McMahon Gushes Over Deregulating Oil

McMahon Campaign Literature
From TheDay.com

According to The Day and at the same time that we are witnessing the results of the typical Republican deregulation-run-amok of anything that moves money to these Multinational Oil Corporations wash in ashore as tar balls and dead dolphins on American shorelines, GOP Senate candidate wannabe Linda McMahon spews about further deregulation of the oil industry?

I can think of better ways to solve our energy problems than coating the country from coast to coast along with our food sources with more oil slicks.

Offshore Drilling? WTF OBAMA???

And before any negotiations on a bill for the milk starts some dumbasses have already given away the entire cow. Good luck with that.



We have already seen what your administration's extraordinary leadership skill got us in enhancement of health insurance for profit reform.

A little reading lesson to enhance your political skills since your administration seems to be just a little wet behind the ears when it comes to dealing with the GOP.

"About half the energy we use in America is wasted"

The BBC looks at the possibility of the USA "Innovating a way out of recession":

"About half the energy we use in America is wasted," says Dean Allen, the company's chief executive.

Half? That is an astonishing amount in a country that consumes as much as the US does.

"When it's free or cheap we tend not to focus on it."

The problem is how to divert the oil supertanker that is the US economy onto a more sustainable footing.

For many years there was not the political will to change. Now though more people here believe energy sustainability is important, either for the good of the environment, or to reduce America's dependence on foreign imports of oil.

Modern History - Lieberman's Betrayal of Progressives

Think Progress has provided an in depth study of Lieberman's betrayal of progressives. The information will not come as a shock to anyone on the left that has followed him closely and recognized this unholy alliance early on as Lieberman pledged his allegiance to the warmongering neoconservative whack jobs and their likudnik/AIPAC allies. Lieberman's story is a bizarre combination of apologist for their neoconservative failures and an accomplice in covering up their crimes.

For those of you that are unfamiliar with Lieberman's self-propelled decent to this hellish low, please adjust your internal thermostat in order to keep your cool as you read because, in reality, this is not simply a chronicle of the betrayal of progressives, and the left in general, but of Joseph I. Lieberman's betrayal of America and some of the most basic principles she was founded upon.

“I’m a Democrat with a 35-year record of fighting for progressive causes, for the middle class, for civil rights, for women’s rights, for human rights and a lot more. I voted with my Senate Democratic colleagues 90 percent of the time.” — Joe Lieberman, 7/6/06

“I want Democrats to be back in the majority in Washington and elect a Democratic president in 2008.” — Joe Lieberman, 7/7/06

While Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) has fought for progressive policies in the past — such as protecting the environment and expanding civil rights — his recent record demonstrates that he’s a progressive no more. As this report documents, Lieberman has embraced the right wing on far more than foreign policy. In fact, he has betrayed progressive principles on a variety of domestic issues. As he has lurched to the right, Lieberman has actively worked to undermine the progressive agenda.

CONTENTS

– Undermined Progressives

– Domestic Policy

– On Leading The Homeland Security Committee: ‘We Don’t Like Investigating.’

– On Energy: Drill Baby, Drill

– On Taxes: ‘I Think It’s Wrong To Raise Any Taxes Now’


– On Health Care: Supported McCain’s Tax On Employer Health Care

– On Social Security: ‘Individual Control…Has To Happen.’

– On Alberto Gonzales: He ‘Deserves Our Appreciation’

– On The Christian-Right: Defended Pastor Hagee

– Campaigned Against Progressive Candidates

– National Security

– On Torture: ‘The Person Is In No Real Danger.’

– On Terrorism: Fear-mongering With The Radical Right.

– On Iran: Bomb Iran

– On Syria: Bomb Syria?

– On Iraq: U.S. ‘Did The Right Thing’

Read the entire piece here...

Connecticut Prepares For Plug-In Hybrids

Via Boran2 at Survivor Left Blogistan: Connecticut Prepares For Plug-In Hybrids:

Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell, in an apparent rare bit of enlightened foresight for a Republican, has indicated that the state will prepare for infrastructure necessary to support widespread use of plug-in hybrid vehicles. (Shocking, I know.)

