Underwhelmed
Would be how I describe John McCain’s Speech.
Yup, that’s about how I felt. Dear republicans, please realize that John McCain in no cares about the vast majority of you. He will make your lives worse, and he is exactly (almost) a copy of G.W.B. Who by the way, also fucked over almost all of you. If you are a rich, (really rich) person, yes vote for John McCain, otherwise you are better off voting for Obama.
Just saying.
Why Is It That Comedians Are The Only Ones With Any Sense?
Seriously…why did McCain pick this woman? There are plenty of more qualified women in the Republican party…
Hurricanes And OffShore Drilling Don’t Mix
The following letter is from Mark Floegel Senior Researcher for Greenpeace.
Just three years after Katrina, Hurricane Gustav has hit the Gulf coast, leaving a great deal of damage in its wake. My heart goes out to everyone affected by this storm, and I hope the recovery efforts will be swift for those in the storm’s path.
I was in New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina to document the environmental destruction it caused: the oil spills, chemical spills, and wetlands destruction.
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused “six major, five medium, and over 5,000 minor oil and hazmat” spills, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. An estimated nine million gallons of oil were spilled, and that estimate does not even include the 5,000 minor spills. I saw many of the oil spills Katrina caused first-hand, and I know there is a serious risk of ecological devastation in the wake of Gustav, which plowed through more than 4,000 offshore drilling platforms and 33,000 miles of pipeline in the Gulf.
Along with its human and environmental impacts, the trashing of oil rigs in the Gulf can have economic consequences, too, as an interruption in production can lead to a spike in gas prices.
But despite the obvious risks that offshore drilling pose to our nation’s beaches, our economy, wildlife, and ecosystems, there is a major political push for more offshore drilling right now in Congress. Even if we didn’t learn our lesson from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Hurricane Gustav and the hurricanes following in his wake should demonstrate once and for all that offshore drilling is not a secure energy plan for America. We don’t need more drilling in the Gulf of Mexico or off the coasts of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, which are also frequent targets of hurricanes. California’s earthquake-prone coast isn’t a good place for offshore rigs either and the threat to wildlife and pristine oceans in Alaska is reason enough to ban drilling there, too.
Offshore drilling isn’t a solution to our dependence on foreign oil and high energy prices. Our oil addiction can only be cured by changing the way we find and use energy. The only energy investments we should be making are in clean, renewable sources like wind and solar that we can produce right here in the United States. We’ll need an automobile fleet with much higher gas mileage and a move toward electric cars. All of this is possible today if there is a will in Congress and in corporate board rooms.
TAKE ACTION NOW! Say no to more rigs, no to more oil spills, and no to more global warming.
Right now, the U.S. Minerals Management Service is accepting public comments on its new 5-year drilling plan that would open up more of our coasts to oil drilling. Tell the government to keep our coastal waters safe and oppose new offshore drilling.
You can help lead the charge for real solutions, not false remedies that waste precious time in the fight to curb the most serious impacts of global warming.
Sincerely,
Mark Floegel
Senior Researcher
Don’t Belive The Hype, McCain Is Not A Green Candidate
While I myself have been very critical of Obama’s energy policy (I feel it doesn’t go far or fast enough and still contained dangerous concessions to big agra, and big coal) it is still on balance MUCH better than McCain’s. I never understood why people thought McCain was a “green” candidate, but I am glad that they are starting to change their minds.
With his choice of Sarah Palin — the Alaska governor who has advocated drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and does not believe mankind is playing any role in climate change — for vice president, John McCain has completed his makeover from the greenest Republican to run for president to just another representative of big oil.
Given the fact that Senator McCain deliberately avoided voting on all eight attempts to pass a bill extending the vital tax credits and production subsidies to expand our wind and solar industries, and given his support for lowering the gasoline tax in a reckless giveaway that would only promote more gasoline consumption and intensify our addiction to oil, and given his desire to make more oil-drilling, not innovation around renewable energy, the centerpiece of his energy policy — in an effort to mislead voters that support for drilling today would translate into lower prices at the pump today — McCain has forfeited any claim to be a green candidate.
So please, students, when McCain comes to your campus and flashes a few posters of wind turbines and solar panels, ask him why he has been AWOL when it came to Congress supporting these new technologies.
“Back in June, the Republican Party had a round-up,” said Carl Pope, the executive director of the Sierra Club. “One of the unbranded cattle — a wizened old maverick name John McCain — finally got roped. Then they branded him with a big ‘Lazy O’ — George Bush’s brand, where the O stands for oil. No more maverick.(via)
Four words. Don’t Believe The Hype. This man, if he ever was, is no longer a maverick. He has gotten all his little republican ducks in a little conservative row and is now fully committed to doing the same dumb bullshit that we have suffered through for the last 8 years.
