As predicted Donald Trump pulls out of the Paris accord. Today was the day that America stopped being a leader in fighting climate change.

Courtesy of NBC News:

The United States will pull out of a landmark global coalition meant to curb emissions that cause climate change, President Donald Trump announced Thursday. 

"The United States will withdraw from the Paris climate accord," Trump said to applause from the crowd gathered in the White House Rose Garden. 

He added that the U.S. will begin negotiations to re-enter either the Paris accord or a new treaty on terms that are better for American businesses and taxpayers.

"So we're getting out, but we will start to negotiate and we will see if we can make a deal that's fair," he said.

Yeah that suggestion that Trump is going to try to get us a better deal is all bullshit.

Trump has no intention of working that hard unless he gets something from it personally.

Dana Bash, reporter from CNN, suggested that the speech sounded like Mad-Libs for conservatives:

JAKE TAPPER (HOST): And Dana, I know a line that the president said that struck a lot of us was when he cast the Paris agreement as quote, "a massive redistribution of United States wealth to other countries." 

DANA BASH: Right, because the whole theme against President Obama during both of the elections against him was that he was a Democrat who wants to redistribute wealth. That is a buzz word, a signal to conservatives that we got your back and we're going to make sure that sort of the big bad Democrats who want to socialize and globalize and do everything that would hurt you and your jobs won't happen. 

And there were a series of those buzz words, it was almost like mad libs for conservatives, this speech, and it was a long one. The thing -- one of the things that struck me is after all of the reporting that we've done about the discussions, and the debates, and the pressure that he got from his daughter, from his -- Ivanka, from his son-in-law Jared, from his Secretary of State Rex Tillerson -- there wasn't an olive branch in here. 

It's like those people were walled-off in the writing of this speech, and it was clearly written by the Steve Bannon and Stephen Millers of the world.

And that's really it in a nutshell.

This speech is clear indication that Stephen Bannon is back in the driver's seat and that Trump is dancing to the tune that he is playing.

Reactions to this speech have been rather vocal to say the least.

Here is the obligatory response from Al Gore.

My statement on Today’s Decision by the Trump Administration to Withdraw from the Paris Agreement: https://t.co/eDEFv5b1nS pic.twitter.com/SzHJU3D0Mr

— Al Gore (@algore) June 1, 2017

The Secretary-General of the UN was also quite unhappy: 

The decision by the United States to withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change is a major disappointment for global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote global security.

California Rep. Speier claims that Trump has now made himself irrelevant. 

Rep. Speier on President Trump's decision to pull out of the climate deal: "He has made himself totally irrelevant" https://t.co/Rs1iv6n9db

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) June 1, 2017

Former President Obama had this to say: 

"The nations that remain in the Paris Agreement will be the nations that reap the benefits in jobs and industries created," Obama said. "I believe the United States of America should be at the front of the pack." 

He added: "But even in the absence of American leadership; even as this administration joins a small handful of nations that reject the future; I'm confident that our states, cities, and businesses will step up and do even more to lead the way, and help protect for future generations the one planet we've got."

Even the Weather Channel could not contain their disappointment:

The headlines on the homepage include: 

So What Happens to Earth Now? 
Still Don't Care? Proof You Should 
...and More Proof... 
...and Even More Proof... 
...Or the Imminent Collapse of a Key Ice Shelf... 
...Or Antarctica Turning Green 
...Or California's Coast Disappearing Into the Sea

Here's how the Huffington Post responded.

And as promised Elon Musk has removed himself from Trump's economic council.

Of course Trump also had his supporters for this decision.

Of course most of them believe that there is no definitive proof the earth is round, think dinosaurs and humans lived at the same time, and believe Donald Trump is really worth 10 billion dollars.

Al Gore, campaigning for Hillary Clinton, reminds millennials of the importance of one vote.

Courtesy of Politico:

Campaigning with Hillary Clinton in Miami, Gore highlighted two messages he wanted to share with the former secretary of state’s supporters. 

“No. 1, when it comes to the most urgent issue facing our country and the world, the choice in this election is extremely clear. Hillary Clinton will make solving the climate crisis a top national priority,” Gore said. “Very important.” 

Donald Trump, whom Gore referred to as “her opponent,” would take America “toward a climate catastrophe,” he said. 