Link

"We need to make sure the state's electric infrastructure is ready for the additional demand, and we want to avoid problems that could crop up if, say, a high number of EVs are charging on a 98-degree summer day when power is at a premium for air conditioners and other devices," the governor said.

Although none are currently in production, it is anticipated that use of such vehicles could begin as early as 2010.

And, oh my goodness, is this recognition of global warming?!!

Read the rest of what Gov. Jodi Rell had to say over at Survivor Left Blogistan or at The Booman Tribune.

[update] An interesting comment from Zandar1 over at the BooTrib:

"I'd check to see just who will be paying for these infrastructure improvements.

I'm betting the call for "improving infrastructure for power grids to handle hybrids" is the new excuse for energy companies to stay on those multi billion dollar taxpayer subsidies for the next decade.

You know, the ones Democrats want to end?

And of course, if they end, why the poor power companies won't be able to help us save Earth if those nasty Dems have their way.

This is a total sandbag job. In the end, it's greed."

Could be... It would fit the GOP's MO to a T.

Partisan Politicization of the DoE by the GOP

So sayeth The Caretaker at Region 19 BOE Gazzette:

My, my, my. The dirty tricks never end. For Independence Day Margaret Spellings has announced which States will enjoy relaxed NCLB protocols. Of the seventeen states that applied, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, and Ohio were -cough- chosen.

Given the electoral importance of these states, one cannot help but wonder aloud how tax money that pays for federal bureaucracies can be so cynically and shamelessly targeted toward the unethical influencing of federal election sentiments.

Given the politicization of so many arms of the government this is just more proof that the reckless pattern of politicization is SOP for the GOP SOBs, showing a complete disregard for what is actually good for the country.

A sampling of the GOP's partisan politicization of government, effectively putting their political party over the needs of the country, via Think Progress:

Partisan campaign or electoral activities on federal government property are illegal. This prohibition, however, has not stopped the Bush administration from politicizing virtually every agency under its control. Below is a quick review of the extent of the White House’s efforts to politicize the federal agencies:

Office of Faith Based Initiatives: The office was “used almost exclusively to win political points with both evangelical Christians and traditionally Democratic minorities. The office’s primary mission, providing financial support to charities that serve the poor, never got the presidential support it needed to succeed.” [MSNBC, 10/13/06]

General Services Administration: After a GSA meeting during which White House deputy director of political affairs Scott Jennings gave a PowerPoint presentation that included slides listing Democratic and Republican seats the White House viewed as vulnerable in 2008, a map of contested Senate seats and other information on 2008 election strategy, GSA Administrator Lurita Doan asked how GSA could help “our candidates.” Special Counsel Scott Bloch has since advised the President that Doan should “be disciplined to the fullest extent for her serious violation of the Hatch Act.” [Congress Daily, 6/12/07]

Department of Justice:

“Unlike federal judges, immigration judges are civil service employees, to be appointed by the attorney general based on professional qualifications, not their politics. [During Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’s aide Monica Goodling’s] tenure, vacancies were apparently not always posted and she selected lawyers to be considered for interviews based in part on their loyalty to the Republican Party and the Bush administration.” [New York Times, 5/25/07]

Department of Justice: “After the 2004 election, administration officials quietly began drawing up a list of US attorneys to replace. Considerations included their perceived loyalty to Bush and a desire by White House political adviser Karl Rove to increase voter fraud prosecutions, documents and testimony have shown. Most of the proposed firings were for US attorneys in states with closely divided elections. Among those later fired was David Iglesias, from the battleground state of New Mexico, where many of his fellow Republicans had demanded more aggressive voter fraud probes.” [Boston Globe, 5/6/07]

Interior Department: “A midlevel Interior Department official” received a “phone call from [Vice President Dick] Cheney in 2001, setting in motion a secret move to undermine the science of federal biologists who had said diverting water from the Klamath would violate the Endangered Species Act and devastate two imperiled species of fish.” [The Oregonian, 6/30/07]

