Imagine a world where sagebrush grows in the northernmost reaches of Alaska. Where the Baltimore oriole no longer lives in Baltimore and the American finch can be found only in Canada.
Snowshoe hares will turn white before the snow arrives, making them easy prey. Birds and bats will arrive in the spring before the insects – their main source of food.
Along with the pikas and polar bears, 20 to 40 percent of the world’s known species could go extinct within a century – no matter what wildlife managers do.
That world may not be a figment of imagination, and it may come sooner than you think. It is the world that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s scientists predict we’ll see before the end of this century – and one they presented to federal land and wildlife managers, scientists and others Tuesday at the Boise Centre on The Grove on the first day of a two-day conference to examine how climate change will affect natural resources management….
Even if people can dramatically reduce greenhouse gases, which scientists say are the major cause of warming, experts warn the warming will continue for decades until the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere dissipates….
We are paying for all of our choices. Would that we would make better ones going forward.
(YouTube — music from Princess Mononoke.)
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Christy!
I did not expect to see you here; I just got a bit of sewing done for my daughter. Princess Mononoke is a favorite movie in our house too.
Aloha, Christy!
DIGG IT!
A real barrier I see to our being able to make genuine reductions in carbon dioxide is the energy issues of rural areas in the northern half of the US. Far too many homes are older, not insulated, with leaky windows and doors and inefficient oil furnaces or using wood heat in outdoor burners(very dirty burn and people who use them also tend to burn things like old tires and other dirty fuels). If we could get a tax on burning fossil fuels, something we would need to use it for would be to deal with those houses and furnaces. Otherwise, rural residents have no choices and as the cost of fuel oil goes up, the faster they are going to switch to something like self-cut wood, scrounged fuels and so on, using outdoor burners.
dugg
Jus Cogens!
We need programs like the one California instituted back in the early 1980s. Basically it incentivized the power companies to reduce energy use by customers through a pretty complicated formula whereby the electric utility’s profit margin remained essentially unchanged, total per capita energy use went down, and the consumers did not pay the bill on their monthly. There were some subsidies through state taxes for the energy companies.
Anyway, the utility would come to your home, perform an energy audit, and then provide, free of charge, items like weather stripping, caulking, water heater blankets, little foam things to keep air out of the electrical outlets (yes – amazing!), and a number of other items like this. Contractors worked with them to do new double-pane windows and blow in insulation. The state had a bunch of rebates to help with the cost of these more expensive items, and oversaw a payment plan that had very low interest.
Of course that was before the Rethugs got ahold of it and Enron and Delta destroyed the entire California grid.
Oh, I forgot – California uses less electricity per capita than any state in the US as a result of this program.
The Hawaii legislature just passed a law requiring all new homes to have solar hot water systems installed on them…!
EPUd from below.
Let me put it as simply as I can. This FISA bill was not about security. It was not about terrorism. It was completely about self serving petty politicians, concerned only about their re-election and pathetic hold on power. If this bill was about security and terrorism, the measure could have very simply been issued by the House with all of the current provisions but immunity, and passed by the Senate in that form. It would be next to impossible in the Senate to strip immunity out after tonight’s vote; but Harry Reid could have refused to bring it to the floor until the House had done so. Neither happened. The Democratic Leadership wanted immunity. It is that simple.
Let’s assume that the Congress had passed the entire bill without immunity, what then? We know Bush threatened to veto. He might would have, but that would have meant that he was putting the country at risk to benefit phone companies that he claims did nothing wrong. Nobody but his little 20% would support that. McCain would have either supported the Democrats bill as passed or joined Bush on saying the whole bill was no good without the gold plated gift to BigPhone. He would look like an idiot either way. Obama could have benefitted from this tactical posturing and made McCain look like a rube. Protected the people and the Constitution in the process. Why didn’t he? Why didn’t the Democrats? Because they are too fucking lazy, and they just don’t give a damn about the Constitution or our privacy. They could get their precious little power play the easy way like they just have done, and not have to strain their brains and actually explain things to their constituents. Bottom line: It was all just too much hassle for the little dears.
For all those talking about the bribes and money; it is not about the money. The average amount of money that the dems voting for this received from telcos over the last two years is freaking paltry. It is not the money. It is the petty self serving DC insider power bullshit; they want to have and keep their power, and do so with as little effort possible.
There was a program like that in New York State as well in the early 1980s – it was called “demand side management”. What it was supposed to do, really, was reduce the need for building more generation plants, if I understood things correctly. Those programs are looooong gone. And frankly, energy audits are sort of a waste of time. Any house that was built before about 1970 that has not been gutted and rehabbed, does not have insulation and the windows will leak; in my estimation, any money should go straight to insulation and new windows and doors. That will do a tremendous amount of good in terms of reducing the need for heat in the winter. I think that will get rural residents the biggest bang for the dollar. No State PSC is going to give utilities the go ahead to run natural gas pipes out into rural areas and no utility is going to ask for it either. Too few residences per mile of run.
Yep. Hence one of the earliest FDL phrases:
It’s all about the cocktail weenies (in more ways than one, if ya know what I mean…)
hey pups – christy is off to sleep so ya’ll get me instead
Hey Suz!
I’ll be long dead by the time this happens; it’s just so sad to see a dream die. And I feel sad for those who will have to deal with what’s coming and ashamed I couldn’t do more to change what will be.
Aloha, Suz!
Kewl!
I am just amazed at the lack of solar power awareness by people in most of the sunbelt states. I moved from California to Florida and was stunned. I lived in a rural, poor, northern Calif county – there were 27 solar contractors in my local phone book. The population of the entire county was 132,000.
I moved to Lee County in Florida, population about 350,000. One contractor – and all he did was solar heaters for swimming pools. !!!WTF!!!
Calif is always the but of the DFH jokes but they are so out in front on this issue. Solar siting is required for all new homes. The state had rebates and tax credits for wind and solar installations before the feds and long after all the fed ones expired.
They were out in front on the auto emissions – for a long time they were the ONLY ones requiring extra emission controls, and higher fuel mileage on cars.
We all, in other states, could do well to follow their example.
Well, I’m glad to hear that..she works so hard and she needs her rest.
