Frootz!

I saw it the Arclight on the 24th.

Must see imho…..

Fitz!

Frootz!

Al Gore!

Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Like to see CM try to spin that one.

I was EPU’d earlier in previous thread, but I wanted to share an e-mail I sent to Chris Matthews, David Broder, and Patrick Healy, the guy who wrote the NY Times hitpiece on Hillary and Bill.

“I hope that if you wish to engage in gossip and innuendo that you also be looking into the sex lives of Republicans such as John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, and George W. Bush himself. Maybe members of the media should be covered too, since they are public figures. If it’s sleaze for one, it should be sleaze for all, don’t you think? This is America, after all, and fair’s supposed to fair.”

Following is –

Open Letter to Mr. Patrick Healy
c/o New York Times-Enquirer

Dear Mr. Healy,

Now that you’ve covered the sex lives of Hillary and Bill Clinton with a front page story in the New York Times, would you please dig into the sex lives of your boss, Bill Keller, the Times’ Executive Editor, or the Washington Post’s media maven, Howie Kurtz, or its lecherous old pundit and political palaverer, David Broder, all of whom stroked your “Post” Page 6 story into premature prominence.

Or better yet, the secret sex life of George W. Bush!

Has he always been heterosexual? Didn’t he do a little walk on the wild side when he was younger, at Yale (check cheerleading, gay roommate, Skull and Bones, and Deke the drinking fraternity with sado-masochistic hazing like branding bare bottoms with hot irons or pouring honey and salsa into the initiates’ butts)? Didn’t he do some time at a faith-based clinic to “cure” him of his wayward ways before he married Laura? And is he completely “cured”? Look at the way he walks and talks even now? Have you ever seen a real man’s man have such an obsession with fondling bald men’s heads? What’s that mean? Why does he surround himself with men who are clearly homosexual like Ken Mehlman and Jeff Gannon or of “dubious sexuality” like Scott McClellan and Karl Rove? What kind of sex do you think George W. and Pickles have? Robotic? Stepford like? What’s she like off medication anyway? Enquiring minds want to know.

And if you want to talk about politics and sex, you really should look into John McCain and his wives (divorcing the loyal first one after getting out of prisoner-of-war camp to marry the rich, pill-addicted beer heiress just in time to go into politics) or Rudy Giuliani (who married his cousin — unusual outside of Appalachia — then divorced her to marry beautiful newscaster Donna Hanover — and then announced their separation on television without first informing his children or his wife — who had, by the way, just found Rudy dick-deep into his pharmaceutical saleslady/ mistress at the Mayor’s office on Father’s Day).

If this is the sauce you’re going to pour over the Clintons and other Democratic candidates, how about cooking a little puree of Republican, too? You know that despite outward appearances, Republicans are a lot kinkier bunch than Democrats. They repress themselves (and others) so much that when it oozes out or spurts out under pressure, it’s likely to be more fetishistic, more about sadism and domination, and, basically, more twisted.

Rush Limbaugh has his “hillbilly heroin” addiction. O’Reilly likes to talk dirty and caress naked women over phones with imaginary “falafels”. And did you hear that when Chris “Tweety” Matthews lived in San Francisco he frequented a “Pre-op Tranny bar called the Black Rose”?

Who knows what we’ll find out about the sex lives of Bill Keller or Howie Kurtz or even the old goat and grandee of the Beltway, David Broder. However, I’m not sure I want to see the pictures.

Just know that you’re not safe if you continue to fluff for the Republicans. You’ll be caught up in their flotsam and drown in their jism.

Sincerely,
radlib1

Hat tips to –
http://www.firedoglake.com/200…..ton-rules/ (comment by KNows at #54) — Chris Matthews
http://mindprod.com/politics/bushismsgay.html#GAY — Bush

Extended Lincoln, from his second Inaugural address:

“With malice toward none, with charity toward all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nations wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”

I grew up in Southern Illinois, where every fifth grader spent the whole year in social studies/history focused on the Civil War. We visited all the Lincoln historical sites, studied his speeches, went to local cemeteries to find Civil War graves (from both sides), and even spoke with some very, very old members of the community whose memories went all the way back to the 1860s.

Lincoln was a progressive, long before any of us. He spoke and acted with firmness, but also with a humility that recognized that we all have limits. He spoke and acted with compassion, even for those who took up arms against the United States of America. He spoke and acted with concern for “the least” in society – the widows and orphans.

Several communities lay claim to holding the “first Memorial Day” observance, one of which is Carbondale IL, where I grew up. According to a written account of that day by one of the participants, a number of Civil War vets saw a local widow and her children going to decorate the grave of their husband/father, and then got together and decided to get the community involved. The community did so, with a couple hundred local vets marching to the cemetery, and the committee invited General John A. Logan (a native son of the area) to give a brief speech. (They also had a barbeque!) Two years later, when he was head of the “Grand Army of the Republic” – the Civil War Veterans association for Union soldiers – he issued a proclamation that this practice should be done throughout the country.

It’s not hard to imagine those first Memorial Day observances – called at the time “Decoration Day” from the practice of decorating the graves with flowers – as the efforts of ordinary citizens to put into practice the grand things to which Lincoln pointed. Call it a pre-cursor to the netroots. . .

It’s also not hard to imagine using Lincoln’s words to inspire and direct our netroot activities:
Actions with charity, not malice – especially toward those with whom we disagree;
Actions for all, not for some;
Firm actions, not indecisive ones;
Actions to bind up the nation’s wounds;
Actions to care for the veterans (especially those coming back from Iraq), their families, and their communities;
Actions to build a peace at home; and
Actions to build – to rebuild – our reputation abroad.

Fourscore and seven years from now, what will folks say about these times? The answer is up to us.

He’s saying no — but you can hear the “Run, Al, Run” chant growing louder.

The pressure on Gore to run will continue to grow because watching him speak out so eloquently, so passionately, and so personally on this issue — in other words, displaying real leadership — is like suddenly being served a steak after a steady diet of fast-food burgers. It’s a stark reminder of just how far we’ve lowered the bar on what we expect from those we elect.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…..21466.html

I saw the film in LA last month. I remember thinking what a remarkable thing it would be if the nation could rise above the trumped-up fear mongering that passes for international diplomacy right now and face the unsettling realities presented in the film that could soon mean disaster for us all.

I remember reading a famous psychological study once which concluded that if there was fierce competition for scarce resources in a society, the culture would be much more likely to be brutal and inhumane whereas one that had plentiful resources was more likely to be compassionate. And I’ve often wondered if the escalating coarseness of our own discourse, and the increasing dominance of right-wing savagery might not be so much the product of superior neocon powerplays but the result of an awareness in the zeitgeist that we are heading for global resource shortages.