“Here’s my second message: Your vote really, really, really counts — a lot. You can consider me as an exhibit A of that group. Now, for those of you who are younger than 25, you might not remember the election of 2000 and what happened here in Florida and across the country,” Gore said, prompting boos from the crowd. 

“For those of you older than 25, I heard you murmuring just now. But take it from me, it was a very close election,” Gore said, as supporters began to chant “You won! You won!” 

I was watching this on TV yesterday and I am not ashamed to admit to the wave of emotion I felt when the crowd started chanting "You won!"

In fact I even tweeted about it.

Crowd chanting "You won" to Al Gore concerning the 2000 election and @HillaryClinton is just nodding her head in agreement.

— Gryphen 2009 (@Gryphen2009) October 11, 2016

I reference the 2000 election fairly frequently here on IM.

And the reason is that it was when I really had my political awakening.

I was not necessarily the biggest fan of Al Gore back then, but it was clear to me that he was a vastly superior choice than George W. Bush, and when he had the elections stolen from him  I was apoplectic.

And then everything that happened afterward kept pouring salt in to that wound.

To this day it is why I cannot stand third party candidates and have no patience for idiots who "vote their conscience."

When there are only two viable choices you man up (I would say "woman up" but you ladies really seem to have your shit together this election cycle.) and make the best choice for the country.

THAT is how you keep a George W. Bush out of office, and save thousands of lives, and that is how you keep a Donald Trump out of office and save the future of this country.

Al Gore has a message for voters and those worried about Climate Change. Vote.

Courtesy of Think Progress:  

First of all I understand their feelings and misgivings. But if they are interested in my personal advice. I am voting for Hillary Clinton. I urge everyone else to do the same. 

I particularly urge anyone who is concerned about the climate crisis, sees it as the kind of priority that I see it as, to look at the sharp contrast between the solar plan that Secretary Clinton has put forward, and her stated commitment to support the Clean Power Plan, and the contrast between what she has said and is proposing with the statements of the Republican nominee, which give me great concern.

You'll notice that Gore does NOT suggest that anybody vote for a third party candidate, which probably is not a surprise considering his experience in 2000 with Ralph Nader. 

And of course he is correct here.

If we care about the environment, education, equal rights, gun violence, or pretty much ANY issue we can think of, then Hillary Clinton is the only sane choice.

To do otherwise is to demonstrate a lack of seriousness during a very serious time in our country.

While currently polling nine points behind Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump tells his supporters that if he loses Pennsylvania it will be due to "cheating."

Courtesy of Politico: 

Donald Trump again raised the specter of election fraud Friday, saying that the only way he would lose Pennsylvania is to Hillary Clinton is if "they cheat." 

The Republican nominee, speaking at a rally in Altoona, Pennsylvania, repeated his concerns about the fairness of the election. 

“The only way we can lose, in my opinion — I really mean this, Pennsylvania is if cheating goes on and we have to call up law enforcement and we have to have the sheriffs and the police chiefs and everyone watching because if we get cheated out of this election, if we get cheated out of a win in Pennsylvania, which is such a vital state especially when I know what is happening here,” he said. “She can’t beat what’s happening here. The only way they can beat it in my opinion, and I mean this 100 percent, if in certain sections of the state they cheat.” 

I have a news flash, Donald Trump IS going to lose Pennsylvania.

In fact he is almost certainly going to lose the entire election. 

But what happens when he does and then claims that the election was stolen?

In 2000 many progressives, myself included, believed that Al Gore won the presidential election and that it had been stolen from him by the Supreme Court.

In response we bitched and complained online, and then got our shit together and started working to get more Democrats elected, and to ultimately take back the White House. Which we did in 2008.

That's how Democrats handled a stolen election.

The question is how does a party made up of 2nd Amendment enthusiasts, who are convinced that the "left wing" media "makes stuff up," and that the polls are purposefully skewed against their candidate, going to respond to a loss. Especially with the candidate himself also screaming that he was robbed?

Just when you thought things could not get more terrifying.

Former policy adviser to Ronald Reagan releases study that finds that Fox News is hurting Republicans and making conservative voters dumber.

Courtesy of HuffPo: 

The study, authored by Bruce Bartlett, who worked in the Treasury Department under George H. W. Bush and was also a domestic policy adviser to Ronald Reagan, found that Fox viewers tended to be less informed about current affairs than people who watch mainstream news -- and even people who don't watch the news at all. 

