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Sunday, March 11, 2007
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TalkLeft:
"Say hello to The 'Habeas Corpus Restoration Act of 2007' and 'Restoring the Constitution Act of 2007.' Introduced last week Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Jane Harman (D-CA) respectively, the bills would restore habeas and other rights to the detainees at Guantanamo."
"2008 pres"
9:38:27 AM 
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Washington Post: "President Bush approved 8,200 more U.S. troops for Iraq and Afghanistan on top of reinforcements already ordered to those two countries, the White House said Saturday, a move that comes amid a fiery debate in Washington over the Iraq war. The president agreed to send 4,700 troops to Iraq in addition to the 21,500 he ordered to go in January, mainly to provide support for those combat forces and to handle more anticipated Iraqi prisoners. He also decided to send a 3,500-member brigade to Afghanistan to accelerate training of local forces, doubling his previous troop increase to fight a resurgent Taliban."
Thanks to beSpacific for the link.
Captain's Quarters: "The Washington Post, among other news outlets, made a stink last week about the lack of a publicly-stated Plan B in the event the surge strategy failed to make a difference in Iraq. However, with preliminary indications showing success, Robert Kagan wonders whether journalists have a Plan B for themselves."
"2008 pres"
9:33:45 AM
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The Horse's Mouth: "TPM Reader EF has written in to tell us he's a gay man living in New York who was dismayed to discover the other day that the hometown paper he delivered as a boy -- the Siskiyou Daily News in rural northern California -- is carrying Ann Coulter's column. He has now written a letter to the paper's managing editor, Deborra Clayton, pleading with her to drop Coulter. I'm reprinting much of his letter here, because it says a good deal about what this whole thing's about."
"2008 pres"
9:28:11 AM
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beSpacific: "White House fact sheet on job creation: Job Creation Continues - More Than 7.5 Million Jobs Created Since August 2003, March 9, 2007."
"2008 pres"
9:25:35 AM
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Captain's Quarters: "Democratic actiivists have rejoiced this week in the cancellation of a presidential campaign debate in Nevada, arranged by the state party to air on Fox. They demanded that the candidates reject the debate even before Fox executive Roger Ailes made a controversial joke about Barack Obama, but the effort gained so much steam afterwards that all of the candidates acquiesced. Nevadans who had hoped to host an important party function are now outraged over the end of the event, and the Las Vegas Review-Journal has special derision for the activists who screeched with outrage over Fox's involvement."
"2008 pres"
9:22:58 AM
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Talking Points Memo: "The New York Times editorial board calls for the dismissal of Alberto Gonzales."
TalkLeft: "Impeach Alberto Gonzales."
NewMexiKen: "Corruption dusted mesas."
"2008 pres"
9:21:20 AM
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Is ethanol one of the pieces of the puzzle for energy independence? Here's an opinion piece on the subject from the Olberlin Times. They write, "America is drunk on ethanol. Farmers in the Midwest are sending billions of bushels of corn to refineries that turn it into billions of gallons of fuel. Automakers in Detroit have already built millions of cars, trucks and SUVs that can run on it, and are committed to making millions more. In Washington, politicians have approved generous subsidies for companies that make ethanol. And just this week, President Bush arranged with Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for their countries to share ethanol production technology...
"The problem is, ethanol really isn't ready for prime time. The only economical way to make ethanol right now is with corn, which means the burgeoning industry is literally eating America's lunch, not to mention its breakfast and dinner. And though ethanol from corn may have some minor benefits with regard to energy independence, most analysts conclude its environmental benefits are questionable at best. There are many questions about ethanol's place in America[OE]s energy future. Some are easily answered; others, not so much. Ethanol is moonshine. Hooch. Rotgut. White lightning. That explains why the last time Americans produced it in any appreciable amount was during Prohibition. Today, just like back then, virtually all the ethanol produced in the United States comes from corn that is fermented and then distilled to produce pure grain alcohol. Any car will burn gasoline mixed with a small amount of ethanol. But cars must be equipped with special equipment to burn fuel that is more than about 10 percent ethanol. All three of the major American automakers are already producing flex-fuel cars that can run on either gasoline or E85, a mix of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Thanks to incentives from the federal government, they have committed to having half the cars they produce run on either E85 or biodiesel by 2012."
"2008 pres"
8:26:58 AM
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Here's an opinion piece on greenhouse gases and warming, written by Henry I. Miller, from the San Francisco Chronicle. From the article, "We're attacking global warming with a lot of hot air -- with strategies that will never work. Although many activists have been pushing for lower emissions of greenhouse gases, what we really need is resilience and adaptation. Significant reductions of emissions will be too costly, too little and too late. Reductions in the burning of fossil fuels sufficient to have even a modest impact would stifle economic growth and plunge the world into chaos. In any case, discernible effects on warming would be decades away. In addition, as pointed out recently in an article in the journal Nature by University of Colorado environmental studies Professor Roger Pielke Jr. and his collaborators. 'Vulnerability to climate-related impacts on society is increasing for reasons that have nothing to do with greenhouse gas emissions, such as rapid population growth along coasts and in areas with limited water supplies,' which exacerbates the impact of droughts...
"Such doctrinaire activism is inimical to resilience; it jeopardizes our survival as individuals and our success as a society. The need for resilience in both the private and public sectors is not new. The buggy-whip manufacturers had to adapt and begin supplying automobile components to Henry Ford's assembly line, or die. But resilience is in short supply these days, and there is plenty of blame to go around. Politicians tend to be short-term thinkers, their purview often limited to the next election, and many of them seem to care less about the public interest than about scoring political points. Moreover, many of them are just not very smart, and they're particularly challenged in science and logic If we are to meet economic, environmental and public health challenges, we need plenty of options and opportunities for innovation -- and the wealth to pursue them. In society, as in biology, survival demands adaptation. But in large and small ways, unimaginative, short-sighted politicians and venal activists have conspired to limit our options, constrain economic growth and make real solutions elusive."
Meanwhile a study of the global effects of warming on water supplies will be published next month, according to CNN. From the article, "The harmful effects of global warming on daily life are already showing up, and within a couple of decades hundreds of millions of people won't have enough water, top scientists will say next month at a meeting in Belgium. At the same time, tens of millions of others will be flooded out of their homes each year as the Earth reels from rising temperatures and sea levels, according to portions of a draft of an international scientific report obtained by The Associated Press. Tropical diseases like malaria will spread. By 2050, polar bears will mostly be found in zoos, their habitats gone. Pests like fire ants will thrive. For a time, food will be plentiful because of the longer growing season in northern regions. But by 2080, hundreds of millions of people could face starvation, according to the report, which is still being revised. The draft document by the authoritative Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change focuses on global warming's effects and is the second in a series of four being issued this year. Written and reviewed by more than 1,000 scientists from dozens of countries, it still must be edited by government officials."
"2008 pres"
8:02:53 AM
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© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/15/09; 12:42:15 PM.
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