A slip into brutality is not axiomatic for a culture facing scarce resources, but it certainly demands strong leadership and a commitment to principles. I would feel better about the whole situation if I knew these things were not sorely lacking in the Democratic party.

BTW, great post Pach. Oh and I absolutely walked out of that film thinking Gore was running.

Pach, I love the idea of the congressional resolution you described. The Senate Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources has a number of members who might – might – be interested in proposing it:

Hilary Clinton (D-NY)
Barak Obama (D-IL)
Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
and the committee’s ranking . . . ummmm . . . non-Republican: Jim Jeffords (I-VT)

Of the bunch, I’d suggest Jeffords. Anyone from Vermont want to give him a call?

Jane- you have incredibly good intuition, and I hope you are right on this one.

“..with malice towards none and charity towards all..”

That was a statesman, that was a man

We will rebuild this country and Lincoln will be our guide.

The chimperor is done.

Thought experiment:

What would today’s media and pundits have said and written about Lincoln?

Gore was robbed in 2000, no doubt. But he also blew it by acting like a flesh puppet with a stick up his ass.

Maybe now he’s taken the stick out and can act more “authentically himself”. God knows he was smart enough to be President. He just didn’t act like he was comfortable in his own skin.

And America went with the moron, Mr. Faux Cowboy, cause they bought his good ole boy act. They couldn’t see through his smirk into his worm-ridden, Armageddon soul.

In the final chapter to his book Gore offers an authentic political agenda when he outlines a “Global Marshall Plan” for preserving the earth. He sees the overall goal as “the establishment, especially in the developing world–of the social and poltical conditions most conducive to the emergence of sustainable societies.” His plan has five strategic objectives:

1. The stabilizing of world population.
2. The rapid creation and development of environmentally appropriate technologies.
3. A comprehensive and ubiquitous change in the economic “rules of the road,” by which we measure the impact of our decisions on the environment.
4. The negotiation and approval of a new generation of international agreements that are sensitive to the vast differences between “developed” and “developing” nations.
5. The establishment of a cooperative plan for educating the world’s citizens about our global environment.*

This is it, the road map we should have been following if we wanted not only to be living in a cleaner environment, but in a world where every child had a chance for a future that was better than their parents’, where nations’ security would not be compromised because of energy sourcing, where terrorism’s roots were dealt with effectively.

This is NOT only about global warming, but global warming is the one thing we can all understand and discuss, a common platform shared by all of us on this pale blue dot in the cosmos.

Run, Al, run…

[* excerpt above from The Reinvention of Work by Matthew Fox, in regards to Evil, Ecology and the Great Work. c. 1994; Fox wrote in regards to Gore’s text, Earth in Balance, published in 1992 while Gore was a seated Senator.]

Pach:

That was what I was trying to say in my earlier post.. just HOW would they spin it? What part of that speech would they choose to be the 10 second sound bite?

Jamison Foser may in fact be one of the smartest guys in the room – quite intellectually heady stuff, AND it is so well layed out –

so yeah, I believe the kewl kidz are out for Al – not entirely sure it’s gonna work -
as lazy or hackneyed as it sounds – Katrina took care of all that ‘global warming is fuzzy science’ memes

2 months ago at a farm equipment auction (oh ladies, you haven’t lived . . .) w/ nothing but middle aged white Repub males – one of the guys bidding was replacing eqpt lost in Katrina
- and after everyone grumbled about the non-response, one of them said ‘they’d better get on it, this global warming is not going to go away ‘ not one offered the ol Limbaugh ‘don’t be cowed by junk science’ crap, not one

I’d say that equals CW

and did y’all catch Gore’s interview w/ Katy on the Today show ? lots of time for an am segment, she didn’t ask anything antagonistic about Al or the subject matter, trying to watch as objectively as I could, he was treated well, and he came across well – and I think it went that way because it’s now considered a legitimate concern of the viewership

so again, I’m sure the kewl kidz are going to do their predictable best, but with evolving CW and Al’s personna, it may not happen for them

The speech was ridiculed when he gave it. MOst of Lincoln’s career was marked by ridicule by the pundit class of his day. Their descendents just have a bigger megaphone, now. It was left to alternative media like the abolitionist writings of William Lloyd Garrison to craft an alternative narrative about Lincoln. Sound familiar?

VG, from previous thread: yes, Emma has, or rather JA has, great wit. I’m warming to the idea of urging Gore to run. It’s so early, though, and months ago, I wondered what kind of Freudian drama it would be if the HIll and Al competed in a primary. Gore is certainly not the same guy who ran in 2000, but that election was his to lose–badly managed campaign and bad judgment all along the way. As big as global warming is, as big as environmental issues are in general and with all the connections Pach makes above, Gore will still need to persuade people of his leadership on more issues. Can he? Would he really run again? I just go back and forth on the wisdom of it and on how firm he is on NOT running.

Gore was robbed in 2000, no doubt. But he also blew it by acting like a flesh puppet with a stick up his ass.

The character of the person robbed does not diminish the sinfulness of the theft.

I learned in Moral Theology that restitution for theft requires the return of the thing stolen, and not a substitute, to its rightful owner, and not a surrogate.

Gore ‘08 — Deus lo vult!

Dana, glad you appreciated the JA reference. Mansfield Park is the only one I have not been able to make it through. If you can convince me, I will try again. And, as for Gore, I wish I had the wit and the stamina to respond more fully to your comments, but I don’t, just now. My brain has mostly checked out for the eve. Except maybe he is the “inconvenient man”?

Crikey, forgot . . .

Goodness, another great post Pachacutec

think Doris Kearns Goodwin talks about Lincoln and todays M$M in her recent Lincoln book –

and hey, I’m sure this has already been suggested, but why don’t we just write their hit pieces for them in advance – here’s how deep your all form and no substance shit is ! I smell contest

‘Keep my name off your lips, you son-of-a-bitch’

VG, Funny–I never finished Mansfield Park myself! Have you ever read Barbara Pimm (JA type)? It’s late here on the east coast. Great threads here today. I’ve enjoyed reading all of them.

pacj, 14:”What would today’s media and pundits have said and written about Lincoln?”

Were Abe alive today, most of the press would consider him wacko, and ridicule his stiff manners, dour mien, and incomprehensible ideas. They would also regard him as a bit of a sissy because of his gentleness.

And he most assuredly would not be welcome in the Republican Party.