What community has the highest per-capita use of solar energy in Ohio? None other than the Amish.
http://blog.wired.com/wiredsci…..ultim.html
OK..what is wrong with this picture?
exactly. thanks for understanding
how’s everyone doing tonight?
Well, natural gas is another carbon-CO2 producing fossil fuel. I wouldn’t want them to run pipes for that – stave off the problem by contributing to it in another way, not a good idea.
The energy audit was a way to provide a complete package of information and education to the homeowner about how much they could save on their bills, things they could do themselves, applications for loans and grants for the bigger stuff, and all the free weatherization item I mentioned. It wasn’t a waste of money IMHO.
Of course all those old houses leak and don’t have insulation. But you have to educate people as to their options, and more important, how they will benefit (lower power bills, etc.)
A program like this but with an emphasis on converting to solar or wind or both would be excellent. And yes, you can do solar in northern states. Germany is the solar power king, and they are on the same latitude as Montana.
I was a little kid in CA when Jerry Brown was Gov. Work mostly for environmental causes to this day because of the ethic he and Carter instilled in me.
Can’t help but wonder how different the world would be now if for the last 30 years we were living in the “Green Economy” that Brown, Carter and others were promoting back then, and now is all the rage in recent years.
Another case of Liberals being right all along.
This is a major reality point, Toby, that is generally ignored. Insulation in many American homes, and not just in rural areas, is inadequate for both heating and cooling … and any serious energy-environmental ‘policy consideration’ MUST include an honest appraisal of this reality.
And outdoor burners are very often used exactly as you describe, but, also as you suggest, necessity, dire, survival necessity, will likely result in things becoming worse …
Worsening economic conditions will make rational environmental decisions even more difficult and quite impossible for many unless American society, as a whole, decides to get together on this ‘front’.
I figure that in forty or fifty years, assuming that we’ve not ratured ourselves into dust, America will begin to ‘get it’.
On the other foot, President Obama may discover that being progressive and honest about the needs of real,actual human beings might not be such a bad thing. (Well, we are all entitled to a certain amount of silly hopefulness)
Completely pissed and bummed with our congress critters…! 8-(
planet earth responds to humans
Pissed off mostly. In terms of energy, NYS PSC is still giving the thumbs down to the purchase of Energy East by Iberdrola…why? Because they already have a wind power generation plant that just happens to be in an area of Energy East’s franchise. Iberdrola has committed to spending several billion dollars in Upstate New York to build wind farms(they are the largest generator of wind power in Europe and already have wind farms in PA), but the NYS PSC has told them that if they want to buy a pipes and wires company, they have to sell their wind generation…because the PSC doesn’t want any utility to have the ability to generate their own power now. Why? Because they deregulated. Used a model that has not worked at all for the consumers of NYS…but they are going to stick with it. Iberdrola has said that if the deal can’t be done, they will take their money elsewhere. Governor wants it. the legislature wants it. Most of the people who showed up for the public hearings think it is a terrific idea to get Upstate NY some clean power. Only the administrative law judge doesn’t like it. Stupid.
Heh, the animals have their own fork thread!
WoW!
Yes. So, lets take that $87 billion tax giveaway to Big Oil and use it to help people get their homes and apartments insulated and get good windows in them. Bring back the tax credits and rebates for solar panels, etc.
Do something to help instead of hinder.
nothing is wrong with that picture.
they make choices about what technologies they want in their lives, rather than letting corporations and the government decide.
as peak oil draws to a close the massive, unsustainable, bleakness of the Suburban buildout, the Amish will be seen as very wise indeed.
Disgusted. As if FISA wasn’t enough for one day, the Supremes took away 90% of the settlement for the Exxon Valdez spill – twenty years now after the event. Disgusting.
Yeah, we have that situation here. We have a big wind farm under contract to Northwestern Power. They want to put up another big section, have investors lined up and land available. Northwestern says it would ‘cost too much to integrate the wind power into the grid’ so they declined to purchase it. Huh? They are already integrating the current production…
fucked: by the great shining
suited smilehope Barry The Privacy Slayer, the Dem Sens who sold out with him, Barry’s fanclub(s), and the “progressive” blogs who pimped for him.Speaking of that, where’s Kos the Dem candidate/campaign consultant?
Oh yeah – I forgot: living in his very expensive home in Berkeley.
Must be nice to be paid for selling out the Constitution.
But don’t ask me: ask Barry, his PR team, and Kos.
They’d know.
I just watch the
bodyConstitution counts.fucked and didn’t even get dinner and a movie first
I forgot to add that we have a GOP presidential nominee who doesn’t have a clue about technology or energy policy(though he will show up to have his picture taken at a wind generation equipment place)and yet, a group which is seen as backward and technologically unsophisticated is snapping up solar panels as if they were hotcakes at a church breakfast. That whole thing is just so weird to me.
problem is, shrubco doesn’t care about their subjects or their planet. They figure they (and the trust funds they’ve set up for their descendants with our stolen money) will be fine no matter what happens.. They’ll just all move to the Cheney ranch in Wyoming and build a big fat compound wall around it. I’m being somewhat facetious, but only somewhat… :P Appealing to their sense of civil responsibility or patriotism or even noblesse oblige is sort of like asking Genghis Khan for compassion. You can’t appeal to what isn’t there.
Impeach!
Heh..or, as we used to say…”and I didn’t even get kissed in the morning..”
From IndpendentMovement.org survey as of today:
http://survey.constantcontact……bd/results
I see that McSlime admitted publicly today that his ‘energy policy’ really is all spin and hype and that nothing would happen to help people for about 10 years.
and he’ll be either dead or in a nursing home…so, what does HE care?
good for HI. Hope other states do the same.
Looked at the list of senators who voted no on the motion to end debate (is that what it was called). Was NJ the only state to have both senators voting the right way? See? I’m right to be proud to be from NJ.
McCain adds a new title to the list of things he thinks he’s qualified to be:
Economist
Foreign Policy Specialist
Patriot
Conservative
and now – Psychologist.
this is your regular gig anyway, isn’t it? or is that later?
kirk, can we do anything about his last one… don’t the psychologists have an association with standards about practicing without a license (and malpractice insurance)?