He himself has said he doesn’t understand economics. He has gone on to prove this point by missing the boat when it comes to renewable energy innovation.
Why? Because renewable energy technologies — what I call “E.T.” — are going to constitute the next great global industry. They will rival and probably surpass “I.T.” — information technology. The country that spawns the most E.T. companies will enjoy more economic power, strategic advantage and rising standards of living. We need to make sure that is America. Big oil and OPEC want to make sure it is not.
Palin’s nomination for vice president and her desire to allow drilling in the Alaskan wilderness “reminded me of a lunch I had three and half years ago with one of the Russian trade attachés,” global trade consultant Edward Goldberg said to me. “After much wine, this gentleman told me that his country was very pleased that the Bush administration wanted to drill in the Alaskan wilderness. In his opinion, the amount of product one could actually derive from there was negligible in terms of needs. However, it signified that the Bush administration was not planning to do anything to create alternative energy, which of course would threaten the economic growth of Russia.”(via)
So there you go, failing to develop strong renewable energy technologies will doom America to the economic “might have beens” of the future. Now is not the time to allow old ideas to carry us forward for the next four years. While it kills me to endorse Obama over my first choice (Dennis I still love you!), I must. Obama or bust America.
Palin As VP, Cheap Political Ploy…
Once again these guys have it more right than anyone else.
Juneau, Now in Political Theaters Nationwide
because we can't make this shit up.
If you are a anti-choice, abstinence only, far right wing conservative, who happens to be running for VP, and your daughter gets preggers when she is 17…you can’t claim that its a personal matter. These are the same people that want to pass laws that decide for the rest of the nation what is taught in school, and what a woman can do with her own body. I say we roast them as the hypocrites that they are. Family values my ass, how about a little science, as in “daughter you do know that sperm and egg combine to make babies right?”
Ohh sorry we only taught you not to have sex, not what would happen if you did. Our bad. Don’t even think about having an abortion, even though you are way to young to take care of this kid, and yes you must marry the guy who got you like this, even if you don’t like him, because we are conservative and doing anything else would ruin our political chances for the White House…oh America wake up
Just How Close Did We Come To Another Katrina
This close…
A lot of people are very thankful that Gustav was a cat 2 and not a cat 4 like it could have been, those levee’s don’t look like they could have taken much more. I am glad the city didn’t flood, and I can only hope that everyone makes it though the rest of the season unscathed, but this raises a series of very hard to answer questions. Is it wise to build that close to the sea, and that low, especially when you throw global warming induced weather and sea level into the mix? Are levee’s enough? Do we need to restore wetlands? Has the federal government and local government done enough to secure the people of this region? I don’t know the answer to all of these, but those pictures paint a very very uncertain future for this region and this city.
Bush Administration Is Strangling Federal Science Funding
Do we want people who think this way teaching science class?
In what I can only assume is an attempt by the people that believe god created man in 6 days, and that polar bears will learn to fly once the ice melts, the Bush administration has failed once again to maintain strong funding for science in this country.
Federal funding of academic science and engineering research and development (R&D) failed to outpace inflation for the second year in a row, according to recently released fiscal year (FY) 2007 data from the National Science Foundation (NSF). If we can’t even provide funding that will outpace inflation how do we expect to stay competative in a global economy? I am sorry but a bunch of poorly educated right wing morons that can’t even figure out the theory of evolution (either because they are too stupid, or too blinded by their religion) are not going to keep America at the top of the technology list. This administration has done more than slash funding, they are in an all out war against science.
The data from NSF’s Survey of Research and Development Expenditures at Universities and Colleges showed an increase in federally funded expenditures of 1.1 percent in current dollars to $30.4 billion, but after adjusting for inflation, the number signified a 1.6 percent decline from FY 2006 R&D expenditures. This decline follows a 0.2 percent decline between FY 2005 and FY 2006. A two-year decline in federal funding in constant dollars is unprecedented for this 35 year data series.
Traditionally, the federal government has been the largest source of academic R&D funding, accounting for more than 60 percent of total R&D expenditures in most years. Although this is still the case, the share recently decreased, from 64 percent in FY 2005 to 62 percent in FY 2007. Before you get all free market on me, remember that government funding for science research has lead to the development of the internet, GPS and satellite technology, medical advances, engineering advances, and pretty much everything you enjoy in your life being better than it was 50 years ago.