Pach — great post. Kudos. I knew that Lincoln had been ridiculed in his lifetime, but I didn’t make the connection with Gore until now. (Not that it’s an exact parallel or anything.) But you’re absolutely right about the derision from the pundit class.

Lincoln went through his depressions. Let’s see how Gore reacts now. I doubt that he will ever have the gravitas of Lincoln, but if he could retain his honesty and his intellectual vision, and project his sincerity without being prissy, he just might have a shot at not only being President, but being a damned good one.

Interesting list of songs that the conservatives claim as their own.

Beck’s “I’m a Loser” is not on the list.

Surprisingly neither is the Mentor’s “S.F.C.C.”

http://www.rawstory.com/showou…..NlMGYzZDk=

-GSD

Presented for your contemplation – a simple timeline and a simple plan. A plan to pardon a very very rich man. Marc Rich’s socialite ex-wife has donated an estimated $1 million to Democratic causes, including $70,000 to Hillary Clinton’s successful Senate campaign and $450,000 to the Clinton presidential library fund. She also lobbied heavily for Marc’s pardon. Investigators want to know if Denise’s contributions led to a direct quid pro quo exchange for her ex-husband’s pardon.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/
0,8599,99302,00.html

On the 13th November 2002, at 3:00 p.m., the oil tanker Prestige went adrift – As a result of the mentioned breach and due to the erratic route of the vessel towed the 19th November, the Prestige broke in two and sank, spilling a huge amount of fuel that originated a first slick that affected, to a greater or lower extent, the aforementioned Autonomous Regions.As a consequence of all the aforementioned facts Galicia and other autonomous regions have suffered not one, but several slicks and it is still impossible to assess all the ecological, economic and social damages that the Prestige spill can cause in Spain in the coming months and years.

‘…one trader suggested he might join another trading company, such as London-based Trafigura Ltd., home to former Marc Rich traders Andrew Caplan and Martin Rolland…’FROM

Jan 28, 2003 by David Brooks

NEW YORK — A management buyout of Marc Rich & Co. Investment led by Ashwath Mehra, current chief executive officer, could be wrapped up within a matter of weeks, according to sources close to the company.

Washington – A Swiss commodities trading company pleaded guilty on Thursday to violating US federal law in connection with the UN oil-for-food programme for Iraq and agreed to pay penalties of nearly $20m.

Trafigura AG admitted in US District Court in Victoria, Texas, that it falsely told Houston-area energy companies that more than 500 000 barrels of imported Iraqi oil had been obtained in compliance with the humanitarian programme that was set up after the 1991 Persian Gulf war. The oil was sold on two occasions in 2001 along with much larger shipments that were part of the UN programme.
Profits from the 500 000 barrels of oil eventually went into the company’s coffers, an investigation by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement found.
This squalid pardoners tale may not be over yet as the Prestige slowly gives up it’s secrets. Peoples conscience’s have been known to play on them for far less than a bigger oil spill than the Exxon Valdez.

Love that you linked to Bono’s backfiring endorsement from HRC. It inspired a flood of letters to the Desert Sun, decrying the outrage of it all. Just glorious how that boomeranged.

I spoke to Mike Mings, the political director, after the news spread of that insanity, and he’s very nice but underinformed. He seemed unaware that Palm Springs in the past several years has become a gay mecca, so a somewhat benign Republican here is only natural. Bono may even be personally tolerant, but her votes are 92% Rubberstamp Republican. Mings also thought her seat was safe. It’s not.

I love what Marcy Winograd is doing. Please give a little love to David Roth, CA-45 as well. He’d be our first Democratic Congressman out here in decades. Endorsed by Boxer and the 21st Century Democrats.

His only challenger is a ‘Democrat’ with very flashy ads, that no other Democrat in the district has ever met, and the Dem clubs believe him to be a GOP-funded device. David Roth has overwhelming progressive support out here in the desert.

DailyKos diary on Roth here:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyo…..184848/685

Roth’s planning on being at YearlyKos, too.

P.S. Thank you so much for that Ass/Elbow illustration from way back. It still makes me laugh. I truly adore you all.

Dana- If you mean Barbara Pym, yes, I seem to remember the name- and having read 1 or 2. It would take me a while to recall the titles. More sombre than JA, if I remember.

Lincoln has gravitas in hindsight. Now he’s marble. Back then, he was a crude joking bumpkin.

Gore, if anything, is terribly earnest, though his confrontation with his greatest fear in life – the crushing loss of his ambitions in an unprecedented way – seems to have loosened him up a bit, for the better.

My post did not mean in any conscious way to connect or compare Gore to Lincoln, though I guess I am saying that the pundit establishment hates progressives, and Republicans cannot claim to be Lincoln’s party any longer in anything but name. But we all knew that already.

I guess it’s also fair to say that the pundit establishment hates greatness, though I’m not persuaded Gore rises to that level. There are chapters, perhaps, to be written in that book.

soyinkafan:

That was ages ago in Internet time. I had a lot of fun making that one. Inspiration for it came to me over a blt at a local diner. Heh.

I don’t believe that Gore is going to run. I think he is enjoying himself too much in the private sector.

Global warming is important, but I just don’t see it being a “wedge issue”. The average guy on the street just doesn’t care about this, and they aren’t going to care about it, movie or not.

thanks pac and jane for the great posts.

i’m glad your my cyber neighbor.

Davis X. Machina says “I learned in Moral Theology that restitution for theft requires the return of the thing stolen, and not a substitute, to its rightful owner, and not a surrogate.”

Gore ‘08 – Deus lo vult!

I don’t know that I see God’s hand in this, but it does make for a good revenge/justice story — How’s “The Gore of Monte Christo” sound?

I guess it’s also fair to say that the pundit establishment hates greatness, though I’m not persuaded Gore rises to that level. There are chapters, perhaps, to be written in that book.

Pach, can you see any other Dem candidates, real or imaginary, who have the potential to rise to greatness? I sure don’t.

You missed the best part of the Second Inaugural:

Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said ‘the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.’

In other words, you get what you deserve.

On top of that, Lincoln had just won a squeaker of a re-election, and he doesn’t mention it once in the speech.

Rob Zuber: Try doing some research before you spout nonsense: http://www.pollingreport.com/enviro.htm

Asked of those who have heard/read a lot or some: “Do you think global warming is an environmental problem that is causing a serious impact now, or do you think global warming isn’t having a serious impact?”

Serious Impact Now/Not a Serious Impact Now/Unsure %

5/4-8/06 66 30 4

9/03 59 37 4

People who become informed about global climate change become persuaded. They’re about to become a lot more informed. The other polling numbers on that page show majorities of Americans don’t believe enough is being done to protect the environment.

