain received many kudos for addressing the NAACP, but unfortunately the gap between words and actions are vast for the candida... more
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Obama $52 Million Haul in June
There is a sense of elation in the Obama campaign as it was announced that their candidate raised $52 million in June. It's a massive haul for the presumptive Democratic nominee -- $3 million short of the historic mark he hit earlier in the cycle but much larger than the $22 million that John McCain brought in this past month.
The majority of donations, Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe wrote in an email to supporters, were of the small variety, with the average amount being $68.
An aide to the Senator was ecstatic when asked about the June numbers and said of an earlier Wall Street Journal report that Obama had raised "only" around $30 million: the paper is "embarrassed."
Greg Sargent at Talking Points Memo noted that the June haul puts Obama on track to achieve his goal of raising $300 million during the entirety of the general election - a total needed to match the likely loot of McCain and the RNC. And yet, Obama and his allies at the DNC still lag behind their counterparts. The Democrats have $72 million on hand, compared to the roughly $100 million brought in by the GOP.
"We remain at a massive disadvantage to our opponents," Plouffe wrote in an email before asking for additional $25 donations. "As I mentioned in my video message earlier in the week, the McCain Campaign and the Republican National Committee finished June with nearly $100 million in the bank.
We can't stop now. It's going to take everything we've got to defeat John McCain and his allies in November."
There is a sense of elation in the Obama campaign as it was announced that their candidate raised $52 million in June. It's a massive ... more -
Obama Pledges to Focus on Eliminating Nuclear Stockpiles
"Barack Obama pledged Wednesday to place new emphasis on ridding the world of nuclear weapons if he is elected president, warning that nuclear terrorism is the “gravest danger” facing the country.
“It’s time to send a clear message to the world: America seeks a world with no nuclear weapons,” Obama said"
(Except of course, for us!)
"The John McCain campaign issued a statement saying the trip represented a “much more realistic approach than engaging in the unilateral cowboy summitry advocated by Senator Obama.”"
Is a world without nuclear weapons possible?
"Barack Obama pledged Wednesday to place new emphasis on ridding the world of nuclear weapons if he is elected president, warning that... more -
Running for Office, XKCD style
"Running for Office: It's Like A Flamewar with a Forum Troll, but with an Eventual Winner"
Sean Tevis is running for State Legislature, to fight for Open Government, Personal Privacy, Real Science Standards, Tax Reforms, and Internet Freedoms. Hot. And he needs your donation to make it happen. He's asking for just $8.34, and he's created a hillarious XKCD-style cartoon to explain why. "Running for Office: It's Like A Flamewar with a Forum Troll, but with an Eventual Winner" ... more -
McCain looks to attract black voters
John McCain will look to make much needed gains among black voters when he speaks before the NAACP conference in Cincinnati, Ohio today. The Republican candidate has a meagre 2% approval rating amongst black voters.
He is expected to focus his speech on education, and to say that "the worst problems of our public school system are often found in black communities." He will attempt to win support by promising a new approach to the issue of the historically low 'African-American' college attendance record, and pledge to allow parents to "pick which school their children attend" if elected.
In an earlier address, Barack Obama said that all Americans had to "seize more responsibility" in their own lives. John McCain will look to make much needed gains among black voters when he speaks before the NAACP conference in Cincinnati, Ohio toda... more -
Barack Obama tries to repair a PR blunder, but 2 days too late
He's been a quick learner. But it's too late this time for the Democrat who wants to move into the White House next January. And then get his kids a dog.
As our Swamp colleagues report here, Barack Obama finally commented last night on the highly controversial Muslim cover of this week's New Yorker magazine. And he said all the right things. But he was about 54 hours tardy.
The controversial New Yorker magazine cover showing Barack Obama as a Muslim and his wife Michelle as a liberation fighter 72108
Sunday, as soon as the elitist magazine released its provocative cartoon cover, Obama declined comment, not wanting to elevate it to something important enough for a candidate to speak on. Fine. But, as The Ticket promptly reported here, advisors still sent out his communications director, Bill Burton, to denounce it:
"The New Yorker may think, as one of their staff explained to us, that their cover is a satirical lampoon of the caricature Sen. Obama's right-wing critics have tried to create. But most readers will see it as tasteless and offensive. And we agree."
The McCain campaign immediately (and ultimately self-servingly) issued a similar statement quoting Tucker Bounds as saying, "We completely agree with the Obama campaign. It's tasteless and offensive."
The cover of this week's New Yorker magazine depicts Obama in one-piece Muslim garb and headdress fist-bumping his booted, Afro-wearing wife Michelle in camo clothes with an AK-47 and ammo-belt slung over her shoulder beneath a portrait of Osama bin Laden while the American flag burns in the fireplace -- in the presidential Oval Office. Other than that, nothing particularly....
...incendiary in an election year full of rumors about the freshman senator's little-known past.
The cartoon has every detail that an intellectual magazine would think makes perfectly obvious over-the-top satire. And every detail that the Obama campaign would like the world not to think about or associate with its guy.
Denouncing it Sunday was an instinctive act. Genuine, to be sure. But really dumb damage control.
It was a huge PR mistake by a campaign that doesn't make many. The denunciations by both presidential campaigns accomplished one thing: They pushed a simple cartoon to the top of most-searched terms online and the top of the news lists of countless online sites, commenters, cable news shows, commentators and network TV newscasts for more than two days. No doubt it also helped the bottom line, boosting New Yorker single-copy sales this week. ... more -
Countdown: How Similar Are McCain and Bush on the Iraq War
If you missed last night Countdown on MSNBC, Rachel Maddow (in for Keith Olbermann) gave a retrospective on how McCain has supported Bush on the war in Iraq for many years. Although he has recently stated that he has been disagreeing with Bush's strategy, Countdown shows he has been a strong Bush supporter for a long time.
Such expose does not really help McCain's case since he has been trying so much to differentiate himself from Bush... If you missed last night Countdown on MSNBC, Rachel Maddow (in for Keith Olbermann) gave a retrospective on how McCain has supported B... more
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