First meeting of the Semester · 1031 days ago by Sarah
1st Meeting is Monday September 11 from 8-10 PM in G 143. I hope to see you there! And I hope to utilize this wonderful resource more this year. Sincerely, Sarah
Thoughts? [1]
Gas Prices · 1160 days ago by David
I’m tired of the ridiculous short term political ‘solutions’ to rising gas prices. Artificially lowering the cost is not going to help at all. Oil Supplies are diminishing, therefore prices go up and people are naturally pressured to start reducing consumption. I don’t mind high prices because I know that it is one of the only ways people will start paying attention to our country’s dependence on oil. The LA Times sums it up pretty well in their editorial.
Oil and politics don’t mix
April 28, 2006
NO DOUBT PRESIDENT BUSH hoped his Tuesday speech to the Renewable Fuels Assn. would mollify grumpy Americans tired of high gas prices. But by proposing dubious policies that – at best – might save a few cents per gallon in the short term, while doing little to address the underlying problem of U.S. oil dependence, the president did something worse than nothing: He ushered in a silly season for wrongheaded, economically ignorant proposals by headline-chasing politicians.
Just a few short months ago, Bush was paying lip service to addressing the country’s oil “addiction.” On Tuesday, he offered us gas junkies a cheaper, faster fix by deferring new deposits to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. And now, after a week’s worth of 1970s-style economic rhetoric, the prospects for successful detox seem all the more distant as public officials scramble to follow the president’s lead in dreaming up their own “solutions” to the oil market. Like most insta-legislation rushed to the floor in the wake of controversial news – think Terri Schiavo – the gas-price proposals should be ignored and scorned.
Take the calls to root out alleged misdeeds by oil companies. Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) wants to look at Big Oil’s tax returns “to make sure [they] aren’t taking a speed pass by the tax man.” Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) proposed breaking up the industry altogether. And state officials want their piece of the witch hunt too. On Tuesday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that he had sicced the California Energy Commission on the case. In Arkansas, a candidate for attorney general also pledged to investigate oil companies, even though that state’s anti-gouging law only applies during emergencies.
Everyone likes to see a villain squirm. The problem is, the Federal Trade Commission already has been sniffing out price gouging in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and has yet to uncover one instance of illegal behavior. Election-year investigations into marketwide collusion and gouging are window dressing, nothing more.
Worse are renewed calls to authorize drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and to relax environmental restrictions on polluting refineries. A still-lower circle of populist hell is reserved for embarrassingly baldfaced sops to voters, such as the Senate’s $100 taxpayer refund. Or that body’s proposal to increase farm energy subsidies by $1.5 billion. Or its push for a 60-day federal gas tax holiday.
All of these proposals would provide scant relief even while encouraging continued fuel overuse. As Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testified before Congress on Thursday, “Unfortunately, there’s nothing, really, that can be done that’s going to affect energy prices or gasoline prices in the very short run.”
Sensible policy would focus on curbing consumption. Indeed, if politicians were being honest about breaking the addiction, they’d admit that it might make sense to hope that gas prices stay high – which would drive down demand and perhaps spur businesses to get real about alternative fuel technologies and improved auto mileage.
As a Texas governor running for president wisely said in 2000, the “Strategic Reserve should not be used as an attempt to drive down oil prices right before an election.”
Top NASA Scientist Muzzled by the Bush Administration on Global Warming · 1165 days ago by David
One of the most knowledgeable scientists in the US is being censored by the Bush administration. NASA Scientist Jim Hansen says that scientific reports are now being reviewed by the Whitehouse before they are released to the public. This is a new Bush administration policy, and the man who reviews the papers just happens to be an ex-Oil executive. Hansen says he has never seen this type of censorship.
Watch this 60 minutes special about Global Warming , and how the Bush administration is not allowing scientists to honestly present their research. It’s amazing.
Crooks and Liars has the Video
Melting Glaciers Threaten Widespread Flooding, Storm Damage Worldwide… · 1230 days ago by David
“This is the kind of study that should make people stay awake at night wondering what we’re doing to the climate, how we’re shaping the planet for future generations and, especially, what we can do about it.”