President? Husband?
eureka tonight.. i have tue, thur and sat nites and we alternate on sundays.. this will be his week for sunday late late nite
Impeach!
And no votes for incumbents ever again.
(with a very few exceptions).
(maybe). I’m inclined to cut some slack for newbies who voted the right way. As for everyone else, good intentions or not – they didn’t get the job done, now did they?
OT. From the Department of Perfect Timing:
Jack Shafer of Slate, in the long-since-taken-over-by-neocons-NYT Book Review,
reviewing Arianna Huffington’s Right is Wrong:
The review will appear in Sunday’s edition (no link yet).
I think we should have this statue moved into Chris Dodd’s yard.
-G
Psychologist? I guess I missed that one – what did he say/do this time?
Oh but we couldn’t do that.
1. It would be reasonable.
2. It would be the right or correct thing to do.
Therefore: It McCan’t be done!
Besides if you ‘take’ money away from the obscenely wealthy, the ‘unseen
hand’, being idle, as a result of the application of your thoughtful suggestion, might fall into ‘bad’ company and begin to do Satan’s handiwork.
And we wouldn’t want that, now would we.
No, we just have to believe that this is the best of all possible worlds, regardless of the truth, or we shall vex ourselves to no good end.
Note: The preceding snark is all snark except where it isn’t.
President? Husband?
If you’re a fan of spousal abuse, yeah, he’s your guy.
In the unlikely event Barry The Privacy Slayer selects a progressive Veep, impeachment is fine by me.
In the meantime:
oppose the rethugs – never vote for them
vote to defeat McCain and all Rethug Congresscritters and Blue Dogs
revile Obama
despise Obama
I wouldn’t piss on Barry if he were on fire.
Here piggy,piggy, piggy! Come feed at the trough, lotsa slop!
From Pro Publica:
All the Same
Oops. Thought it was brass, not bronze.
-G
those corporations that easily bought off most of the (D) party to force retroactive immunity through?
they are they same kind of corporations whose business model of constant growth and exploitation dooms our biosphere, gee-whizz quick-fix gadgetry like the Prius notwithstanding.
The potomac could flood up to the steps of the Capitol and the (D) and the (R) parties would still do the bidding of the corporations.
many, many people have realized this – from the late 1980’s, definitively with the Clinton Administration.
Some who came to this realization took the reform from within, more and better Democrats route. Hows that working out?
Others realized that solutions do not come from co-conspirators, and other avenues must be pursued – 3rd Party, community building, emigration, whatever.
They haven’t reformed the system either, obviously, but they don’t have to cope with the constant humiliation and disappointment every time the (D) betrays them, their most faithful, puppy-eyed supporters.
This:
I don’t see an immediate relief, but I do see that exploitation of existing reserves that may exist — and in view of many experts that do exist off our coasts — is also a way that we need to provide relief. Even though it may take some years, the fact that we are exploiting those reserves would have a psychological impact that I think is beneficial.
There apparently is a very unflattering article in this edition of Newsweek regarding how McC has treated Cindy. Parts of it are at Buzzflash and sorta chill you.
I put this on another thread, but probably more on-topic here..:)
http://cryptogon.com/?p=1597
signed back on to say–forgot—
no link, but on the news tonight, local or lehrer report, they mentioned that 20% of the people in the lawsuit against exxon were dead now, and the rest got around $20,000 dollars as a settlement……
that’s the people who were put out of work by it, affected by it…….twenty thousand for losing your livelihood. that wouldn’t even cover a boat.
nite.
p.s. i realized today that i’m gonna equate all of this crap going on to frisbee golf….frisbee golf replaced tennis in my life in my early 20’s…..we had a helluva course in winton woods in greenhills in cincinnati back before anyone knew what it was….very early 80’s…what a course, woods, fields, curves, trails…….that course had a few of us locked in, we met at 7:30 in the morning on sundays, every single sunday, some were musicians still up from their gigs the night before, some of us had been there but went to bed inbetween, that was always a laugh, a wide variety. all serious killer frisbee wingers. me included….i usually came in second. alex killed all of us……art major, architect. approached it like science. he was magic to watch……..he was that persistent and that good. i don’t think he ever lost.
so, short game, curve, long run, basket……
and i’ve got a new long distance flyer to go with my short curve…..with practice, it’ll be deadly.
just gotta adjust your game……
like i said in the last thread-
outta here, man, what a day.
heads up, more frisbees to throw tomorrow………
OOOH – I like that.
Of course, the American Psychological is the same group with officers linked to the torture psychologists
(no slur on Laura D or the many honorable psychologists who join us here)
I think we’ll have to wait for them to dump their “leaders” before they’ll act.
The same state licensing boards that got after “Dr” Phil for crashing Brittany Spear’s hospital room may be able to get on McCain.
I got a good laugh outta the last poll question, whom does the critters work for… the number one response was the Party and special interests at 93%, even ‘no comment’ or ‘not sure’ beat out the “work for the best interest of the country”… Obviously, we’re onto their game… Yet, they still sell us out…!
yeah, anyway to get Feingold to win the convention?
‘In some cases, the U.S. military has been denying wounded soldiers the full amount of their enlistment bonuses, under the rationale that the soldiers are unable to fulfill the full term of their service contract.’
http://www.blacklistednews.com…..8211.html
so doc, what’s an effective way to handle all this fucking anger at our congresscitters?
Can’t see your link, jackie.
I’m never too ashamed to admit I don’t understand somethin’….. But I don’t get how, as I watch the price at the punmp climb to $5/gallon and higher,it’s supposed to help me psychologically to know that ExxonMobil will be able to produce bring gas to my pump in ten years. I mean, seriously, people can’t go places. No exaggeration. And when you live in a state with an irresponsible Republican governor and legislature who think everty responsibilty of government can be funded by the sales taxes paid by tourists…………………. you’re fucked (there’s that word again)> And yes, without dinner, a movie or a kiss good-bye.
But the query: How am I supposed to feel better? Can anybody possibly be this stupid? Well, we know the answer to that is yes, but overall, I think McCain just keeps digging himself deeper. I always said it wasn’t good for McCain that he wasn’t really taking advatage while Barack & Hillary were still engaged in their pissing contest. I mean he was fucking up and not even running against anybody. What they call in sports “unforced errrors.” I’m getting a feeling the McCain campaign is going to be one fuck up after another.
so you’re just being a good team player?? nice. thanks.