Overall, R&D expenditures related to science and engineering reported by universities was $49.4 billion in FY 2007. Combined sources of nonfederal funding grew by 7.8 percent in FY 2007, or 5 percent in inflation-adjusted dollars with noteworthy increases in R&D funding from industry. While this sounds like a good thing, that private industry is stepping up to fill the hole that federal government has created, remember that when private industry runs things, they run them to benefit themselves. Do you really think that some big company is going to give money to a scientist to figure something out if it doesn’t fit into their business model? If an advancement will not benefit that company (even if it would benefit humanity) they wont fund it. Federal dollars can be applied to all forms of science, not just the ones that make someone a lot of money.
And you should too.
But even if industry is picking up the slack lately they don’t have a great track record of filling in the gaps. For three consecutive years between FY 2001 and FY 2004, industry funding declined Only in FY 2007 did funding grow 11.2 percent to $2.7 billion.
Luckily the states are also filling in the gaps left by federal government, state and local government funding of R&D expenditures grew by 6.1 percent in FY 2007, increasing to $3.1 billion. Funding from academic institutions increased 6.6 percent in FY 2007 to $9.7 billion. Funding from all other sources combined, including nonprofit organizations and other nongovernmental entities, increased 10.0% to $3.5 billion.
Industry, the states, and other nonprofit industry is doing it’s best to keep R&D research afloat while the federal government is asleep at the wheel. If you want to live in a country that has the science chops to take on the technological power houses of Europe, Japan, and soon to be India and China than we need strong R&D and strong support for the sciences. Maybe you should mention this to your elected official (especially if they are a republican).
(awesome images and awesome t-shirts from these people)
Obama’s Speech At The DNC
Wow…
Al Gore’s Speech At The DNC
Say what you want about Al Gore, he would have made a much better president than George W. Of course I could take a dump on the ground and put little googly eyes on them and it would be a better president than Bush. But given everything that he has said and done, it is clear that we would have been much better off at least from an environmental stand point.
Transcript below:
One of the greatest gifts of our democracy is the opportunity it offers us every four years to change course. It’s not a guarantee; it’s only an opportunity. The question facing us is, simply put, will we seize this opportunity for change? That’s why I came here tonight: to tell you why I feel so strongly that we must seize this opportunity to elect Barack Obama President of the United States.
Eight years ago, some said there was not much difference between the nominees of the two major parties and it didn’t really matter who became president. Our nation was enjoying peace and prosperity. Some assumed we would continue both, no matter the outcome. But here we all are in 2008, and I doubt anyone would argue now that election didn’t matter.
Take it from me, if it had ended differently, we would not be bogged down in Iraq, we would have pursued bin Laden until we captured him. We would not be facing a self-inflicted economic crisis; we would be fighting for middle-income families. We would not be showing contempt for the Constitution; we’d be protecting the rights of every American regardless of race, religion, disability, gender or sexual orientation. And we would not be denying the climate crisis; we’d be solving it.
Today, we face essentially the same choice we faced in 2000, though it may be even more obvious now, because John McCain, a man who has earned our respect on many levels, is now openly endorsing the policies of the Bush-Cheney White House and promising to actually continue them. The same policies all over again?
Hey, I believe in recycling, but that’s ridiculous. With John McCain’s support, President Bush and Vice President Cheney have led our nation into one calamity after another because of their indifference to fact; their readiness to sacrifice the long term to the short term, subordinate the general good to the benefit of the few and short-circuit the rule of law.
If you like the Bush-Cheney approach, John McCain’s your man. If you want change, then vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
Barack Obama is telling us exactly what he will do: launch a bold new economic plan to restore America’s greatness; fight for smarter government that trusts the market, but protects us against its excesses; enact policies that are pro-choice, pro-education and pro-family, establish a foreign policy that is smart as well as strong; provide health care for all and solutions for the climate crisis.
So why is this election so close? Well, I know something about close elections, so let me offer you my opinion. I believe this election is close today mainly because the forces of the status quo are desperately afraid of the change Barack Obama represents.
There is no better example than the climate crisis. As I have said for many years throughout this land, we’re borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy the future of human civilization. Every bit of that has to change. Oil company profits have soared to record levels, gasoline prices have gone through the roof and we are more dependent than ever on dirty and dangerous fossil fuels.
Many scientists predict that the entire north polar ice cap may be completely gone during summer months in the first term of the next president. Sea levels are rising, fires are raging, storms are stronger. Military experts warn us our national security is threatened by massive waves of climate refugees destabilizing countries around the world, and scientists tell us the very web of life is endangered by unprecedented extinctions.
We are facing a planetary emergency which, if not solved, would exceed anything we’ve ever experienced in the history of humankind. In spite of John McCain’s past record of open mindedness on the climate crisis, he has apparently now allowed his party to browbeat him into abandoning his support of mandatory caps on global warming pollution.
And it just so happens that the climate crisis is intertwined with the other two great challenges facing our nation: reviving our economy and strengthening our national security. The solutions to all three require us to end our dependence on carbon-based fuels.
