Green With Envy

Some days I'm amazed at the cohones the Bushies display.

Ok, I take that back. I'm never really amazed, so much as setting new definitions of greed and self-importance on a daily basis.

According to Treehugger, California, in the lead as always on emissions and eco-friendly legislation, is preparing to pass a bill similar to the original and less-mutilated Clean Air Act, with some updates that have been bouncing around the court for the last few years. The so called "Global Warming Solutions Act" would force businesses in California to begin actively reducing emissions by 2012, aiming for a total emission reduction of 25% in 2020.

The businesses would also have emissions credits that can be traded in an open market fashion. This is highly positive for all involved parties, as already green businesses would gain extra revenue for further development, and less eco-conscious industries could minimize any economic impact of rapid refits in order to gain compliance.

Naturally, the Bushies don't see it this way. Any threat to their domination of our atmosphere seems to be way below the belt for them. Some of their biggest lobbies are the power, gas, oil, and automotive industries, and to lose the support of them would be disastrous (to their wallet).

What Americans have forgotten is that we were never a country to simply fold in the face of a mounting threat, in this case, the dwindling oil supply. Detroit (and the jobs with it) would not simply pack up and leave if we forced them to build more efficient vehicles and plants. They'd innovate and build hybrids, or better still, electric vehicles.

It's time for America to stand with the people who've made this bill possible, and put an end to political greed and corruption.

Idiot Winds

"Citizens drowned in their attics. Desperate mothers crying out on national TV for food and water. A breakdown of law and order. And a government, at all levels, that fell short of its responsibilities," the president said. "When the rain stopped ... our TV screens showed faces worn down by poverty and despair. And for most of you, the storms were only the beginning of our difficulties."

Note the phrasing on that last sentence, if you will, "...our difficulties." Yeah, George; difficulties to the tune of 31%, but alas, it's still a heck of a job, bad jobs aside. But of course, you don't have all that much to worry about, being an independently wealthy incumbent without concern of due recourse from the American populous, short of a revolution (not likely, even considering the general ill will generated against this administration).

I really do have to note here though, that he was spot on about the beginning of said difficulties, but it's curious that he didn't mention an end to them. Where's 'Mission Accomplished' when you need it? Hell, did he even mention in detail what his plans were to fix them, or even at all?

And on the note of radical weather, I just saw "An Inconvenient Truth" for the first time tonight. See it.

And the ranks fall...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Republican Sen. John McCain, a staunch defender of the Iraq war, on Tuesday faulted the Bush administration for misleading Americans into believing the conflict would be ``some kind of day at the beach.''

Finally, some spine has shown itself in Washington, and most impressively, on John McCain. Don't get me wrong, Mr. McCain is an American hero and deserves the respect of such a status. Regrettably, he has in recent years caved to the will of his party and quietly acquiesced to their demands and fallen in step. This I cannot support or condone.

During the 2000 primaries, he was slammed and insulted in his public and private lives by his own party. Attack ads suggested that he didn't earn his war hero status (sound familiar?) because he spent his time in the Hanoi Hilton, and that he was the father of an illegitimate black child (really his adopted daughter Bridget, rescued from a Bangladeshi orphanage).

Most despicably however, they threatened Mr. McCain with his membership in the party if he refused to support the Bush administration. Unfortunately, rather than make this despicable action public, Mr. McCain chose to go quietly with his captors.

Now though, perhaps based on his own experience in war (unlike almost every single major member of Mr. Bush's cabinet), McCain has taken to the streets with his outrage, and echoing the hearts and minds of the people of this great nation. In other words, he's doing his job. I, for one, am very proud that he has taken a stand, and I believe it may finally be time for the country to reverse course and right the wrongs of the last six years. Sometimes we just need a push.

``I think one of the biggest mistakes we made was underestimating the size of the task and the sacrifices that would be required,'' McCain said. ``Stuff happens, mission accomplished, last throes, a few dead-enders. I'm just more familiar with those statements than anyone else because it grieves me so much that we had not told the American people how tough and difficult this task would be.''

28 Days Later

Alberto Gonzales must be out of his mind. That's my only explanation for this. First of all, it's not insane enough that we can hold foreign 'fighters' without any charge for years. Now they're proposing that we should be able to hold our own citizens for 28 days without any charges. I guess Tony Blair finally gave them something to copy.

"George, listen buddy... We can use this. Just think. Late October we pluck Sheehan up from right outside your ranch, Michael Moore from his next movie... Just in time for the elections, and early enough for the public to forget about them."

Voting Terrorism

Let's finally call the Bush Administration out for what it is: An authoritarian state.