That’s odd. I can.. Mods??
jackie. i got a 404 error on that link.. i can see the link but it don’t work so i can’t see the page you are linking to
We tried to fix it, but it still yields an error.
Yep, there they go supportin’ the troops again.
Rat bastards.
-G
Here’s a different link re; same story..:)
http://www.naturalnews.com/z023488.html
Thank you jackie
that one works – thanks :)
lol
If that pisses ya off check out this article…
Cancer induced by DU munitions…!
I’m glad to be here.
HI you all.;)
I haven’t even read the limnk and I’m pissed.; why does the military like these guys (Republicans)Was talking to a colleague at work whose husband is in Iraq and it’s just heartbreaking. And he’s alive and not physically injured. Actually, he’s not in Iraq any more and she’s having a hard time keeping track of him. As she raises a young baby herself. just multiply her by how many hundred thousands. then tere are the spouses/families of the dead and wounded. Christ. 100 more years. nope. that AFSCME commercial is pretty good. I said the same thing before it came out — “100 years in Iraq?? You’re not getting my boys, John McCain, you old wrinkled prick.”
About right now, I would appreciate hearing Kiddo and Lahoma’s ‘take’ on things ‘democratic’, party-wise.
I’m wondering whether Kiddo would be about ready to consider a third-party approach for ‘next time’.
sporkovat has been pretty spot-on,for months and I’ve watched the disappointment of many here over the past year morphing into solid disgust.
So?
Looks like we’ve worthwhile ‘endeavor’ enough to last the rest of our lives.
Actually, I suppose we should be grateful, as most of our fellow Americans spend their lives in ‘quiet desperation’ and whatever else may be said of us, we are neither quiet nor desperate …
practicing deep breathing techniques so my head don’t explode
judas forking priest this administration forking pisses me off!
yeah, anyway to get Feingold to win the convention?
I have a gut feeling that Russ Feingold is a guy with very few friends in the Senate, or the Democratic Party in general.
Which is to his credit, imo.
Total outrage. Been picked up anywhere. After the what KO did to Wal Mart after they asked that employee for her court settlement (which they had every right to do, I’d like to see him make the Army a worst person until something is done.
I’ve been following the DU story for a while…Serious, serious shit :(
Lots of British soldiers getting sick too..
More on DU…
http://nationalexpositor.com/News/303.html
i get that same feeling, too. and I also agree, good for him. he didn’t hesitate to say Obama was wrong.
Jeezus H. Christ on a biodegradable popsicle stick….
All this doom and gloom around my favorite New Media outlets is killin my buzz.
More and Better is working out great! 2006 was historic in the DemocratIC gains, and 2008 is going to be even better. We’ve already kicked out a BushDog and significantly helped Donna Edwards take his place. She was just sworn in. One of our greatest champions, Dr. Howard Dean, is completely re-making the DemocratIC Party and developing a grassroots network in all 50 states, which will likely sustain this momentum for years to come. We replaced Denny’s Hasturd with Bill Foster, who just voted against the FISA fiasco this week. And on and on…
We’ve done all this in a few years from scratch, and completely outgunned in people and in money. It’s really amazing what we’ve accomplished so far.
Yes, the Dem “leadership” and Obama capitulations are terrible, and all the more reason for us to turn the screws on them for it, and that’s what it’s all about. Seriously…Donna Edwards running around Capitol Hill…think about it.
Whatever Obama does now with his pandering votes, no one can deny the number of people he brought into the process. Sure, there’s a lot of, “OMG! He’s so dreamy…” talk at his site, but there’s A LOT of people saying, “What the hell is wrong with CNN, NBC, etc?!? I used to think they were good but now I see how manipulative they all are.” This is crucial!!
We need more people on our side, and moaning and groaning ain’t gonna attract people to us. We’ve got so much momentum and right now, and it would be a shame to waste by throwing hissy fits.
Buck up campers, and let’s stoke that fire!
Never vote for Rethugs.
In local elections, vote Green/progressive.
When you can defeat the Rethug in State/Federal elections, vote Green/progressive.
No funds for DCCC/ DNC / Constitution sell-outs. Ever.
Support proportional representation/ranked-choice voting.
Support the Maine/AZ models of campaign financing.
Despise every Dem who voted for FISA amnesty: work to defeat them in primaries.
And sing along – mostly – with Chumbawamba (Mouth Full Of Shit):
I wouldn’t piss on Barry if he were on fire.
So if you walk by Barry and he has a big head of steam:
(1) Don’t put him out: the SS will whack you if you squirt him or touch him.
(2) Anyway, he probably just rubbed himself into ignition getting a stiffie for his true loves: power and ambition.
(3) Never use water-based liquids to quench a burning Power Tool.
It’s seems strange that the Pentagon is not sending bills to Halliburton/KBR for over charges and/or failure to complete contracts among other things, yet, can send a bill to wounded soldiers…
I’m getting worried about you, Kirk. Did you think that Obama could be elected without being vanilla pudding?
What matters now, is how he will govern once elected. I know we’re all pissed about FISA, and righteously so, but we don’t have a choice now.
wiping coffee off screen………lol
I wonder if the capital building were destroyed by a natural disaster how long it would take to be repaired?
i smell the beginnings of a new m&c post
It’s getting old voting for the lesser of two evils, or wearing a gas mask to vote.
I said it before as veteran of the trials and tribulations of navigating the VA, their motto is simple-”Delay, deny, & hope you die!” I promptly called the number that I was directed to phone Monday in a letter I received that very day. I received the generic “I am either away from my desk or on another line. Please leave your name and number and I will call you back asap”. I’m still waiting. They’re extremely motivated. I’ve noticed that they never offer those custmer satisfaction surveys…
Thanks, bonkers!
Let’s not forget Pups, that the republicks didn’t get where they are overnight.
Long term. Deep breaths. Further vision.
Possibly, today, I went after McCain and the GAO report…! ;-)
i’ve decided that tonight, i’m gonna gnash my teeth and wail and rant and moan and bitch about it – but tomorrow morning, i’m back to holding feet to the fire and demanding representation of ME and not some corporate lobbyist.