VG: Since I tend to expect Gore to run in ‘08, and since I’m not going to make comparative comments about the candidate feild before I get to really check them out, I’m gonna pass on that question. But I hear what you’re getting at.

Pach — I know you were not consciously comparing Gore to Lincoln, but when I was reading your comment (#13 – Thought experiment – “What would today’s media and pundits have said and written about Lincoln?”) some neurons subconsciously fired in my head and connected it with Gore for me.

They’re nothing alike as personalities, but they both took a lot a lot of shit from the press.

We’ll just have to wait and see what the future holds for Mr. Gore (and for us).

“criticized for being a little thin on solutions”???

ROFLMAO!!!!

Um, that’s not criticism – that’s close to the highest compliment POSSIBLE.

Such commentary SPECIFICALLY means that the question of whether or not global warming (a) exists, and (b) is a problem, is OFFICALLY CLOSED.

That means the good guys have WON the opening round. Finally.

OT totally, but for Dana earlier on this thread, if you read Late Nite in the morning- Quartet in Autumn is the only Barbara Pym novel that I can now bring to mind as one I’ve read. It was somber, but reviews of others look more promising. I need to give her another look.

i am no fan of Hill cause she voted for the rotten wars, but i heard her speech at the NPC and she, though, dancing at times, gave props to dems and Al Gore, most especially. This is a REAL issue that can awake people now that gas prices are so high and the weather is so bad; we need to seize it yesterday. This is no wedge issue to the victims of Katrina, the flooding and landslides all over the earth, the fires burning out of control, or the air that kills or the fish we cannot eat.

They complain it does not have solutions? The point of the film is to establish that global warming is real. There are a lot of people out there who still don’t believe it. They first need convincing before you can jump into the solutions.

And as for solutions, I think seriously funding an alternative energy program is a key first step. But we can’t get that far because people don’t believe global warming is happening. You have sciencetitutes shilling for big oil companies because if we get off fossil fuels, they’re done with.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories…..5985.shtml

[]Hansen is arguably the world’s leading researcher on global warming. He’s the head of NASA’s top institute studying the climate. But this imminent scientist tells correspondent Scott Pelley that the Bush administration is restricting who he can talk to and editing what he can say. Politicians, he says, are rewriting the science.

[]Piltz worked under the Clinton and Bush administrations. Each year, he helped write a report to Congress called “Our Changing Planet.”

Piltz says he is responsible for editing the report and sending a review draft to the White House.

Asked what happens, Piltz says: “It comes back with a large number of edits, handwritten on the hard copy by the chief-of-staff of the Council on Environmental Quality.”

Asked who the chief of staff is, Piltz says, “Phil Cooney.”

Piltz says Cooney is not a scientist. “He’s a lawyer. He was a lobbyist for the American Petroleum Institute, before going into the White House,” he says.

[]For months, 60 Minutes had been trying to talk with the president’s science advisor. 60 Minutes was finally told he would never be available. Phil Cooney, the editor at the Council on Environmental Quality didn’t return 60 Minutes’ calls. In June, he left the White House and went to work for Exxon Mobil.===

Hansen is a hero, VG.

“There may be awesome potential to build movement around the issue of global climate change.”

Why not? It seems to be the “in” thing:
– Y2K Scare
– Ebola Scare
– Population Bomb Scare
– Alar Scare
– “China Syndrome” Scare
– Bird Flu Scare
– Lime Disease Scare
– Africanized Honey Bee “Killer Bee” Scare
– Global Cooling (circa 1970s) Scare

Pick your poison, its a profitable biz!

dung.

Solutions are critical.

Without them there’s nothing for the GOP and their puppet amsets (and their know-nothing accolytes) to rally around and demonize directly.

But, I will agree with them on one thing:

If the leebrals want to have a national discussion, they are required to posit a set of inflexible solutions at the outset. For those of us who see swift-boating as the absolute height of a discussion, anything less is just unfair.

amsets – masters.

Of course.

Ooops

Damned aspergers

For those who may have missed it, the http of Moose Dung is www DOT freerepublic DOT com

Step one – even before you see the film (and you should – go to this part of the action page:

http://www.climatecrisis.net/t…..alculator/

and find out how to offset your own carbon impact. It’s easy, it’s cheap and it starts to make a real difference.

In the midatlantic area of the country you can choose the source of your electric. If you go to http://www.cleanyourair.org/ you can choose alternative sources and they rank the enviromental quality of the power supplied by the comapnies.

It’s a start, and it does cost a little more per kilowatt hour. With the money I was spending on getting coffee in the morning, I just about covered the difference in my bill.

I believe Ghandi said we should be part of the change that we want to happen, and by supporting companies that provide clean energy, it’s a good place to start.

Valley Girl (#37):

Russ Feingold shows every evidence of clear ideas, passion, firm conviction. He was against the war from the get go. He walked out on Arlen Spector’s little tea party last week. He’s my first choice and clearly capable of greatness as an American president.

That said, I can go with Al if he’s the front runner. His performance in 2000 was regretable in some respects but look what he had to deal with: both the burden that Bill left behind and all of the hyenas of the MSM. Even so, he almost won. Some say he did. At any rate, he seems now to be genuinely and truly a different, more admirable person. As for greatness, that only comes with the test of fire. Great or not, he’d make a damn good president.

I would say the same for Hillary.

We would do well to start choosing who we want and not worry about the ones we don’t want. Let the Republicans do that. Just don’t give them any ammunition.

global warming to Gettysburg and back to Gore – nice job Pach.

I like Gore, would vote for him, but I don’t have confidence that he could be a winner. I don’t see any inclination in areas like KY and IN to support him. I do see that inclination for Bayh (please no, Dear Lord who art in heaven . . .) and Edwards. I think a ticket with Edwards could do pretty well, but I’m not a pundit or consultant – just basing on what I see. Gore is operating in a no pressure one right now, but when the zone is, instead, high pressure, he hasn’t had as much shine or the right gut instincts (Lieberaman).

I’d be happy with him, but not necessarily confident. It is a HUGE issue, though, and one with bipartisan appeal and Gore is “the” guy on global warming.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

OT
Back on Gonzales, McNulty, Cheney and Addington and the Odd Occurence of the Leak to NYT.

I just have to hit this again – flogging the dog. There is a little thing called Executive Privilege with which I am pretty sure Gonzales, McNulty and Addington are all very familiar and dibs on CHeney too. That is a big part of what is not making sense. Exec Privilege is there to protect the inner workings and blood and guts consultations, arguments and disagreements of the President’s crew.