Interior Department: Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Julie MacDonald has consistently “rejected staff scientists’ recommendations to protect imperiled animals and plants under the Endangered Species Act.” A civil engineer with no training in biology, she has “overruled and disparaged” the findings of her staff, instead relying on the recommendations of political and industry groups. [Washington Post, 10/30/06]

Defense Department: “[T]he Pentagon’s public affairs division has become a dumping ground for administration cronies…seek[ing] to bypass the traditional media and work directly with talk radio and bloggers, mostly those with a heavily conservative tilt.” [Harper’s Magazine, 7/16/07]

Defense Department: “The Defense Department…has stepped up intelligence collection inside this country since 9/11, which now includes the monitoring of peaceful anti-war and counter-military recruitment groups.” [MSNBC, 9/14/05]

NASA: “The top climate scientist at NASA says the Bush administration has tried to stop him from speaking out since he gave a lecture last month calling for prompt reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases linked to global warming…officials at NASA headquarters had ordered the public affairs staff to review his coming lectures, papers, postings on the Goddard [Institute for Space Studies] Web site and requests for interviews from journalists.” [New York Times, 1/29/06]

Food and Drug Administration: “The top Food and Drug Administration official in charge of women’s health issues…resigned in protest against the agency’s decision to further delay a final ruling on whether the ‘morning-after pill’ should be made more easily accessible. ‘I can no longer serve as staff when scientific and clinical evidence, fully evaluated and recommended for approval by the professional staff here, has been overruled,’ she wrote in an e-mail to her staff and FDA colleagues.” [Washington Post, 9/1/05]

Health and Human Services: “An internal investigation by the Department of Health and Human Services confirms that the top Medicare official threatened to fire the program’s chief actuary if he told Congress that drug benefits would probably cost much more than the White House acknowledged.” [New York Times, 7/7/04]

Health and Human Services: “The Department of Health and Human Services recently revised its website, 4Parents.gov, and replaced factual data designed to help parents talk about preventing teen pregnancy with biased and misleading claims” reflecting administration policy. [NARAL, 7/10/07]

Office of the Surgeon General: “The first U.S. surgeon general appointed by President George W. Bush accused the administration on Tuesday of political interference and muzzling him on key issues like embryonic stem cell research.” [Reuters, 7/10/07]

Environmental Protection Agency: In a government report on the state of the environment, strong language that “climate change has global consequences for human health and the environment” was stricken by the White House, as was government research that suggests recent climate change is “likely mostly due to human activities.” The changes were protested by EPA staffers, who wrote in a confidential memo that the report “no longer accurately represents scientific consensus on climate change.” [CBS, 6/19/03]

Office of National Drug Control Policy: “At the request of Sara Taylor, the former White House Director of Political Affairs, John Walters, the nation’s drug czar, and his deputies traveled to 20 events with vulnerable Republican members of Congress in the months prior to the 2006 elections. The trips were paid for by federal taxpayers and several were combined with the announcement of federal grants or actions that benefited the districts of the Republican members.” [House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform, 6/17/07]

Corporation for Public Broadcasting: During his tenure, former CPB chairman Kenneth Tomlinson “moved to address what he contend[ed was] the left-leaning lineup of news programs at PBS by advocating the addition of new shows with a conservative outlook.” He “failed to strike a proper balance by infusing politics into so many decisions at CPB” and by “in essence, allowing the White House to help direct plans of the CPB.” According to Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, this extreme politicization was “unprecedented.” [National Public Radio, 6/20/05]

Bear in mind that these are just some of the examples and does not include some of the major propaganda campaigns illegally used to disseminate partisan GOP talking points like the lies and deceptions used against us in the run up to the illegal Iraq invasion and occupation.

These are the GOP's WMDs. Weapons of Mass Dissembling...