Nice, loky…
Also, why wait, we can all drive 60 and under right now.
Ain’t that the awful truth?
Would you wanna be the one to read ‘em…? ;-)
Ich bin ein Amerikaner!
Fuck the neocons!
Hiya Margot and Suzanne,
Cha, cha, changes… happy to be here, too.
If a House Dem can be ’bought’ for a $35,000 campaign contribution, let’s raise some money to buy some votes the next time we have an issue we need voted on. That’s how much money each of the flip-Dems plus the 3 Mousketeers got for changing their no votes from last time to yes on this monstrosity.
snark on.
I know. But is there really a choice between Obama and McCain? They’re not even next door to each other on issues.
From Politico a butthead:
…
Dan Gerstein, a New York political consultant and former longtime aide to Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.), said Obama now needs to stand by his support of the bill, given Republican efforts to brand Obama as a “reflexive, partisan liberal.” “This is really an important initial test for Obama,” he said.
“People will be looking at this to see whether he has the strength and independence to stand up to his friends and a significant support base and say, ‘I think this is right, and I am going to hold firm in my position.’”
…
Yep.
you right. well said.
Trust me there is no way I would vote for McInsane or any other repuke. But on FISA Obama and McCain are holding hands.
Yep, and when women object to policies, it’s because they’re emotional and hysterical. /s
I don’t do that patronizing “psycho-dismiss” routine — and I point out the process when someone tries it with me.
On the off chance you really were genuinely worried about my condition, you can redirect the concern to our Constitution.
hey Chris!
first quarter in the jukebox – a tribute to our congresscowards:
ColdPlay – Yellow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qI8I6qcxWyU
ok, so I went for the glaringly obvious one – sue me. heh.
HA!!! I can hardly wait to see how the Obama campaign responds to this. What bafoons!
Gerstein = douche.
Can I say that? I’ve seen taht here before.
Have you heard anything from your son, Jay?
coward of the country
That was uncalled for.
Feel free!
Lovely rains here tonight, and new, great photos from NYC from my adult children. They are loving New York! You may see some on FB.
Fight!!!! Fight!!!!!
Are they actually going to respond, or is he going to give yet another speech full of rah-rah and no substance?
Can you tell I’m a little pissed off tonight? Christopher Dodd must be vibrating with anger.
-S
Sorry. I admire you, Kirk.
Have you heard anything from your son, Jay?
not yet. Today should have been his third day in Basic. I’m figuring he’s still up to his chin in culture-shock. My understanding is that he gets one phone call per week (on Sundays) but with a girlfriend in the picture, I’m not holding my breath. heh.
thanks for asking.
History, so tiresome. But I remember the exuberance of the Jesse Jackson campaign- how they were going to create ‘more and better Democrats’ on his coat-tails. I don’t remember the phrase from back then, Big Tent? who knows.
so when I was referencing ‘/hows that working out’ I was going back more than 20 years, and, on that scale, it ain’t working out at all, obviously.
they won’t impeach a blatant criminal in the white house, after their guy was impeached for lying about a blow job.
they just gave bush and cheney one hundred sixty some billion dollars to commit more war crimes with, on top of the already sizeable half-trillion dollar ‘defense’ budget.
They are a fake ‘opposition’ whose main purpose, what they do best besides the corporate whoring of their GOP colleagues, is to distract people who want progressive change away from effective avenues for progressive change, and into the tiresome mire of battling (D) politicians on their own turf.
OK. I mean I don’t say it often. Here. “Reflexive, partisan liberal”??? What does the latest vote on FISA mean? There are 15 “reflexive, partisan livberals” ?
i look on them as 15 American patriots
Maybe being the “party of inclusion” really is our failing. We’ve tolerated traitors to the Constitution for way too long.
That’s weird I’ve never heard that policy… We had payphones we could use when we had down time during Basic/AIT, granted we didn’t have much down time, tho…! ;-)
Yeah! Ron Paul!!!! lol :)
I disagree. Framing disagreement with policy concenrs and criticism of a candidate by implicitly questioning the commenter’s mental condition is uncalled for.
The psych term for that dismissive rhetorical trick is mind-fucking.
If pointing out the process of mind-fucking causes discomfort, then dropping the mind-fucking tactic will stop the problem.
In the meantime, I’ll keep pointig out the mind-fuckng tactic of implicitly questioning the mental health and/or emotional condition of commenters expressing strong political views.
We’re all pissed off, as we should be!
Question is, will we channel that energy in a positive direction?
Not like we learned in our high school civics classes, is it?
And, I for one, AM MAD AH HELL THIS WEEK!!!!1111
Ich bin ein Amerikaner!
Fuck the neocons!
Loo Hoo, I admire you as weel — apogy accepted.
I apologize if I seemed to (or did) jump down your throat: twenty years of working with psych patients has left me with no tolerance for the rhetorical gambit I called attention to.
I fully accept that was not your intention and does not reflect your values, and I am happy to let the matter drop.
And they don’t even teach civics any longer.
We’re not doomed, but we sure are taking the low road.
I dunno – that info came from Nick – who’s been known to occasionally get his facts a little sideways…
His first week was basically some kind of reception/preparation – you ever heard of that?
Maybe he’ll come out of radio-silence now that he’s fully into Basic Training… I know that when he gets to AIT, things loosen up immensely…
Well, I’m glad a WAC team beat Georgia for a title, considering my Warriors couldn’t do it in the Sugar Bowl…!
*hugs*
And I didn’t mean you specifically at all. It’s a stressful time for all of us right now. We need to stick together.
hey doc,
I’m taking a therapeutic approach to my rage – with art therapy :D
thing 1 thing 2
Evenin’ Ms Suzanne and Firedogs – how y’all doin ?
a two week acclimation is more likely.
I peacefully protest with my fellows, I donate to worthwhile candidates, I am a member of the Dem central committee in my county, I register people to vote, I write letters to the editor. I’m not sure what other positive things I can do. The problem is it has no effect. I’m sick of the taxation witout representation. I’m sick of people going to Washington to fuck over the rest of us. I want my God Damned Country back. I’m mad as hell.