By Shankar Vedantam
Washington Post Staff Writer
February 17, 2006; Page A-1 Full Article
Greenland’s glaciers are melting into the sea twice as fast as previously believed, the result of a warming trend that renders obsolete predictions of how quickly Earth’s oceans will rise over the next century, scientists said yesterday.
The new data come from satellite imagery and give fresh urgency to worries about the role of human activity in global warming. The Greenland data are mirrored by findings from Bolivia to the Himalayas, scientists said, noting that rising sea levels threaten widespread flooding and severe storm damage in low-lying areas worldwide.
The scientists said they do not yet understand the precise mechanism causing glaciers to flow and melt more rapidly, but they said the changes in Greenland were unambiguous—and accelerating: In 1996, the amount of water produced by melting ice in Greenland was about 90 times the amount consumed by Los Angeles in a year. Last year, the melted ice amounted to 225 times the volume of water that city uses annually.
“We are witnessing enormous changes, and it will take some time before we understand how it happened, although it is clearly a result of warming around the glaciers,” said Eric Rignot, a scientist at the California Institute of Technology’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The Greenland study is the latest of several in recent months that have found evidence that rising temperatures are affecting not only Earth’s ice sheets but also such things as plant and animal habitats, coral reefs’ health, hurricane severity, droughts, and globe-girdling currents that drive regional climates.
The ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica are among the largest reservoirs of fresh water on Earth, and their fate is expected to be a major factor in determining how much the oceans will rise. Rignot and University of Kansas scientist Pannir Kanagaratnam, who published their findings yesterday in the journal Science, declined to guess how much the faster melting would raise sea levels but said current estimates of around 20 inches over the next century are probably too low.
While sea-level increases of a few feet may not sound like very much, they could have profound consequences on flood-prone countries such as Bangladesh and trigger severe weather around the world.
*“The implications are global,” said Julian Dowdeswell, a glacier expert at the University of Cambridge in England who reviewed the new paper for Science. “We are not talking about walking along the sea front on a nice summer day, we are talking of the worst storm settings, the biggest storm surges . . . you are upping the probability major storms will take place.”
The study also highlights how seemingly small changes in temperature can have extensive effects. Where glaciers in Greenland were once traveling around four miles per year, they are now moving twice as fast. While it is possible that increased precipitation in northern Greenland is somehow compensating for the melting in the south, the scientists said that is unlikely.
There are multiple ways warming might be causing glaciers to accelerate. The scientists said increased temperatures may loosen the grip that glaciers have on underlying bedrock, or melt away floating shelves along the shore that can hold ice in place.
Whatever the mechanism, the phenomenon seems widespread. At a news conference organized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science at its annual meeting in St. Louis, glacier scientists Vladimir Aizen from the University of Idaho and Gino Casassa of Chile’s Centro de Estudios Cientificos said they were seeing the same thing happen to glaciers in the Himalayas and South America.
“Glaciers have retreated systematically and in an accelerated fashion in the last few decades,” Casassa said. One glacier that provided Bolivia with its only ski slope five years ago has splintered into three and cannot be used for skiing, the scientist added.
Rapid melting of Himalayan glaciers also raises concerns for the large portion of humankind that gets its fresh water from glacier-fed rivers in South Asia, Aizen noted.
Most climate scientists believe a major cause for Earth’s warming climate is increased emissions of greenhouse gases as a result of burning fossil fuels, largely in the United States and other wealthy, industrialized nations such as those of western Europe but increasingly in rapidly developing nations such as China and India as well. Carbon dioxide and several other gases trap the sun’s heat and raise atmospheric temperature.
“This study underscores the need to take swift, meaningful actions at home and abroad to address climate change,” said Vicki Arroyo, director of policy analysis at the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.
The data highlight the lack of meaningful U.S. policy, she added: “This is the kind of study that should make people stay awake at night wondering what we’re doing to the climate, how we’re shaping the planet for future generations and, especially, what we can do about it.”
On the President’s Warrantless Wiretapping Program · 1240 days ago by David
by Russ Feingold
Statement delivered on the Senate Floor by U.S. Senator Russ Feingold February 7, 2006.
Mr. President, last week the President of the United States gave his State of the Union address, where he spoke of America’s leadership in the world, and called on all of us to “lead this world toward freedom.” Again and again, he invoked the principle of freedom, and how it can transform nations, and empower people around the world.