"Republican voters get so much of their news from Fox, which cheerleads whatever their candidates are doing or saying, that they suffer from wishful thinking and fail to see that they may not be doing as well as they imagine, or that their ideas are not connecting outside the narrow party base," Bartlett said. 

Citing a host of other studies, Bartlett found that Fox News viewers tended to have misguided beliefs about the Iraq War, the Affordable Care Act and other major issues. He also noted that Fox's audience tended to hold a bias against Muslims. 

"It appears that right-wing bias, including inaccurate reporting, became commonplace on Fox," Bartlett said.

The article goes on to say that this is especially concerning because "many conservatives now refuse to even listen to any news or opinion not vetted through Fox, and to believe whatever appears on it as the gospel truth." 

That means that any opinions which disagree with Fox or conservative talk radio are considered biased, and not worth their time.

Talking Points Memo had this to say about this study: 

Since Fox founder and chairman Roger Ailes opened shop in 1996, the effects of the powerhouse conservative channel on the media landscape have been widely noted. Bartlett, a onetime advisor to Rep. Ron Paul and President Ronald Reagan and official in the administration George H.W. Bush, cites several studies showing how Fox broke into an untapped market for a single conservative news source after years of FCC regulations which required equal time for political debate (the so-called "fairness doctrine" ended in 1987 under President Reagan.) 

But Barlett also surfaced studies which show that that the Fox Effect changed not only Americans' media diet, but their political behavior as well — boosting turnout for the GOP and pushing both Republicans and Democrats rightward in Congress.

Of course we have talked about this numerous times here at IM. 

Roger Ailes, who was an aide for Richard Nixon, was convinced that the media did not treat his President fairly and he believed it was due to a liberal bias. (It wasn't. The news back then simply reported the facts. And as we know, facts by their very nature have a liberal bias.)

So in 1996 Ailes, with the backing of Rupert Murdoch, decided to broadcast the news with a conservative bent and the rest is the stuff of journalist's nightmares.

Now our country is torn apart by ideological arguments, our politics are at a virtual standstill, and billionaires now openly purchase their own candidates and finance their campaigns.

Personally I think Roger Ailes is guilty of treason and should be tried for the crimes of selling the Iraq War to the American people, interfering with the Al Gore's election to the presidency in 2000, and undermining American journalism.

Here is how the Daily Show presenting 50 Fox News lies in 6 seconds.

It looks like Sarah Palin has been lurking here on IM again. Update!

So just a few hours ago I posted this about Palin's kind of backhanded recognition of Track and Tig's birthdays.

Well no sooner had I left for the grocery store to buy my liberal wine and cheeses, when what should suddenly pop up over on Palin's Facebook page:

Just look how happy the boys are to be involved in this photo-op.

Celebrating the boys' birthdays – in new snow on 4/20! Trig takes another lap on his restored '88 Élan (thank you, Garret and Ellie!) while enjoying this "climate change" (also known as "seasons"). 

See? You can tell how important this celebration was to Palin by the obvious effort she put into having somebody shlep to the store to buy cupcakes, and to dig up some left over candle to jam into the middle of one of them.

But what's up with that mention of climate change?

Oh wait, there's more.  

100% Human-Caused Global Warming? What a racket. A money-making, politically-driven tool that ignores history to enable control freaks' mandates that fundamentally transform your lifestyle and stall American progress. 

Well, happy birthday, sons; may you and your generation never cave to Al Gore and his liberal idiotic ilk as elitists pretend to play God, claiming they control Mother Nature. They can't predict this afternoon's weather but foolishly demand trust in their supernatural power to predict it 5000 years from now. Stay strong, boys! We need men like you to un-do what's been done to our country under liberal control. Meanwhile, enjoy the snow! 

- Sarah Palin 

And here's a picture of Trig playing in the snow, to drive home her point.

So not only is she late, but she simply cannot resist turning the post into an attack on Al Gore, the science behind Climate Change, and liberals.

However besides confusing weather with climate, Palin also must not have been in the state long enough to recognize that virtually ALL of us have been discussing how crazy this winter has been.

In fact this has been the second lowest snowfall on record.

But the real crime here is that Palin cannot simply wish her children a happy birthday without dragging politics into it. First yesterday with the whole Taya Kyle thing, and now today with her unprovoked attack on Al Gore.

What a small, sad, hateful woman.