Jesse Jackson had no coatails. It’s hard work this “mo & better” stuff. Lotta people here doing more than me. But everybody here’s doing something. We all kow it’s gonna be hard. Disappointments like FISA. Wins like Donna Edwards. And as Christy pointed out the other night, the way FISA played out wasn’t the original script. But pweople like us changed things. Or at least helped to. In the end,we lost. But we got noticed. Big challenge now is to not be taken advatage of and taken for granted. Thank God we had a guy lie Dodd to rally around. I wish, asa does everyome here, there were more like him. As great as Dodd was, what he did wasn’t really THAT hard. You know what I mean? I’m not taking away from him in the least. I guess what I’m saying is standingh up for the Constitution and against retro immunity and non-reviewable warrantless wiretapping at the behest of the executive branch …. that should be a no brainer. It shouldn’t have been hard, maybe is closer to what I mean.
hey cbl2 – i’m mad as hell and sadder than sad. how about you?
A holding company, until they gather enough to start the ‘cycle’, they would’ve shaved his head and issued him his uniforms and taught him a little D&C… Standard routine…!
My Cinderella Bulldogs who no one gave a chance in hell. It’s the only sweet thing to go on around here in quite a while. Big Party tomorrow night at Biden Field.
That they are. Did I mention that the state I still call home (even though it s’not) was the only one with 2 Senators voting the right way?
I did? Oh.
Does that mean there’s no fight?
lol! nice one herez mine :)
There are a buncha graphic you can down load on his site.
You do know there is no love lost between my Warriors and your Dawgs, eh? 8-)
Freedom and Unity, BFL
I’ve voted for the lesser of 2 evils since Carter and never did I have to vote for a person who thought it was fine that the government spied on me.
And I don’t have to vote for him now, as a matter of fact.
I know what you mean. I’m working my ass off for the guy running against Darrell Issa. I look around at my fellow citizens and cannot believe what I see.
It’s truly the media.
I don’t know that it has no effect. Small, maybe. But that’s alot of stuff you do. Take, jest fer instance, registering voters. That has an effect.
here’s a coattail: Jesse forced Clinton to adopt some rhetoric on Health Care Reform.
This allowed Hillary to botch it by trying to square the circle of insurance industry greed and patient care.
But she wouldn’t have even done that if it wasn’t for Jackson making it an issue.
He addressed rallies of tens of thousands of people, did voter registration, and for those who tipped that way, brought thousands of idealistic activists into the party.
You’re right. Standing up for the Constitution oughta be a no-brainer.
Yeah…
You gotta give it to the dawgs. National Champs, seriously no one gave them an icecubes chance in hell. They broke just about every college world series record on their way to boot. It’s awesome.
Nutshell.
Remember when HI was my Beerfart Heart Over Head Upset Pick o’ the Week? Thank god my Jints came through and redeemed my upset picking.
No fights.
And Diebold.
It’s a red Mecha in a blue state here. I know every registration matters, but we are still miles behind the pukes. Can still drive around and see those fucking W stickers.
Definitely congrats are in order! Hawaii will benefit from the payout to the WAC, like, Fresno got a cut from Hawaii’s appearance in the Sugar bowl…!
I did win one shiny hub cap…! ;-)
mad and miserable like everyone else.
good to see the firedogs raging and raging rationally and hanging tough with one another –
btw, mr bmaz upthread totally speaks for me. I am even trying blogging about it
keep you patriot hand strong dogs
never got beter than a “d” in handwriting (and that was so I could pass to the next class, or I’d still be in 4th grade).
never broke the 5th percentil in LBJ’s “presidants’ Physical FItness Test” (that bastard)
can I still try art therapy? sounds good to me!
my point of view is that rooting for the (D)’s no matter how often they betray you guarantees that you will be be taken advatage of and taken for granted.
and this point of view – that hope is to be found elsewhere, not with the (D), seems to have predictive validity:
from the conclusion of his long essay “Blinded by the Story: Liberals and Progressives as Political Creationists”
at http://powerofnarrative.blogsp…..s-and.html
The “WAC” rocked this season in several sports. Possibly we’ll get some respect.
I thought bad handwriting was a prerequisite in your field.
I’m just saying, I don’t think he had much lasting effect on the party. He’s been a zero for quite some time. Anyway, whatever success FDL, BlueAmerica, et al enjoy will be because of their efforts, not asaomwe candidate’s coatails.
try the gimp :D
not as good as the real thing but better than nothing
Best typo I’ve seen today! Awesome?
*hugs* to you, LooHoo.
and *hugs* to newtonusr.
I saw one afew weeks ago and was thinking :”There used to be alot more. People are taking them off, finally.” But not everybody. It wqas on a nice BMW I sawe downtown. Not a pick-up truck on the highway which is where I’d expect to see them.
peace kirk
US forces face spike in deadly violence. But let’s not let the facts get in the way of the McCain media propaganda campaign of surge praise.
-G
lol. It was supposed to be “some”.
You must have “happy fingers” tonight.
I thought bad handwriting was a prerequisite in your field.
I always figured that it was part of the medical school curriculum… “Nah, Dr. Murphy, I can still read that with no problem at all. Not good. You ever think of writing with your off-hand? Or do all of your hand-writing at the end of the day, after a full pot of coffee?”
lol.
i know. just tryin’ to be an instigator. that’s an extra 2 minute penalty, no?
Upticks in violence mean the surge is working.
Or so I’ve read…
hahahaha
no. i just can’t type for crap. I can spell. just can’t type.
We have us some real winners in these parts. Lots of farms and also the largest concentrated area of poverty in the nation. Lots of have’s and lots of have not’s. You’d be surprised at the number of have not’s who consistently vote against their own interests. I’ve been active in politics in this area for years and still can’t figure that one.
Heh. I can neither psell or ytpe. And mine grammar sucks.
Article on HuffPo by Sam Stein today about how Obama has a problem with ’the blogosphere’. Seems we’re all a whiny bunch of losers because he hasn’t been paying any attention to us after we gave him all our money.
Article seemed to imply that’s the only issue ’we’ have with him, and that anything else we talk about is just us and doesn’t apply to the rest of the country.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…..09098.html
Jerk.
You’re right!