It's simple. If you disagree, you are silenced. Paul O'Neill spoke out against the administration's policies and was swept out the door. Voters in Florida exercised their right to vote and were quietly brushed aside by Jeb Bush and Republican voting scandals. Now that the country is on to their tricks, they've resorted to other tactics.

When you're wrong, just ignore the facts and shout down the competition, particularly if they're wimpy like the Democrats have been the last six years. Lately, however, a strange occurrence has started within the Democratic Party. It seems that some of them have... grown spines.

"They are not Swift boating us on security," said Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the Democratic leader in the House.

Seeking to counter White House efforts to turn the reported terrorist plot in Britain to Republican advantage, Democrats are using the arrests of the suspects to try to show Americans how the war in Iraq has fueled Islamic radicalism and distracted Mr. Bush and the Republican Congress from shoring up security at home. They say they intend to drive that message home as the nation observes the coming anniversaries of Hurricane Katrina and the Sept. 11 attacks.
But they are not waiting. A video Monday on the Web site of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee showed footage of Osama bin Laden, referred to an increase in terror attacks, highlighted illegal immigration and pointed out the nuclear aspirations of Iran and North Korea.

"Feel safer?" it concludes. "Vote for change."

In another example, Representative Harold E. Ford Jr., a Democrat running for the Senate in Tennessee, issued a statement Monday noting that the administration shut down a C.I.A. unit dedicated to pursuing Mr. bin Laden. The administration has said that the C.I.A. shut down the unit as part of a restructuring of its counterterrorism division and that the move did not diminish its focus on Al Qaeda and its leaders.

"The president told us that the British attacks are a stark reminder that the nation is at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom,'' Mr. Ford said, "yet his administration has dismantled the very infrastructure that is responsible for catching those terrorists."

In many foreign countries, citizens are either kept entirely from voting, or pressured, either politically or forcefully, into voting for a given party. Do not let them disenfranchize voters again. We need to get out there and vote, both in the upcoming midterm elections, and in Nov. '08. Let's tell the Republicans that we don't want our country to work like this, and remind the Democrats that we're behind them!

Encryption Endangered?

With increasing paranoia on behalf of governments and decreasing rights and protections for citizens, freedoms and personal liberties are finding themselves in ever growing peril. Fearing new and more treacherous levels of spying on behalf of their governments, even less tech-savvy netizens have taken to countermeasures once thought to be the realm of hackers and classified organizations.

Thanks to six year old legislation in Britain called RIPA (Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act), the walls of protection for citizens are steadily eroding. Of particular interest is Part III of RIPA, which allows police under 'certain specific circumstances' to force a suspect to provide their encryption keys and remit any data of interest to investigators.

Generally speaking, this could be useful legislation, particularly as regards terrorist cells and pedophiles. I have no issue with laws that provide for proper investigative powers in the apprehension of dangerous people. The issue is with the poor creation of legislation that allows loopholes for snooping agencies within the government, and provides citizens with no recourse to protect their rights.

Politicians on a Stick

DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - In a month when most voters would rather hit the swimming pool than debate tax cuts, potential 2008 White House candidates are swarming Iowa to win new friends, visit the state fair and maybe eat a pork chop on a stick.

I would make some comments regarding cannibalism, but seeing as how this is tradition, I'll let that one pass. Among potential hopefuls and well known faces were Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN), Gov. Tom Vilsack (D-IA), and Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE). Representing the other team were Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN), and Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), as well as Gov. George Pataki (R-NY), former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R).

Among these, I think we're most likely to see Biden, McCain, and Frist as real potentials. It seems it may still be a bit too early for other figures, such as Hillary, to show their true intents.

At this point, I must admit I'm ready for just about anyone other than the Bushies. Of some note, and of great interest, I should also note the scheduled trips to Iowa of John Kerry and John Edwards. The rumor mills have been in overdrive within the past months of a return of at least one, perhaps both, to the stumps for November '08.

Fighting Terrorism... The Right Way?

There's lots to debate about how to handle terrorism. One thing's for sure, it's not the way our country's chosen to do it.

The British on the other hand, when not caving to the Bush Administration, seem like they might have it right, or at least right-er.

Morning Edition, August 14, 2006 · The British government says the country's terror-threat level is taking a step down from "critical" to "severe." The slight improvement comes days after more than 20 people were arrested for an alleged terror plot against airlines. London continues to suffer flight cancellations related to the increased security.

They seem to be taking the "Get in, get it done, get out" approach, which, since the subway bombings, seems to have worked for them.

I think they've got the idea. They got the intel, they did their job, put out the alerts to keep people's at(tension) high, and then lowered them when they thought the risk passed. Meanwhile, we're stuck here with color coded duct tape.

I guess the next three months will tell how many more terror alerts we need to suffer through, and how the panicky national security moms deal with it at the polls.