If she doesn't knock it off I'm not going to let her come here anymore to learn what she is doing wrong. I'm serious.

Update: Oops I forgot to add this video of Trig at school from Willow.

CNN reporter sends reasonable and appropriate tweet criticizing Fox Nation.

Weather is not climate, you willfully ignorant fucksticks. MT @foxnation: Climate Doesn’t Cooperate With Al Gore http://t.co/QKe0PkyYQK

— Bill Weir (@BillWeirCNN) July 31, 2014

I personally see nothing wrong with this.

It seems informative,  on point, and appropriately irritated at the fucksticks over at Fox Nation.

However it seems that Weir's corporate overlords made him walk it back like a pansy ass.

Courtesy of Politico:

On Thursday, Weir apologized, tweeting: "The glop of Midwestern guilt stuck in my chest prob won't go away until I apologize to @foxnation for name-calling. Dumb move. My bad."

No, not "my bad." It was "your good" to tell those idiots that they do not understand the difference between the weather and climate. 

It is your job as a journalist to educate these fucksticks. Do not retreat from your responsibility simply for fear of being criticized for it.

After all that never seems to stop Fox from telling obvious, and bold faced lies to their viewers every single damn day!

Here was Bill Maher's Twitter response to Sandy.

Scientists say #HurricaneSandy likely linked to record ArcticSea loss this yr but fuck them they're just scientists what does the bible say?
— Bill Maher (@billmaher) October 30, 2012

Of course as you all probably heard, some Fundamentalist moron already tried to blame it on "teh gays."

Somewhere AL Gore is walking around mumbling, "I tried to tell them, I even made a movie, but would they listen? NO!"

Chilling new Obama ad: 537

If this does not get you to vote, then nothing will.

Ted Koppel: Fox News "Bad for America."

Koppel: "Bill what is it you think I have said about the network, or written about the network?"

O'Reilly: "You think that we have corrupted the sanctity of fair news coverage."

Exactly!

But I would go further. I think that Fox News has virtually destroyed journalism in this country.

I also think that they are the SOLE reason that we had George W. Bush, and therefore TWO completely unnecessary wars, which cost thousands of American lives, and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi and Afghan lives.

(Remember the 2000 election was called a Gore win by NBC and MSNBC first, which was then followed by the other networks, including Fox. That is until Fox got a call from their corporate masters and suddenly changed their minds and decided that Bush had won, which essentially called the election results into question until the Supreme Court called it in Bush's favor. In truth Gore most likely won that state, and if Fox had not made their erroneous claim, which sent over 20,0000 voters home without voting since they believed their candidate had lost, he ABSOLUTELY would have won.)

Fox News also almost single handily started the Tea party movement which is now causing unbelievable  gridlock in the American political system, essentially derailing it from within.

And then of course there's Sarah Palin. Need I say more?

So yes Fox News is indeed "bad for America" in fact I think they are guilty of treason and that both Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch should be led in front of a firing squad and executed.

But hey, that's just me.

Ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair admits to undue influence from Rupert Murdoch. “Once they’re against you, that’s it."

Courtesy of The Daily Beast:

Blair, who dominated British politics for a decade when his Labour government was in power from 1997 to 2007, described working under threat of running afoul of the country’s powerful news empires, which he described as relentless opponents. “Once they’re against you, that’s it. It’s full on, full frontal, day in, day out—basically a lifetime commitment,” he said. “With any of these big media groups, if you fall out with them, watch out. It is literally unrelenting.” 

As to how he dealt with the issue of press influence, Blair admitted that he chose to work with it, instead of trying to change it. “I took the strategic decision to manage this and not confront it,” he said. “But the power of it is indisputable.” 

Blair added that political leaders in Britain “have to be in a position where you are managing this major force,” saying the prospect of taking on powerful media interests “would have been a huge battle with little change of winning.” 

But Blair had one constant press ally during his tenure—the U.K. media empire of Rupert Murdoch, whose influence over the country’s politics has come under the spotlight as the phone-hacking scandal continues to develop. So far, the scandal has focused intense pressure on the current resident of 10 Downing Street, David Cameron, whose government has been accused of forging too close a relationship with Murdoch and his lieutenants. It was Blair, though, who famously flew to an island in Murdoch’s native Australia to address executives of Murdoch’s News Corp. in 1995, two years before the Murdoch papers switched their support to Labour ahead of Blair’s first election win. And it was Blair who became a godfather to one of Murdoch’s daughters after leaving office. On the stand today, Blair also admitted that he’d let Murdoch in through the back door for meetings at No. 10—a practice that has drawn Cameron considerable heat.