About things like, oh, say, what you do about raiding Congressional offices, how you approach the issue of separation of powers, etc. That privilege is usually for the President to waive or not. Did I mention that Gonzales (fomer WH Counsel current AG) McNulty(deputy AG and former fed prosecutor) Addington (legal counsel to Cheney and his COS now) are all pretty likely to know about Exec Privilege.

So how do we get a leak about — Gonzales, McNulty and Addington (tack on Cheney) and the Executive office fights and discussions? All those guys hopped on the “violate privilege” wagon? Or did someone, like, oh, say the President, authorize the “leak” and waive the privilege?

If so — just how far has the privilege been waived? *g* Once you start that waiver thing, it ends up applying in other places you might wish it hadn’t – kind of like mascara on Tammy Faye Baker.

Anyway, that’s one of my biggest hmmmmm-s. Three top level Exec Branch lawyers all referenced in an article leaked about Exec Branch arguments. And no one wonders how come there is no screaming about the leak? Or who authorized the leak. Or if the privilege was waived – or violated. Or, if violated, if someone doesn’t need to be resigning? Lots of questions IMO.

Moose Dung– where is yer habitat now and how are you doing?

We gotcher dmw’s right here… or was that our wmd’s? Hoo uses the most oil in the hole world?

mebbe we should use dung, there is an endless supply of it.

It is Memorial Day. A day to remember and honor those who give their lives for their country. I want to put forth a thought about what that means from a slightly different perspective. My military service(eight years in the 82nd airborne) was during the early years of our all volunteer force, after Viet Nam but before the rebuilding under Reagan got fully underway. It was not an easy time to be a soldier. When a person volunteers to put their life on the line there is an implicit bargin made in addition to the formal one at enlistment. On one side is being willing to give your life. On the other side is the trust and belief that those placed in authority over you will not use your life to no end. To have the those in command break this bargin is one of the most destructive things that can be done. When the troops start to believe that they are just cannon fodder, morale and discipline break down and bad things start to happen. I think it is starting in Iraq. Losing a buddy to an IED has to seem like the ultimate in random and capricious events. I feel that the killing of the civilians by marines was an attempt to put a face on their pain and punish it. Discipline should have prevented it, but it didn’t. Strong principled leadership should have prevented the coverup, but it didn’t. Expect to see more of this because the troops, bound by oath to a government with no honor, have been betrayed.

Mary 56 — it’s all exceptionally weird. Must be a lot going on behind the curtain.

drouse, thanks for your comments and the reminder about Memorial Day. I much appreciated what you said.

Well Pach, Frank Rich is calling on Gore to run.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/5/27/233343/543

Mary,

A presidential candidate winning is as much about her supporters as it is about the candidate. If we do our part and the Schumers and Emmanuels get on the same page with Howard Dean there are a number of viable candidates and I think that Gore and Edwards are two of them.

This time I have no clue why I’m in moderation – I’m thinking it must be the reference in my earlier post to Tammy Faye Baker *g* Not even one linke.

Anyway – I would be far happier to see Russ Feingold get the nod than anyone else. We’ve had too many good hearted Dems who folded in pressure. Imagine being in his shoes from Wisconsin of all places and standing up to cast the sole vote against the Patriot Act.

When he was handling the Dec. filibuster and caught press time, the pundits didn’t know what to do with him. He was clear, concise, to the point and just head and shoulder above their normal Leiberman/Specter/Roberts/Feinstein/Kyl/Burns crew. They ended up with content filled direct informative answer, when all they really wanted was manipulative sound bytes. They haven’t bent over backwards bringing him back on. *s*

If not candidate, I hope he can be kingmaker, but I would love seeing him as candidate more than just about anything else politically based right now.

BTW – I got my Prog. Pat. coffee mugs yesterday – with the redacted sections of the Constitution that come through when the mug heats up.
Marvy. *g*

drouse– thank you for your service and your words tonight.

WOWZA Jane- thanks for that link! We have to talk more about intuition some time. INFP myself. My guess is that you’re an ENFJ or an INFJ. (slight money on the latter).

I don’t recall sayin’ anything about oil or WMDs.

Just seems to me that there’s been plenty of “scares” over the years to “get behind” and “fuel a national movement.”

Just go down the list and tell me why this one is any different.

If you want to start a movement you gotta cover the basics. So, here goes…try your wheels right now.

dung.

PS. If you’re not willing to try, you’re just smokin’ pot in a dorm room.

Mary (#56):

A presidential candidate winning is as much about the supporters and their dedication and energy as much as it is about the candidate. I think Gore or Edwards are both capable. Bush didn’t win based on his campaign performance. We need to get Schumer and Emmanuel on the same page as Howard Dean. A lot of things can get sorted out that way.

sing it, Pach. sing it, Redd.

f**k ‘em. f**k ‘em all.

Editorial in the WP on Iraq

http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..01578.html

What a mess. How can the mediawhores sleep at night?

Ah… Punaise punts on puns. Fitzgerald, an inconvenient sleuth? Sorry, that’s the best I could do.

Some more info about renewable energy http://www.nativeenergy.com/ and how you can help.

They helped Syriana offset 100% of their production energy usage by investing in renewable energy sources.
http://www.nativeenergy.com/news.Syriana.html

And they are working with musicians on offsetting the energy used on their tours
http://www.nativeenergy.com/cl…..e-tour.htm

drouse says (#58):

it is more than terrible that this has happened. a horror for the iraqi family and a trajedy for the marines involved as well as thier families. it is the bitter legacy of what bush and cheney have given us.

VG – pas mal!

an ink of in y’aint spoof

Punaise- Combien je vous doivent?

radlib1 @6 – great LTE

I, think. perhaps I may have precipitated too much FEAR mongering & suck-up-it-ed-ness in my snarky post. You say it is a popular platform from which to wail. all. night. long. we are going to make the truth known from now until eternity. we will win, or perish with the wingnuts… i am gonna defeat all y’all or else.

I tried to post twice–with the Rich information– and a note to VG, but all that goes on is “loading.” Thanks, Jane, for getting the link to it from Dkos.

No puns galore for Al Gore?

Dana- I sometimes have that “loading” problem too. I don’t know what to do about it. When it is happening, I quickly copy the post, close the window, reopen repaste and try again. Mostly this seems to work. ???

mais VG, rien du tout, je n’ai pas les droits exclusifs a ce genre de tournure de phrase… le champ est libre, allez-y!

(d’ailleurs, on peut se tutoyer, non?)