But when I was in primary school, driving a
grabage turckgarbage truck had far more appeal. Big macines and little kids…Come to think of it, I never did so well at typing, either….but by 10th grade I’d moved beyond garbage trucks….
I wanted to be a biologist (beofre it was commercial).
Garbage truck drivers had better cash flows…..
You’re too funny!
Let’s go at it Kirk, BFL wants some action!/s
Obama has been reduced to blithering: http://tpmelectioncentral.talk…..munity.php
coattails is beside the point anyway – my point is that the whole debate between reforming and improving the (D) party as a means to progressive change versus 3rd party and/or sacial movement tactics has been going on since the 80’s actually much longer, with Gene McCarthy, of course.
And, the ‘more and better’ types have a track record – they’ve been trying for more than 20 years, and the results as we can all see are dismal. As Greenwald has said:
what hasn’t been tried on the proper scale has been a progressive bolting from the (D), so who knows it might work better? couldn’t be worse, good lord.
And Donna Edwards and Russ Feingold and Dodd and Kuchinich will be vastly empowered and given more leverage within the (D) caucus if there is a formation to their left ….
keeping on doing the same old thing that hasn’t worked for 25 years will just perpetuate the whole helpless least-worstism forever.
again quoting high-status blogger Glenn Greenwald:
I heard we’re “pulling our hair out”
*banging head on desk*
“History. so tiresome.”
Apparently reading a comment you quote is tiresome as well. All the points you mention? I got it and say many of the same things. The point is that we have so much to be excited by considering that “history” you mentioned, and how much we’ve been able to change of that history so quickly. We’re at a key moment and I feel we’re gonna need every ounce of enthusiasm and motivation we can muster to keep this ball rollin.
Speaking of history, you must know some of the timeframes it took to make some of the other changes we take for granted today. The end of slavery…The Suffragists…fer chissakes, it took at least 44 years just to get an “official” Mother’s Day passed (some say even 20 years longer). Speaking of which, one of mothers of Mother’s Day, Julia Ward Howe, wrote the Mother’s Day Proclamation in 1870, which is quite appropiate for today as well. Wonder how many people realize Mother’s Day in America was started as a pro-Peace movement?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M…..oclamation
Does this involve mud or jello?
Can I watch?
so. whaddya do?
another thing I don’t miss about living in New Jersey /s
On the other hand, it’s been years since someone asked me to “go at it”. I goota update my lisitng on Nerve.Trading liberties for security is cowering, Professor Obama.
lol! Bleat, blah blah blah.
It is also good news for Rudy Giuliani.
-G
I’m not at all surprised any more about the number of people who vote against their own best interests and self interests. Not surprised. But I still don’t get it either.
I tried to explain that once to some supercilious soul who was proofing a long and error-filled document of mine. It did not go over well.
who?
I vote for green jello!
how about jello shots instead?
That’s the only part of med schhol they gave me AP credit for…..
Did I mention that NJ was the only state that had both Senators vote the right way on that last FISA vote? I did? Never mind.
I don’t think “more and better” started until about 2-3 years ago. I spent the 1990s thinking I was crazy arguing for things that have just recently been accepted by many Dems, namely the DLC Dems, of which the Clintons are founders and leaders, exist to destroy the Party from within. It was designed by BigMoney to keep the social upheavals of the 50s and 60s from happening again, by keeping Dems complacent.
There were some of us around here and there, but mostly I was told to be happy with having a “Democrat” in the White House and besides, it’s better than the alternative, right? “Wanna drink some beer and watch the game now??”
The development of the Internet has changed this dynamic. Us like-minded individuals can organize and act now, and were just starting to see the results. More and Better is just warming up.
I was missin’ on NJ big time today. thinking about the holiday comming up. some springsteen playin’ no shore. no sweet corn.no strawberry rhubarb pie. No Rutt’s Hut style rippers or cremators……..
I was pretty sure Baucus would vote yes and Tester would vote no. Boy did I get surprised. Tester voted yes also.
I met him at an ACLU meeting and he gave a speech about liberty and freedom etc etc. I’m calling tomorrow and read him the riot act. Again for about the umpteenth time. What a piece of work.
Sister Louise failed me in handwriting straight across the board in 6th grade.
what is the key moment, again?
another triangulating, centrist (D) is running against some barking nutter on the (R) side for President, but they both stand for militarism, imperialism, and the destruction of the environment.
the framing is that people of conscience, who are sincerely apalled by the war, have no choice but to vote least worst. Thats not new, far from it.
the netroots? people felt the same way about the advent of cable and satellite TV – it would be and empowering, liberating movement, thanks to a glorious new technology.
G’nite all. Off to dreamland where all this crap is NOT happening!
g’nite loky
Wholiani?
-G
ok that was some explanatory personal history. sorry if I have overgeneralized or overreacted.
but – rather than destroying the party, perhaps the DLC embodied the party?
are you going all the way back to the New Deal ? the reforms of that time were forced by social movements outside of the two-party duopoly, which reinforces my point.
NJ’s delegation stands up for the Constitution!!!!!!!!!
Mr. Menendez: NO.
Mr. Lautenberg: ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
(Recorded as a “no” without objection.)
late late nite zed upstairs that needs claiming pups
Way, way OT – hey it’s *almost* late-late time:
doc, you ever heard of Abilify? I’m watching the commercial – seems to be for mood swings/bi-polar disorder…
“Side effects may include high fever, uncontrollable muscle movements, high blood sugar which can lead to death, elderly people with dementia have an increased risk of death or stroke, call your doctor if you have increased mood swings or thoughts of suicide. Other effects may include impaired motor skills, difficulty in standing and/or swallowing.”
“Ask your doctor if Abilify is right for you”.
Well – I’m sold!! where do I sign up?
‘nite loky, hope you have better luck with your dreams than I’m having with mine.
http://tw3k.net/Political_Art/JoinOrDie.jpg
Made it with a sreuggle! Blackjack had an OK day
er, its a snake.
I’ll sign off with a quote from the always unwelcome Arthur Silbur, who has had a great streak of posts and essays lately:
miss that too, BFL….
Well yes, that’s what I think happened and that’s what they wanted. That’s why I use the word “destroy,” since a DLC takeover of the Dem Party means DemocratIC principles are gone.