I quite literally read this with my mouth open in utter amazement at how clearly, and easily, Blair was reduced to a Rupert Murdoch lapdog.

I also firmly believe that Murdoch exercises a similar amount of influence over American Republican politicians as well. Essentially helping to dictate policy, such as manufacturing the Tea Party and shoving their faux agenda down the throats of the American people, and pressuring them to fall in line or risk having the power of Fox News destroy their political career.

Hey guess what conservatives? Al Gore did NOT invent global warming just to punish big business.

Gee, it appears that scientists have been discussing the dangers of global warming, and man's responsibility for it, since before I was even born.

Yet we have failed to take it seriously until today, when we have witnessed for ourselves the melting of the polar ice caps, the rise of the oceans, and some of the most dangerous weather ever witnessed by man.

And all the while that scientists were ringing the alarm, there were energy companies fighting them tooth and nail with scientists of their own bought and paid for to refute anything climatologists might say that would demand that they find alternative energy sources or reduce the chemical emissions from their manufacturing plants.

Some in the Evangelical community have even gone so far as to teach their children that climate change is false. From the movie Jesus Camp:  

The movie observes a lesson where the mother is teaching her child out right lies about evolution and global warming. There are also clips of movies and presentations presented while they are shown to children making ridiculously inaccurate statements about Abortion, Global Warming, and Evolution. Their fundamental argument seems to be, the people who disagree with them just have wrong, “Beliefs”. They fail to acknowledge or address that their own ideals are nothing more then Faith/Beliefs which are not verifiable in anyway. 

Worse, their logic behind denying global warming and a lot of other problems in the world is just that the Earth is temporary and so it doesn’t really matter. What a horrible legacy to leave to your children. Well we thought the world was going to end, so we really didn’t think destroying the climate and starting World War Three would really matter in the long term.

With that kind of aggressive blowback is it any wonder that it took so long for people to start taking climate change seriously?  And honestly, have we even started yet?

Al Gore calls "bullshit," quite literally, on climate change deniers.

(Adult language. Might not be safe for work, or to played around young children.)


Here is the link to Aspen Journalism who first reported on Gore's remarks:

"Former Vice President Al Gore spoke Thursday at a communications and society seminar at the Aspen Institute (FOCAS). 

He primarily addressed the subject of how citizens can exercise their democratic duties in the networked world, although he also gave a long overview of media and communications history. 

Gore spoke off-the-cuff for about an hour and then took questions from the seminar attendees. During the discussion, Gore addressed the issue of what happens when citizens are fed information that is meant to derail rational debate on complex issues."

Personally I do not blame Gore for expressing frustration at how the corporations have spent millions of dollars working to discredit him, and convincing the low hanging fruit that the evidence that they read about, or see out of their windows, every day is not reality.

It  is at times like this that I have to fight the urge to fantasize about how much different our country, and the world, would be if George Bush, the Supreme Court, and Fox News had not colluded to steal the 2000 election. Nothing to be gained by that kind of thinking, except to reignite that barely forgotten ember of anger that burned in the pit of my stomach and caused me so many sleepless nights lo those many years ago.

(H/T to Progressive Alaska.)

For those who have been missing their Keith Olbermann fix, here is a rather lengthy interview from The Hollywood Reporter.

From the Hollywood Reporter:

Olbermann has signed a stable of contributors including Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi, Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas, comedian Richard Lewis and filmmakers Michael Moore and Ken Burns. Current is not paying many of them -- at least not in the traditional sense. Moore will be compensated via a donation to charity. Burns declined compensation. Moulitsas, who will appear regularly on Countdown, is receiving what he characterized as a "token amount." "I'm not a big fan of being on television," says Moulitsas. "But there are people I appreciate and so I like to do their shows, and Keith is one of those people."

In recent weeks, Olbermann hired David Sarosi -- who produced the "worst persons" segments on MSNBC -- as executive producer. Senior producers include Leslie Bella-Henry, who produced for Lou Dobbs at CNN; Bob Lilly, who worked with Olbermann at MSNBC; and Aaron Volkman, whom Olbermann poached from MLB Network. "I'm a natural management guy," Olbermann says. "I had forgotten that. And I forgot how much I hate it."