Angie,

Hey as long as you got good intentions I guess the other stuff doesn’t really matter.

Since that’s all you got, I’m going lights-out so I’ll be fresh for Church tommorrow.

g’night.

dung.
http://www.freerepublic.com

sing a hymn for me, okay?

…just want to add my two cents worth of astrological wiff waff and that is this…several astrologers have erected Hillary’s chart (based on the day and year, time not available) and none of them thinks she will run or, if she does, will not get the nomination…she has “Saturn return” at the run up to election time and this alone is enough to put any outside plans on hold…and that is not all she has with regard to aspects not supportive of a run.

What does Gore’s chart look like? I’ll get back to you on that though I’ve had a lil peek there and it looks GREAT!!!!!!
Also, transiting Saturn is now sitting right on Bush’s ascendant. Not a good time for him, he’s just weighed down with ugly responsibility.

I always do.

dung.

Punaise — Thank you.

I was actually thinking of you when I wrote about the Republican “flotsam and jism”.

Not that it’s worthy of yours, but still, a little wordplay can sometimes draw blood.

Gore, for shore
we need Al*

(*premised upon him not lapsing back into managed campaign-speak)

Thanks, VG. I’ll try that next time the “loading” circle goes into some kind of infinite loop.

A bientot!

Punaise, I thought of that later. I am only at the point in the Pimsleur tapes where I am learning to say “Je vous doivent combien?” Mais, certainment, vous (tu) avez (?) gagn l’etat tutoyer. (Pimsler is for learning to speak, not to write– and Babelfish is not the best in this latter regard).

spiderpaws! (NSA version: spied, er, pause)
I don’t “do” astrology but can’t deny the intrigue…do keep us posted!

Just a reminder to those who claim that Gore ran a poor campaign in 2000;
Gore overcame a 20-point deficit in the polls and won. Going against a national press, including most of the SCLM, that hated and still hates him he won. Against butterfly ballots, phony felon purges, and questionable Diebold machines, he won. Against a widely accepted meme that there was no difference between him and Bushco, (and doesn’t that sound quaint these five years on?), he won. What more could you have asked of the man? If he had ran a different campaign he would have faced the same lies and unfounded attacks and nobody was watching his back Gore lost in the supreme court, not at the ballot box. With hindsight it’s possible to argue that any campaign could have been run better, but Gores’ campaign was good enough to win.
Clothodi

VG – “vous” is the correct/default formal “you”, and it’s best for that to come automatically. It would be presumptious or offensive to use the informal “tu” with a shopkeeper, a librarian, a parent-in-law, etc. “Tu” is reserved for family, friends, youth, and those with whom a certain familarity has developed. Thus, my suggestion that we switch to “tu”….

ca va comme ca?

Clothodi- yes, and I remember exactly where I was when I learned that Gore had been defeated by the supremes- New Orleans. Such a sad day.

radlib1 85

…Republican ‘flotsam and jism’.

they flaunt some schism.

flogs ‘em and jingoism.

(bone nuit, tout le monde…..)

Punaise- merci bien, or is that merci beaucoup? I am still able to remember the smatterings of high school and college French. (tutoyer). There are 90 lessons in the Pimsleur tapes, and I am on #12!!!! At 90, it is promised that one can speak “intermediate” French, and not offend the citizenry. I follow the ecoutez and repetez ou repondez directions (mostly listen while in the car). Sometimes I am feeling optimistic, and other times, quite daunted. J’espere I can stick with it. Among other things, est ce que vous voudriez du vin ou de la biere? That is my written mal-translation of part of lesson 10.

Valley Girl #8:

…Watching [Gore] speak out so eloquently, so passionately, and so personally on this issue %u2014 in other words, displaying real leadership %u2014 is like suddenly being served a steak after a steady diet of fast-food burgers.

That’s an insult to bad burgers. I think it’s like a steak after a steady diet of maggoty ham on moldy bread.

Clothodi #89

“Gore lost in the supreme court, not at the ballot box. With hindsight it’s possible to argue that any campaign could have been run better, but Gores’ campaign was good enough to win.

I agree. The biggest mistake he made was after the election, when he asked for recounts in several counties rather than the whole state.

Betty Cracker- I trust you realize that those were not my words but quoted from the Arianna column I linked. But, I agree about the maggoty ham– that would be Bush, no? And, the moldy bread…

And remember that it was after the 2000 election that Joe Lie-berman cut the legs out from under his and Gore’s own campaign when he said that all of the military votes (even those postmarked after the deadline) should be counted.

Joe “Mr. Homeland Security Guy who did not serve in the Armed Forces during the Vietnam War” effectively threw in the towel for Gore and himself then.

He caved because he didn’t want the Republicans to accuse him of being “anti-military” and “unpatriotic”.

Punaise: one astrologer swears by the look of his chart that if Gore decides to run he will get the nomination hands down and has a winning chart for the election as well… I promise to bore you with more details soon…Bush & his gang are in for more tough times including Rove…there is no escape for them and yes, they will pay the piper…most astrologers wonder with Bush’s aspects whether he will finish out his term…there are bets he won’t…

Long after EPU time, but just must say that it is so wonderful to reread the Gettysburg address, it is such a magnificent thing. So moving.

Lincoln wrote it in a time of national catastrophe, a heinous war soaked in blood, yet it speaks to and affirms our nation’s ideals with simple eloquence.

No comparison needed.

just catching up a little …

I was wow-ed by the Gore presentation when I saw it and really moved by him but I am not sure he should run for several reasons – I think he feels that as a candidate he has to censor big parts of himself and it’s his relaxed, don’t need to please everybody Gore who seems genuinely happy and is doing his best work.

That said, I’d also argue that he is doing more for the world where he is now. By inspiring and leading in the financial world, he is moving the real powers that be. His firm with Blood is gaining traction and raising issues in the financial markets that determine how all the big companies operate – and while we focus on the government – I think we may well be past the time when government’s control things and into the time when corporations do. If that is true, moving the corporations is where the real change will happen … and Gore now has a very important platform there. Most companies are looking at issues like climate change – not based on what DC says since it says nothing useful – but on risk. Climate change is a horrendous risk to corporate profitability and Katrina confirmed that (though many were already looking at this and more than a few institutional investors were demanding that they address it). Being a significant player in the financial markets and basing his firms investments on company’s actual behavior v-a-v climate change is one helluva lot of power. I’m very glad Gore is there and using that power and I’m not sure I want to see him leave it for more DC games.

for a recent example of institutional investors action on climate change, take a look at this;
http://www.ceres.org/news/news_item.php?nid=179 and notice that these state treasurers are calling ExxonMobil to task with $658 Billion dollars in play – that makes a company sit up and notice and that’s the world Gore is now working in – http://observer.guardian.co.uk…..84,00.html – this article is 2 years old but includes some interesting comments by Gore about working in govt vs. working in the markets.

and fyi, for a ranking of 100 global companies on their climate change performance, download this study from the IRRC which has been doing a great job for years:
http://www.ceres.org/pub/publication.php?pid=84

Just read the – I Need a Scorecard- thread from this afternoon. Wow! What an FDL-EPUni experience. Sell that thread to a Paramount writing staff. Talk about a veritable volcanic eruption, just beneath the surface of the Patomac!!