I wonder if we’re having a communication disconnect through the Toobz. I think bringing up the the New Deal reinforces my point, since while we’ll usually side with Dems, most of the Liberal blogosphere is is pretty independent as well. That’s why there are things like Blue America.
I think we can effect the kind of change those “outside” groups did for the New Deal today, provided we stay motivated and grow our ranks.
Freeman Dyson has an interesting article about global warming in the June 12 New York Review of Books. One of the books under review is William Nordhaus’s economics perspective and projections on five major approaches to global warming:
(1) The “business as usual” approach
(2) The “optimal” policy
(3) The Kyoto protocol
(4) “Ambitious” proposals (a) Stern, and (b) Gore
(5) The “low cost backstop”
The two-hundred year projections Nordhaus describes use a “discount rate” for the future, and I won’t attempt to explain it, other than to point out that he uses a discount rate of 4%, which is the “conventional wisdom” of economists. The models compare the costs of a policy against the costs of the damage due to climate change.
The “Business as usual” approach is scaled to be “0.”
The Kyoto protocol is rated at +1 with US participation, “0″ without US.
The “optimal” policy is rated as +3.
The ambitious proposals have large negatives (-15, -21), meaning that the large initial costs do not yield sufficient benefits. Dyson calls the results of the ambitious proposals “disastrous”.
The “low cost backstop” proposal comes off very well (+17), but it’s specifications are vague and there are questions about its achievability. It is based on the assumption that such a low-cost technology will become available. Nordhaus speculates that this technology might include low-cost solar power, geothermal energy, climate engineering, or genetically engineered “carbon eating” trees. Yeah, right.
This has political implications, because Gore is being touted by some as Obama’s special energy czar. You can bet Republicans will glom onto the Nordhaus study as evidence that the Gore proposals just cost too much, and don’t produce much bang for the buck. On the other hand, investing in energy technology, which certainly merits considerable investment, depends on questionable technologies. I mean, come on: genetically engineered carbon-eating trees? All trees are, to some extent, “carbon eaters,” because they absorb CO2 from the air and turn it into plant material. But he’s talking about trees that do this kind of thing on a more massive scale.
Well worth reading!
Bob in HI
Wow. Thanks for that.
GE trees? Yeesh…
I have faith though that we’ve had several years or various technologies in use already, and have learned a lot from that. Something like ethanol was too rushed, and many now realize it’ll harm more than help if it’s not done right, and others like this. We can be smarter now with which approaches will be most beneficial.
oops: just saw this.
Abilify (apripazole) is a “second generation antipsychotic” (SGN’s). It’s also really expensive (approx $500/month – no generic).
For folks who need a second-generation antipsychotic, Abilify appears to have two potential advantadges (one of which can be life-saving/life-sparing)
(1) Far less likely to cause sedation: so much less likely that just about all the patients I saw had to take it in the AM. If taken at night it would interfere with sleep.
(2) Appears not to increase blood sugar/lipids (triglycerides/cholesterol). This is the life-saving/life-sparing part. In three different Northern California public health “systems” (Catholic Healthcare West / SF County MH / Santa Clara County MH) over the last five years, I’ve seen patients with increased lipids and MARKED increase in blood glucose after starting some SGN’s.
The second SGN to come on the market in the US (Zyprexa: generic name — olanzapine) so reliably caused increased blood sugar that I call it “diabetes in a pill”: I saw oodles of adults who didn’t require medical teatment for adukt-onset diabetes (DM II) or high lipids before starting Zyprexa, but required it within a year or so after starting te drug. The process — or descent — was often documented in their charts. This didn’t surprise me: these risks were well described as early as 2001.
{Failure to document the reasons for choosing a “diabetogenic” SGN — much less document informing the patient of the risk/benefit ratios and potential alternatives — completely appalls me. Nevertheless, that appears to be to be the de facto “community standard” in the public systems I have observed outside of academic med centers. I last practiced in academic med centers before moving to Northern California.
caveat emptor}
In any event, the SGA’s (with the excepttion of apripazole and one other agent) are associated with increased serum glucose (blood sugar), increased lipids, and (what appears to be) decreased power of our natural insulin to control our blood sugar (fancy name for this is insulin resistance: our bodies ignore our own insulin).
Press reports indicate Lilly (manufacturers of Zyprexa) was aware of the drug’s effect on glucose/lipids before it was used on a widepsread basis.
Anyway, I don’t suggest folks on long-term non-apripazole SGA’s for psychosis or bipolar disorder abruptly stop their meds: that leads to almost certain relapse. Please — for those peeps — work with a doctor if you have decided to cahnge meds: don’t stop them abruptly.
OK – in which folks might antipsychotics be useful?
Well, broadly speaking, antipsychotics help with:
Thought disorders (psychotic disorders)
Bipolar disorder not responsive to lithium and/or anti-convulsants.
WRT to thought/psychotic disorders:
A very large study called the CATIE study (see Psychiatric News at psych.org) looked at SGA’s vs a “first generation” antipsychotic (perphenazine, aka Trialfon) for patients with the thought disorder (psychotic disorer) called schizophrenia.. The study did not include Ability/apripazole.
The CATIE study does seem to show that — in general — SGA’s are no better than “first generation” antipsychotics for schizophrenia. Also, the first generation don’t cause adult diabetes and increased lipids (unlike many of the SGA’s).
[deep in the weeds: the “first generation” antipsychotics include three groups:
1: “low-potency” (includes thorazine — very sedating)
2: “high-potency/lower affinity” (includes perphenazine/Trilafon — far less sedating; some risk of movement side effects {TD = chronic / akathesia - acute})
3: “high potency/higher affinity” (includes haloperidol/Haldol — far less sedating; greater risk of movement side effects {TD - chronic / akathesia - acute})]
Please note the CATIE study compared perphenazine with the SGA’s, but did not include apripazole.
PS:
(1) I have no financial interest with any drug/medical company.
(2) anyone concerned should check with their doc(s) before starting/stopping psych meds.
(3) Cognitive-behavioral and other “talking therapies”, in general, decrease severity of symptoms and hence total need for meds in thought/mood disorders.
_____
Hope this information helps. It is based on info derived from groups: individuals may find their experience varies.
Good luck!