But if some of his contributors are doing this on a shoestring, Olbermann is not. He is drawing a salary of $10 million a year, says a source. (Current TV disputes the figure but adds it does not "disclose confidential, contractual details.") Meanwhile, Olbermann will continue to collect his MSNBC wage for another year and a half. At Current, where he is also chief news officer with an equity stake in the company, he is No. 4 on the corporate ladder behind Gore, Hyatt and CEO Mark Rosenthal, an MTV veteran who was on Current's board before being tapped in 2009 to re-invent the network's programming. Olbermann's equity has the potential to inflate his payday exponentially over the life of his five-year deal. Sources say that Countdown will cost about $15 million a year to produce, and the network is spending another $5 million upfront on marketing. All this for a cable channel that is only in 60 million homes in channel Siberia (versus MSNBC's 95 million with prime positioning). Says Rosenthal, "We will spend the money we need to spend to make Keith into even more of a household name than he already is."

Well I for one am awaiting the debut of this show with bated breath. ESPECIALLY after learning that one of my friends is slated to be a guest on the show during its first couple of episodes.

P.S. Here is an additional Q and A that you all may find very interesting as well.

Republican led federal probe finds no misuse of data by climate scientists.

From Raw Story:

A Republican-led federal probe of climate scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found no evidence that they manipulated data, after leaked e-mails in 2009 sparked the "climategate" controversy.

The investigation was conducted by the inspector general of the Commerce Department. It reviewed the 1,073 leaked messages, particularly the 289 that were exchanged with NOAA scientists, and interviewed NOAA chief Jane Lubchenco and her staff about them.

"We did not find any evidence that NOAA inappropriately manipulated data," the inspector general concluded in a recent report. It also cleared Lucbhenco for testifying before Congress that the e-mails did not weaken the science of climate change.

The probe was requested by Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma, the top Republican on the environment committee, who has called global warming "the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people."

Well good.  Now can we finally stop denying that this planet has a serious man made problem and DO something about it?

I am so tired of having to refute false conspiracies made up by the GOP in an attempt to slow down our ability to solve real problems facing this planet because it might cost their corporate overlords money if we do so.

Sarah Palin creates a brand new phrase, "Gore-gate"! Nope doesn't mean a thing, thanks for asking.

Here is the transcript (with some helpful clarifications):

And finally we should create a competitive climate for investments and renewables, and alternatives that are economical and doable and none of this "snake oil" science stuff that is based on this Global Warming Gore-gate stuff (WTF? Gore-gate? I thought they referred to this as Climate-gate.)  that came down...where there was revelation (Biblical code word for the Dominionists in the crowd! You know who you are!) that these scientists..some of these scientists were playing some political games, and..I...I sued the Feds over this...I sued the Feds as Governor for some bogus listing on the ESA, just about got run out of town of course by the environmentalists, but now we feel a little bit vindicated because we're realizing through...Gore-gate that..um..there was some snake oil science involved in the data collection there ( a complete misrepresentation of what the e-mails said) ..the great energy innovation..that will replace the conventional energy resources is just not here yet..its not here yet, but it will be someday, and until that day we need out domestic resources to meet our needs (Which they currently don't because we use around 5 million barrels of oil per day yet burn up 19.5 million barrels per day) and..that alternative..when it is discovered..it will be here.. and it will be Americans who find it, Americans will invent this next source (sound of imbeciles slapping their palms together) because (more ignorant clapping) we invented the modern oil well, we invented the telephone, we invented...the airplane, and personal computer..we put a man on the moooon!  We invented the Internet, unless that was just another Gore-gate thing too (laughter) but it is American ingenuity that made this country the envy of the world..we have the ingenuity..and it will be Americans pioneering a new era in energy..we have the resource, we have the ingenuity we have the best workers in the world. now all we need is the POLITICAL will (smattering of claps)..so..in other words....there's nothin' STOPPING us from achieving energy independence that a good ole fashioned election can't fix! (Wild applause and crazy teabagger clapping)

Wow! That is not just word salad, that is word fruit salad!

Palin completely misrepresents the e-mails between the scientists working on climate change, rebrands it Gore-gate in order to get a cheap laugh out of a crowd that undoubtedly learned their science in Sunday school, and uses terms like "snake oil science" to feed into their ignorant mistrust of the educated. That is just fucking pathetic.