Instead of letting lobbyists and polluters control our destiny, we need to invest in American innovation. Almost a hundred years ago, Thomas Edison said, “I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.” We already have everything we need to use the sun, the wind, geothermal power, conservation and efficiency to solve the climate crisis–everything, that is, except a president who inspires us to believe, “Yes we can.”
So how did this no-brainer become a brain-twister? Because the carbon fuels industry–big oil and coal–have a 50-year lease on the Republican Party and they are drilling it for everything it’s worth. And this same industry has spent a half a billion dollars this year alone trying to convince the public they are actually solving the problem, when they are in fact making it worse every single day.
This administration and the special interests who control it lock, stock and barrel after barrel, have performed this same sleight-of-hand on issue after issue. Some of the best marketers have the worst products; and this is certainly true of today’s Republican Party. The party itself has on its rolls men and women of great quality. But the last eight years demonstrate that the special interests who have come to control the Republican Party are so powerful that serving them and serving the national well-being are now irreconcilable choices.
So what can we do about it? We can carry Barack Obama’s message of hope and change to every family in America. And pledge that we will be there for Barack Obama–not only in the heat of this election, but in the aftermath as we put his agenda to work for our country.
We can tell Republicans and Independents, as well as Democrats, why our nation needs a change from the approach of Bush, Cheney and McCain. After they wrecked our economy, it is time for a change. After they abandoned the search for the terrorists who attacked us and redeployed the troops to invade a nation that did not attack us, it’s time for a change. After they abandoned the American principle first laid down by General George Washington, when he prohibited the torture of captives because it would bring, in his words, “shame, disgrace and ruin” to our nation, it’s time for a change.
When as many as three Supreme Court justices could be appointed in the first term of the next president, and John McCain promises to appoint more Scalias and Thomases and end a woman’s right to choose, it’s time for a change.
Many people have been waiting for some sign that our country is ready for such change. How will we know when it’s beginning to take hold? I think we might recognize it as a sign of such change, if we saw millions of young people getting involved for the first time in the political process. This election is actually not close at all among younger voters - you are responding in unprecedented numbers to Barack Obama’s message of change and hope.
You recognize that he represents a clean break from the politics of partisanship and bitter division. You understand that the politics of the past are exhausted, and you’re tired of appeals based on fear. You know that America is capable of better than what you have seen in recent years. You are hungry for a new politics based on bipartisan respect for the ageless principles embodied in the United States Constitution.
There are times in the history of our nation when our very way of life depends upon awakening to the challenge of a present danger, shaking off complacency to rise, clear-eyed and alert, to the necessity of embracing change.
A century and a half ago, when America faced our greatest trial, the end of one era gave way to the birth of another. The candidate who emerged victorious in that election is now regarded by most historians as our greatest president. Before he entered the White House, Abraham Lincoln’s experience in elective office consisted of eight years in his state legislature in Springfield, Illinois, and one term in Congress - during which he showed the courage and wisdom to oppose the invasion of another country that was popular when it started but later condemned by history.
The experience Lincoln’s supporters valued most in that race was his powerful ability to inspire hope in the future at a time of impasse. He was known chiefly as a clear thinker and a great orator, with a passion for justice and a determination to heal the deep divisions of our land. He insisted on reaching past partisan and regional divides to exalt our common humanity. In 2008, once again, we find ourselves at the end of an era with a mandate from history to launch another new beginning. And once again, we have a candidate whose experience perfectly matches an extraordinary moment of transition.
Barack Obama had the experience and wisdom to oppose a popular war based on faulty premises. His leadership experience has given him a unique capacity to inspire hope, in the promise of the American dream of a boundless future. His experience has also given him genuine respect for different views and humility, in the face of complex realities that cannot be squeezed into the narrow compartments of ideology. His experience has taught him something that career politicians often overlook: that inconvenient truths must be acknowledged if we are to have wise governance.
The extraordinary strength of his personal character - and that of his wonderful wife, Michelle - is grounded in the strengths of the American community. His vision and his voice represent the best of America. His life experience embodies the essence of our motto - e pluribus unum - out of many, one. That is the linking identity at the other end of all the hyphens that pervade our modern political culture. It is that common American identity - which Barack Obama exemplifies, heart and soul - that enables us as Americans to speak with moral authority to all of the peoples of the world, to inspire hope that we as human beings can transcend our limitations and to redeem the promise of human freedom.
Late this evening, our convention will end with a benediction. As we bow in reverence, remember the words of the old proverb: “when you pray, move your feet.” Then let us leave here tonight and take the message of hope from Denver to every corner of our land, and do everything we can to serve our nation, our world–and most importantly, our children and their future–by electing Barack Obama President of the United States.
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