But, almost in the same breath, the President openly acknowledged that he has ordered the government to spy on Americans, on American soil, without the warrants required by law.
The President issued a call to spread freedom throughout the world, and then he admitted that he has deprived Americans of one of their most basic freedoms under the Fourth Amendment—to be free from unjustified government intrusion.
The President was blunt. He said that he had authorized the NSA’s domestic spying program, and he made a number of misleading arguments to defend himself. His words got rousing applause from Republicans, and even some Democrats.
The President was blunt, so I will be blunt: This program is breaking the law, and this President is breaking the law. Not only that, he is misleading the American people in his efforts to justify this program.
How is that worthy of applause? Since when do we celebrate our commander in chief for violating our most basic freedoms, and misleading the American people in the process? When did we start to stand up and cheer for breaking the law? In that moment at the State of the Union, I felt ashamed.
10 Key Values of the Green Party · 1240 days ago by David
1. GRASSROOTS DEMOCRACY
Every human being deserves a say in the decisions that affect their lives and not be subject to the will of another. Therefore, we will work to increase public participation at every level of government and to ensure that our public representatives are fully accountable to the people who elect them. We will also work to create new types of political organizations which expand the process of participatory democracy by directly including citizens in the decision-making process.
2. SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
All persons should have the rights and opportunity to benefit equally from the resources afforded us by society and the environment. We must consciously confront in ourselves, our organizations, and society at large, barriers such as racism and class oppression, sexism and homophobia, ageism and disability, which act to deny fair treatment and equal justice under the law.
3. ECOLOGICAL WISDOM
Human societies must operate with the understanding that we are part of nature, not separate from nature. We must maintain an ecological balance and live within the ecological and resource limits of our communities and our planet. We support a sustainable society which utilizes resources in such a way that future generations will benefit and not suffer from the practices of our generation. To this end we must practice agriculture which replenishes the soil; move to an energy efficient economy; and live in ways that respect the integrity of natural systems.
4. NON-VIOLENCE
It is essential that we develop effective alternatives to society’s current patterns of violence. We will work to demilitarize, and eliminate weapons of mass destruction, without being naive about the intentions of other governments. We recognize the need for self-defense and the defense of others who are in helpless situations. We promote non-violent methods to oppose practices and policies with which we disagree, and will guide our actions toward lasting personal, community and global peace.
5. DECENTRALIZATION
Centralization of wealth and power contributes to social and economic injustice, environmental destruction, and militarization. Therefore, we support a restructuring of social, political and economic institutions away from a system which is controlled by and mostly benefits the powerful few, to a democratic, less bureaucratic system. Decision-making should, as much as possible, remain at the individual and local level, while assuring that civil rights are protected for all citizens.
6. COMMUNITY-BASED ECONOMICS AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE
We recognize it is essential to create a vibrant and sustainable economic system, one that can create jobs and provide a decent standard of living for all people while maintaining a healthy ecological balance. A successful economic system will offer meaningful work with dignity, while paying a “living wage” which reflects the real value of a person’s work.
Local communities must look to economic development that assures protection of the environment and workers’ rights; broad citizen participation in planning; and enhancement of our “quality of life.” We support independently owned and operated companies which are socially responsible, as well as co-operatives and public enterprises that distribute resources and control to more people through democratic participation.
7. FEMINISM AND GENDER EQUITY
We have inherited a social system based on male domination of politics and economics. We call for the replacement of the cultural ethics of domination and control with more cooperative ways of interacting that respect differences of opinion and gender. Human values such as equity between the sexes, interpersonal responsibility, and honesty must be developed with moral conscience. We should remember that the process that determines our decisions and actions is just as important as achieving the outcome we want.
8. RESPECT FOR DIVERSITY
We believe it is important to value cultural, ethnic, racial, sexual, religious and spiritual diversity, and to promote the development of respectful relationships across these lines.
We believe that the many diverse elements of society should be reflected in our organizations and decision-making bodies, and we support the leadership of people who have been traditionally closed out of leadership roles. We acknowledge and encourage respect for other life forms than our own and the preservation of biodiversity.