Valley Girl 91

I remember as well.

I was at my ultra conservative Father’s.

I voted for Nadar hoping some Governmental Money would go to a viable 3rd party, knowing that my state Ca would go for Al.

I think Al fought the good fight, and his speech on Martin Luther King Day this year did it for me. If he goes for it, he’ll have my time toil and treasure.

OT and sure to be EPU’d.

Can I just say this? Please hold your fire regarding William Jefferson. Remember how the FBI assured us that the poor unfortunate suspect in the Olympic bombing (can’t recall his name just now) was definitely guilty? Look how that turned out.

Jefferson was allegedly videotaped last July accepting a bribe. Why was that not enough to take to a grand jury? Why has he still not been charged? They supposedly have the videotape and the money. What’s the hold-up? Maybe they are looking for other crimes he may have committed, but you would think they have him dead to rights on the bribery charge.

Even if it turns out he is guilty, we lose nothing by presuming the man to be innocent until proven guilty.(supposedly the American Way) Especially as he has not been charged with a crime. Maybe he will be, but as Jefferson said, there are two sides to this story. Let’s wait and see what he has to say.

Anybody else find it hard to believe Jeffersons’ attorneys would allow their client to ignore a subpoena from the FBI?

Gore appeals to me because he has a huge open heart. His capacity for deep thought and reflection are an inspiration. The passion he brings to his speeches makes me want to jump and sprint to the finish line. I think he got caught up in a very post modern campaign. And by post modern, I mean this – I think what separates the modern age from the post-modern age culturally is self-consciousness. Politics, all of modern life, is conflicted by a raging self-consciousness. Gore got caught up in second-guessing himself way too much, trying to shed the humiliation of Clinton and the sliming of Rove and the complicit media. He didn’t trust himself enough. Now that he has had the time to refocus, he is a breath of fresh air. Especially in contrast to the overdetermined and over-stylized machinations of BushCo.
This has just been too cynical a decade for any human soul to endure. Our deep awareness of the brutality of war, scofflaw politicians, women’s issues, energy consumption and environmental activism are coming alive again as they did in the 60’s. We are all looking for hope and a way to be in the world that is not cruel.

meta (102) — Agree, although I think it’s not self-consciousness but the ability to sustain at will a flexible level of awareness, including empathy with others while self-conscious. (Clinton’s “I feel your pain”, for example…)

Al’s challenge in the 2000 race was his inauthentic behavior; he was hyper-conscious of the competition, hyper-conscious of Clinton’s “legacy”, to the point that he lost his grasp on the authentic. He lost the ability to flex between states of awareness. Now that he’s got nothing to lose, he can revert and return to his authentic self.

If there is anything for which I can thank both Clinton and Bush, it is making it clear to the American people that there are better alternatives than what we’ve had in the recent past. They showed us by example that we’ve had no vision as a nation and have lost our way for that reason.

p.s. btw, what’s with the concern trolls again?

Threatened? by the topic of this particular thread?

If Gore runs, and wins, will he only be allowed to serve for one term? Being as he already won once! LOL

I voted for Gore before and I’d do it again. The environment is a major issue for me, especially after this administration’s back-steps in protecting it all taken in the name of big business and oil.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/5024104.stm

At least 1,000 UK soldiers desert
More than 1,000 members of the British military have deserted the armed forces since the start of the 2003 Iraq war, the BBC has discovered.

It comes as Parliament debates a law that will forbid military personnel refusing to participate in the occupation of a foreign country.

During 2005 alone, 377 people deserted and are still missing. So far this year another 189 are on the run.

I fail to see how cautioning against trusting the FBI makes me a concern troll.

And no, I am not threatened by the topic of this thread. I love Al Gore, supported him completely in 2000 and did not find his manner particularly off-putting. I understood he was greatly constrained by the fact that no matter what he said or how he said it, he would be denounced as a liar, delusional, whatever, on and on ad infinitum; but I agree he should have been more agressive in denouncing the lies that were told about him.

Global warming and the environment are to my mind among the most important issues we as progressives should be focusing on. Even conservatives worry about the air their children breathe.(that characterization does not, obviously, include conservative politicians. I guess they think their corporate masters will build them a bio-dome.)Al Gore is the only person with the passion, gravitas, knowledge, and support to credibly lead on this issue. Run, Al, Run!

Had a thought after reading part of the way through the “I need a scorecard” post and thread…

What was Vernon Jackson’s company iGate doing? (Jackson/iGate ostensibly the bribers of William Jackson…)

Was iGate potentially cutting into the turf of another Republican-owned company?

Why would this company try to by-pass K Street?

Good morn folks -

Just happened to catcha bit of local Hartford talking heads. Two reporters, at least one from Courant. Both agree Joe nervous. “The ‘activists’ likely to vote Aug 8 are NOT his base.”…

Good to hear in the morning.

sunny (108) — I did not refer to you specifically as a concern troll. Other regulars in this thread will know which character upthread fit the label.

I suspect we will get more dropping in on key threads. Anybody want to bet on another popping in next time we have a Gore thread?

If freerepublic is farting trolls to come here to discourage movement building on climate change and the environment, then it looks like we’ve hit a nerve.

Check out the sheer volume of writing Gore is prompting in the blogosphere right now:

http://www.technorati.com/search/gore

The left is cheering him and highly engaged on these issues. The right has geared up its slime machine.

I smell fear wafting over to us from across the battlefeild.

The environment is of course of paramount concern to people who still value science and who understand that if we kill off the planet,we all die in the process.It’s monumentally stupid to destroy the landbase,without it,no life can exist.

However,I don’t know if this is a main issue to base an election upon.The average person has been purposely confused by those interests who want to cast doubt on global warming.But global warming isn’t the ONLY environmental issue,it’s just the biggie.