Sarah Palin has found the place that she feels the most comfortable which is speaking in rapid fire sound bites, and applause lines, while saying nothing of substance, to a crowd who really just came to gawk at her because she is the gaudiest clown in the circus. She has become an object of fascination, kind of like Eng and Chang Bunker or JoJo the Dogface Boy.

However while the Republicans might only be using her as a side show spectacle to help raise money, there are sadly some people who actually think the things she says are true.  Those are the people that make Sarah Palin dangerous.  They are not thinkers, they are believers.  And like the tent revival preachers and televangelists who came before her Palin encourages these people to turn off their critical thinking and simply believe in her and the message that she brings.

By the way can somebody please explain to me how the words the President of the United States reads off of a teleprompter from a speech that all agree he usually has significant input in crafting is somehow less believable than the speech sitting on the lectern in front of Palin that clearly somebody else wrote for her and that she has to keep looking down to read? In the world of teabagging is seeing the top of a speakers head and hearing them constantly lose their place make them more authentic?  I mean seriously, WTF?

Sarah Palin has Al Gore book "An Inconvenient Truth" removed from her hotel room.

The customary copy of "An Inconvenient Truth" was conveniently missing from Palin's room at the eco-friendly Gaia Shasta Hotel & Spa, where she and her daughter freshened up before Palin's sold-out appearances at the recent Sierra Cascade Logging Conference in Redding.

"We were under strict instructions" to make sure the Gore books were removed from rooms used by Palin and other conference VIPs, a hotel staffer told me last night.

You know this may not be a slam against Al Gore. I just think that Sarah feels uncomfortable around any book with the word "truth" in the title.

The Gaia Shasta Hotel & Spa is where Palin stayed when she gave her speech in Redding California to the "men who kill trees" where she famously said “You guys were doing green jobs before green jobs were even cool!”

You know if she would have read Gore's book she may not have said something quite so stupid.

According to the reporter who wrote this article, Marc Beauchamp (who also stayed in this hotel), there may have been other reading material available in Palin's room.

For the record, the Gore book was prominently displayed on the table in our room this weekend. On a shelf in the closet were copies of the Holy Bible, The Book of Mormon and the "Teaching of Buddha."

What do you think gang? With THAT selection of reading material available which one do you think she would have allowed Piper to read to her?

"Who's Buddha, mommy?"

"He was an agent of Satan honey. Just like that horrible Al Gore. Now read me a passage from Genesis, I have to deliver that speech tomorrow and I need to bone up on a little science."

Sarah Palin supports socialized medicine, takes credit for Obama's words, and fears a debate with Al Gore. Countdown simply cannot resist.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Speaker Pelosi states the obvious.

"The price of oil is... is attributed to two oil men in the White House and their protectors in the United States Senate," Pelosi said in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

Pelosi said she would continue to oppose two policy changes that President Bush and congressional Republicans have been advocating: lifting the ban on offshore drilling and opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil exploration.

Pelosi said there are plenty of opportunities that oil companies should explore before environmentally sensitive areas such as ANWR are open to drilling, pointing to the 33 million acres that have already been approved for offshore drilling and the 68 million acres of federal land in the lower 48 states that is open to exploration.

"The impression that the White House has given you is that if you could drill in these protected areas, the price of gasoline will come down," Pelosi said. "Even the president in his press conference the other day acknowledged that that was not the case."

Al Gore gave a great speech yesterday saying that he thought our country could ween itself off of fossil fuels to meet our energy needs within ten years time.

Now see that is the kind of leadership that this country is crying out for. And most of our crying is done as we fill up at the gas pump.

I applaud the efforts of Al Gore and agree completely with Nancy Pelosi that we would never have found ourselves in this untenable position if we had not elected George Bush as President (I am sorry I forgot that I am a raging liberal for a minute. I meant "if we had not allowed George Bush to steal TWO elections from the voters in this country." There that is better!)

Al Gore would like YOU, to vote for Barack Obama.

"I present to you the next president of the United States, Barack Obama!" Gore said in a brief introduction of Obama at a Detroit fundraiser. He planned a later appearance with Obama at a 20,000-person rally at the Joe Louis Arena.

In a letter to be e-mailed to Obama supporters, the former vice president and Nobel Prize winner wrote, "From now through Election Day, I intend to do whatever I can to make sure he is elected president of the United States."

Well there is certainly no stopping us now.