McCain's Connecticut Calamity

John McCain's Campaign has, thus far, been wobbly at best. But now he has even more campaign problems, as per BooMan:

I hadn't thought about the problem McCain will have trying to create a GOP platform. Good luck with that one.

The current GOP platform is a 100-page document, and all but nine pages mention Bush's name. Virtually the entire platform will have to be rewritten to lessen the imprint of the president, who has the highest disapproval rating of any White House occupant since Richard M. Nixon.

It is the prospect of a total rewrite that worries some.

McCain is "really out of step with the strong majority of his party," said Myron Ebell, director of energy and global warming policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which opposes McCain's positions on climate change. "He might get what he wants. And he might get a change. But I don't think it's going to sit well with a lot of Republicans."

Climate change is the least of McCain's problems. How about immigration? How about campaign finance reform?

McCain's campaign has been self-undermining to this point - effectively tied to bush policy failures by not only the opposition but by his own incompetent self - and he only has five months left to turn around numbers like this:

Rasmussen filed a poll the other day that has Obama 52, McCain 35 in Connecticut,
sharply reversing their previous poll a month ago which supposedly
(*cough* BS) had it a close race, Obama 47 McCain 43. This makes the
third poll which has Obama up by between 17 and 22 points, effectively
putting Connecticut out of play, if it ever was in play.

Obama is viewed favorably by 62%/37, McCain 54%/43.

Research 2000: Obama 57 McBush 35 (7/03/08)

Quinnipiac: Obama 56, McSame 35 (7/02/08)

Good luck on that one, too.

I suspect that the current hostilities towards the GOP by voters in this state coupled with the likely down-ticket effects of the Obama campaign had Chris Shays worried and Jim Himes celebrating a bit this weekend when these numbers were released.

New York City Is Becoming So Pedestrian

Mayor Bloomberg announces an experimental plan to stop traffic altogether in part of New York city:

The scheme, called Summer Streets, will run on three consecutive Saturdays in August - the 9th, 16th and 23rd.

A seven-mile (11km) route linking Brooklyn Bridge in the south to the Upper East Side will close to traffic.

...snip...

Exercise classes, such as dance and yoga sessions, will be held along the route, which will run from Lower Manhattan to East 72nd Street, via Centre Street, Lafayette Street, Fourth Avenue and Park Avenue.

Bikes will be available to rent along the route, and there will be rest areas at various points for cyclists to take on water and repair bikes.

Throw in some beer and free street music and this would be an even bigger draw for suburbanites... And I would promise to take the train into town, Mikey. :)

New Milford Planning wants to hear from YOU

The New Milford's Planning Commission wants your input on the direction of future town planning:

New Milford's Planning Commission wants to hear from the public about where the focus of the Plan of Conservation and Development should be in the next decade.

The town's boards and commissions met Oct. 30 to tell the Planning Commission where they think the focus should go.

A session for public input is set for Saturday Dec. 8 at 10 a.m. in town hall.

Consultant Glenn Chalder from Planimetrics said the POCD is a guide for the town's growth; an advisory document "to point New Milford toward a better future."

Bring your good, bad and ugly list and vent, cheer, screech, or just twiddle your thumbs while you listen to other people heap piles of praise and punches on the Commission. You might want to bring a bag of popcorn too... :)

And as long as you are here reading:

As the holiday season approaches, New Milford Social Services would like to encourage the community to help our clients in the following ways:

If you are interested in helping children or families this holiday, please contact our head elf, Nancy Camp at 354-3286.

Through the Santa Fund, she will give you a specific child to buy a gift and clothing for.

Social Services is in need of gift cards of any kind (gas, grocery, clothing store, restaurant, etc.) until Dec. 14 to provide to families at the holidays, and teen gifts (jewelry, music, gift cards, art supplies, computer accessories, etc.) by Dec. 3 for our Sibling Shopping Spree.

Financial donations to the Good Samaritan Fund are always welcome.

Work With Gingrich on the Environment?