The environment,IMO as an issue should be part of a larger package.And please dear gods could someone,anyone,start advocating for a “space race”type of national appeal for an alternative energy source(s)?I was a kid when the first moon landing riveted the country.Before then,it seemed like the whole country was behind it.Science was a big deal in school,we were given tons of information on the space program,how rockets worked,and encouraged to come up with our own kid ideas on how to use that technology.We built rockets,tried out astronaut food,studied the planets,the stars,and so much more.There’s no reason on earth(or in the universe,lol)why we can’t have a National Project with the goal of achieving energy independance over a period of years.Brazil has done it,other countries are moving towards it.

We can multitask.Energy independance can be achieved while we work on a better healthcare system,lift more people out of poverty,create more locally based self sustaining economies and so on.The GOP has helped us to forget that we can do more than one thing at a time.A country with close to 300 million people surely has enough able bodies to accomplish anything we wish to.

I’ve always liked Al Gore,and I think he’d be a steadfast and thoughtful President.But since he’s so closely associated with environmentalism,he would have to also prove he’s as well versed in foreign policy(which is now a trainwreck),the economy,education,healthcare,the creation of more living wage jobs,battling governmental waste and corruption and other things that matter to voters.

Did Bush ever successfully quit drinking? It’s worth asking if he incoherence is alcohol or drug related. Google footage of him speaking in 1994 with foot of him recently. It looks like either brain damage (from drugs and alcohol) or continued use of both, perhaps abuse of prescription drugs/anti-depressants and booze. Did he choke on a pretzel or pass out from drink?

Just to top this thread off, here is the latest alert from the national weather service on this hurricane season.

http://www.weather.gov/

Morning, firepups.

Do any of y’all follow Salam Adil’s Asterism blog? His 5/26 weekly roundup of “the Iraqi Blogodrome” is, as always, stunning, hilarious, and appalling: e.g., the latest fatwa in one B’dad neighborhood bans SALAD (cucumbers are male, tomatoes female, and mixing ‘em leads to the Devil).

God help them and us.

http://asterism.blogspot.com

Pach at 112
Wow, Pach, did you look at the graph when you select for the last 365 days? The trend looks like it’s going exponential.
-sofistic

I don’t know that I see God’s hand in this, but it does make for a good revenge/justice story %u2014 How’s “The Gore of Monte Christo” sound?

In a country in love with pro wrestling, the story line is more important than the characters…

Do these journalists ever go to restaurants? Maybe they can stop serving them or make their dinner not a very pleasant experience?

Salon, the leftleaning internet mag had this to say about Al Gore’s movie.
http://www.salon.com/ent/movie…..5/24/gore/
The comments are more interesting than the supposedly rave review.

A couple thoughts. As much as folks like to argue about social justice, Roe v. Wade, and any number of other hot button issues, global warming and our coming energy shortages are going to change the world we live in far more than anything else on the horizon. (Assuming we can continue to avoid nuclear war.) What do you think is going to happen to the good old US of A when we’re alternating between drought and catastrophic storms, and when the price of gasoline, diesel fuel, home heating oil, propane and natural gas all go through the roof? And we depend on oil not just for energy, but for plastics and fertilizers. Does anyone think that America’s breadbasket will be able to feed the world through both drought and energy shortages? We’ll be lucky if we can feed ourselves. Better buckle your seatbelts. We’re about to encounter some serious turbulence. And pray that someone like Gore, with a grasp of complex issues and an understanding of the sacrifices we’re all going to have to make, is the next President.

Required reading – Thom Hartmann’s The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight, and Ronald Wright’s A Short History of Progress.

I like Gore and think he is a principled individual. That said, I am at loss to understand the support for “global warming” as a valid idea. I can understand that the nuclear power plant industry on its last legs needs to desperately convince people that despite the tragic accidents in their industry, nuclear power is the way to go. But outside of that special interest, it amazes me that people who think they “think” can so blindly buy into an idea that has no scientific basis or perhaps the same basis as Chicken Little’s “the sky is falling.”

We live on a dynamic planet that evolved from dust into what we call earth. It is a system that is partial understood by science. Science tells us that as a part of astrophysics — the earth goes through periods of ice ages and periods without substantial ice. The last three million years has seen this progression with clock like accuracy. Has all of this science somehow changed over night? If so, I haven’t read that the planet’s nolonger orbits the sun as it used to. For it is in the orbiting of the sun that the elastic nature of the orbit switches from nearly circular to oval so that at times we are close to the sun — meelting ice ages — and far away from the sun freezing whole sections of continents.

Has the wobble in the earth’s spinning that also afects climate change also stopped? Why hasn’t this been reported. Instead of science dealing with established “truths” as solid as gravity and the sun being the center of our solar system, we are bombarded by hysterical fears that are presented without any basis.

I gather there are a lot of people who need to feel that they live in an old testament kind of world — where God created order and handed the planet over to us for management. Volcanoes, earthquakes, tidal waves, the movement of the continents, etc. are somehow our responsibility and under our control. Gosh, time to wake up and discover the earth only looks flat. We live on a planet who climate changes all of the time and is rather indifferent to our absurb egos that we are causing it. In fact, many scientists believe it was the droughts about five million years ago that cause our form of primate to evolve. Seem that in unstable periods, dramatic specie changes occur. Perhaps that is one reason that more than 95% of the species on this planet are not endangered – they are dead and gone. Life goes on, but it adapts and changes.

So while the media is peddling global warming for the benefit of some special interest, take some time to look into the history of climate change on the planet and ask why that subject isn’t being addressed.

dave

who the fuck are you?

Dave,

Follow along with me here.

A ton is the equivalent of 2,000 lbs.

A metric ton, which is a little larger, is the equivalent of 2,204.6226 lbs.

A teragram is the equivalent of 1 megatonne, or one million metric tons.

This means that a teragram is the equivalent of 2,204,622,600 lbs. (1,000,000 x 2,204.6226)

If my math is right, that’s 2.2 trillion pounds. For just one teragram.

According to the EPA, total U.S. greenhouse gas emmissions for 2004 were 7,074.4 teragrams of carbon dioxide equivalents. That’s 2.2 trillions pounds, multiplied by 7 thousand and change. That’s what we dumped into our skies back in 2004. A gazillion pounds of greenhouse gas forming crap. And you don’t think that has an effect on the atmosphere?

We just saw this fantastic Documentary. I’d like to say just one thing: could we please refer to it not as a “film” or “movie” but as a “Documentary” because it’s about us, our lives, our legacy to the next generations, our moment of failure as humanity, or our rise to human in the best sense of the word. It’s a documentary on our most fragile state as a part of this, our universe.