9. PERSONAL AND GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY
We encourage individuals to act to improve their personal well-being and, at the same time, to enhance ecological balance and social harmony. We seek to join with people and organizations around the world to foster peace, economic justice, and the health of the planet.
10. FUTURE FOCUS AND SUSTAINABILITY
Our actions and policies should be motivated by long-term goals. We seek to protect valuable natural resources, safely disposing of or “unmaking” all waste we create, while developing a sustainable economics that does not depend on continual expansion for survival. We must counterbalance the drive for short-term profits by assuring that economic development, new technologies, and fiscal policies are responsible to future generations who will inherit the results of our actions.
Ten Key Values from other state and local Greens.
There is no authoritative version of the Ten Key Values of the Greens. The Ten Key Values are guiding principles that are adapted and defined to fit each state and local chapter.
Impeaching the President · 1242 days ago by David
Calls for impeachment are coming from important places these days. Places like the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. These committees are very important because if impeachment hearings were to begin, this is where they would start.
In the House a formal investigation from the judiciary committee has been launched. And in the Senate the republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Arlen Specter is mentioning the impeachment of the president as well.
The House investigation is in regards to the Iraq war and will “investigate the misconduct of the Bush Administration with regard to the Iraq war and report on possible impeachable offenses.” And the statements from the Senate leader pertained to the domestic spying issue.
This is not exactly breaking news; it’s simply underreported news.
Let’s all realize that impeaching President Bush is no longer a liberal pipedream. Our imperial president has not closed all channels of dissent and disagreement, we still have some checks and balances on presidential power. And the crimes of the Bush administration can no longer be hidden.
If we work for a Democratic majority in 2006, president Bush will likely not finish his term as president.
From the House Report “The Constitution in Crisis: The Downing Street Minutes and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retributions and Cover-ups in the Iraq War.”:
“In brief, we have found that there is substantial evidence the President, the Vice-President and other high ranking members of the Bush Administration misled Congress and the American people regarding the decision to go to war in Iraq; misstated and manipulated intelligence information regarding the justification for such war; countenanced torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in Iraq; and permitted inappropriate retaliation against critics of their Administration. There is at least a prima facie case that these actions that federal laws have been violated – from false statements to Congress to retaliating against Administration critics.”
“In response to the Report, I have already taken several initial steps. First, I have introduced a resolution (H. Res. 635) creating a Select Committee with subpoena authority to investigate the misconduct of the Bush Administration with regard to the Iraq war and report on possible impeachable offenses. In addition, I have introduced Resolutions regarding both President Bush (H. Res. 636) and Vice-President Cheney (H. Res. 637) proposing that they be censured by Congress based on indisputable evidence of unaccounted for misstatements and abuse of power in the public record. There are a number of additional recommendations in the Report that I expect to be taking up in the coming weeks and months.”
At least read the introduction of the report, it’s a real eye opener. View the Full Report Here.
Greens Respond to 2006 State of the Union · 1242 days ago by David
The Green Party has posted 5 video responses from their members online. The videos cover the Iraq War, Healthcare, Global Warming, Democracy and the Green Party.
Check out the videos on their Website
Summarys:
Massive deception behind the Iraq invasion & occupation; Immediate withdrawal of US troops; Bush Administration lawlessness: warrantless spying on US citizens, etc.; Retreat of Dems: Sen. Clinton; Pro-war Gov. Kaine’s rebuttal for the Dems; Call for impeachment of Bush & Cheney
Failure of Bush’s prescription drug bill: chaos in the states; Call for national health insurance
Threat of global warming: evident with Katrina; Real US security: measures against global warming; ending oil addiction; National & state solutions: alternative energy sources
Greens running for & holding local office; Bush administration attacks on the social safety net; Addressing local issues: education, housing, basic human rights; DC statehood: a civil rights issue
The Green alternative: party for the 21st century; US democracy in danger (mention 2004 election irregularities & Green response); Comparison of GP with the 2 parties: Rep. Pelosi offers no criticism of Iraq War & refuses to mention national health insurance; Dems line up behind Alito; Dems favor eminent domain decision), No interesting ideas; GP candidates; Register Green, vote Green
New Post · 1242 days ago by David
Testing the Blog, Very Fun.
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Thoughts? [1]
First Post · 1242 days ago by textpattern
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