I know, I KNOW! You are saying that I have lost my effin' mind. But I think that Politics in the Zeros hits the nail on the head on this one:

Sure, we need to cut back on energy use as much as possible. Do an energy audit and cut your household emissions. Ditto for businesses. But that doesn’t preclude funding technological research to find better ways of creating and using energy. The fuel cell train is a perfect example of this. It can run on waste hydrogen and has no carbon emissions. Imagine the energy savings if trains were to run on fuel cells. So, technology has much to offer here too.

And so can people from all over the political spectrum. Has Gingrich done noxious things in the past? Sure. But the simple fact that he’s written a book about finding solutions for global warming indicates a sea change on the issue coming from the Right. That means they’re discussing the issue, and thus we should discuss it with them.

If we are going to deal with them on these issues then this is my starting point: "We go back to living in caves with heat from campfires as penance for our sins." That way when we meet them halfway it will accomplish something meaningful.

BUT... Can I at least make fun of Gingrich while we are talking to him? Say things like:

"Look! Gingrich is turning green!"

Call it environmental envy...

China Made Booty Crosses Deity

"A pillar of fire touched down today in Chongqing Province as God began his recall of religious artifacts manufactured in China."

How Enlightened is Connecticut?

How enlightened is Connecticut when it comes to saving electricity by doing something as simple as changing from incandescent to fluorescent light bulbs?







Those numbers look pretty good, right? Think again...

Our state is ranked 40th in the USA in this simplest of actions to help the earth's environment.

When it comes to saving money on our electric bills and being enlightened about green issues Connecticut is looking like a bunch of dimwits.

Classical Gas

Via C&L:

Guardian UK:

The House, eager to do something about record high gasoline prices in advance of the Memorial Day weekend, voted narrowly Wednesday to approve stiff penalties for those found guilty of gasoline price gouging.

The bill directs the Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department to go after oil companies, traders or retail operators if they take “unfair advantage'' or charge “unconscionably excessive'' prices for gasoline and other fuels.

The White House called the measure a form of price controls that could result in fuel shortages. It said President Bush would be urged to veto the legislation should it pass Congress.

Via your local liberal brewery:

Rell and her hamburger party suggest dropping the 25 cent tax on gas:

Rell endorsed the idea several hours after Republican legislators introduced the measure at a press conference at the state Capitol complex. They vowed to force the Democrat-controlled legislature to vote on the issue, possibly in the next three days when the House is in session.

snip

"This is an irresponsible, half-baked scheme by the Republicans to appease the public with pennies, while costing the state over $120 million," Amann said. "Their annual sideshow is about as helpful to Connecticut drivers as the governor's press release last week calling for a national investigation into gasoline prices. It's embarrassing."

Amann said the legislature cannot guarantee that prices will drop at the pumps, because lawmakers do not control gasoline prices. Proponents of the measure said, however, that regardless of the price of gas, motorists would be paying 25 cents less per gallon.

Not only is Amann correct, but the fact is I can think of a lot better ways to spend excesses in government money that would benefit everyone. You can be damned certain that the price of gas would just go right back up shortly after they dropped the tax with distributors and oil companies soaking up even more excessive profits than they are already getting.

HMMMM? In the warped GOP view it is good when businesses rip you off, BUT bad when the government puts it aside, responsibly, for future needs.

OR

In the warped GOP view it is good when companies force fuel consumption down by ripping you off with price gouging, BUT bad when the government forces fuel consumption down with a legitimate tax.

Either argument that these CONservative jokes want to make exposes their GOP talking points for the pure unadulterated BS that it always is.

As a side note: A little pat on the head of the few republicans that actually understand that even republicans need to a planet to live on even if they are all space cadets:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and fellow Republican Gov. Jodi Rell of Connecticut accused the U.S. government on Monday of "inaction and denial" on global warming."

It's bad enough that the federal government has yet to take the threat of global warming seriously, but it borders on malfeasance for it to block the efforts of states such as California and Connecticut that are trying to protect the public's health and welfare," the governors wrote in The Washington Post.

And in honour of these republicans speaking out on unnatural issues for the GOP... A little Classical Gas from down under: