Chicago Is Going Green; the Nation Must Follow

The New York Times reported that Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago unveiled perhaps the most aggressive plan of any major city to reduce heat-trapping greenhouse gases.  The blueprint would change the city's building codes to promote energy efficiency, and calls for installing huge solar panels at municipal properties and building alternative fueling stations.

 

The city plan draws on the work of climatologists that warn that failure to act will produce dire consequences.  The Chicago initiative included consultation with business and labor leaders, as well as scientists and environmentalists, and involved 18 months of research and discussions.

 

The mayor is not waiting for the federal government to act and that is to his credit.  More mayors and governors should follow his lead in making their cities and states green.  The rewards will be great in so many ways.  It will also force the federal government to get serious. 

Reality: Will It Prevail On November 4?

Republicans always find a way to ruin the economy and lose jobs for the country and its people.  They lack fiscal discipline and respect and as a result have no broad based economic policy.  President Bush, John McCain, and the Republicans are so out of touch with reality that it has reached a pitiful state.

 

The problem with the financial industry has been know for some time but no action was taken.  Same can be said for the record escalation of oil and gasoline prices and the problems that cropped up on Wall Street early in his Presidency.  The country has lost jobs every month so far this year and the stimulus package came after the fact.  The President has been AWOL in facing these problems and taking action.

 

Iraq and Afghanistan will be turned over to the next President and Mr. Bush continues to dodge the issues and the problems his policies created.  With the Presidential elections only 4 weeks away, Senator McCain and the republican party are still in denial and offer more of the same.  Hopefully the public will cast their vote for reality on November 4.

Job Losses Continue To Take Its Toll

The Labor Department announced the economy lost 159,000 jobs in September, the ninth straight month of job losses and the highest since 2003.  So far this year, the economy has lost 760,000 jobs and the department says more will continue.

 

Job creation on a steady basis has never been a priority for Republican administrations and certainly not the administration of George W. Bush.  The reason is because Republicans have a tax policy and not an economic policy for a sustained economy.  Job creation in the first term of this President was the worst since Herbert Hoover.

 

The norm accepted to define a recession is two quarters in a row of negative growth.  But serious people know job creation is in recession,  the housing market is in recession, the financial markets are in recession, and the economy is in recession for the middle class.

 

Our economy is locked down and drowning in federal deficits and debt at record levels.  The Republicans want to bankrupt our country so the neocons can kill social security, medicare, and other needed programs they hate.  One can expect the meltdowns that always happen on their watch. The Republicans have run the country 20 out of the last 28 years and their fiscal and economic record is pitiful.  They say government is the problem, but it is their kind of government that is the problem.

 

Our country and its people are in for hard times in the near future because of their reckless policies.  The problems can not be reversed quickly and it's not going to be easy to dig the country out of the hole that has been dug.  On November 4th, the American people need to be involved in our political system and hold those elected officials responsible for their reckless action.

A Message For The American People

Are the people really upset about the $700 Billion bail out of the financial industry that uses tax payers' money as the news media seems to be reporting.  If so, I wonder how much they are up set, or if it will be just a passing fad. 

 

The record prices for oil and gas the people have been paying for because of corporate greed and Mr. Bush's failed policies ---  have the people really changed their driving habits and are now willing to consume less gasoline and or purchase more fuel efficient vehicles or will the people fall back to their old ways once prices start coming down?

 

The government's latest report shows the cost of the Iraq war at $600 billion and our current President can't tell us when the war will end.  Will the final cost be a trillion dollars or more?  The tax payers are paying for the war also. 

 

President Bush's deficit spending when he leaves office will be over $2.3 trillion.  The tax payers are also paying for that reckless behavior plus the interest paid on the borrowed money to pay for the deficit.  The interest payments alone for fiscal 2006 and fiscal 2007 was over $400 billion each of those years.

 

So that the people, the tax payers, can get an idea how their tax dollars are wasted, add up all those numbers and just think what this money could have been used for in relation to the needs of the people.  Do some research and see for yourself just how reckless this administration has been with your money.

 

If we, the tax payers don't change the status quo and demand more accountability from government officials and demand responsible spending policies we have no one to blame but ourselves.  President Kennedy once said, "Our problems are man made, therefore they can be solved by man."  Are we the tax payers up to the challenge?  History tells us we better be.

Petraeus: Iraq Still "Central Front"

In an article by the Washington Post, Ernesto Landono and Amit Paley report General Petraeus has said that Iraq remains "the central front" for Al Qaida and other extremists.

 

Now we have a general who is playing politics with the war in Iraq over WMD that did not exist.  Prior to the war, Al Qaida was no where to be found in Iraq, in any part Saddam Hussein controlled.  It was our reckless invasion and occupation of Iraq and the military blunder in planning that created Al Qaida in Iraq. 

 

It is indeed a sad situation for our men and women in uniform when the Commander-in-Chief and the general running the war almost 2 years after the surge still can't tell the people when and how this war will end.  In fact, despite their allegations that the surge has been a success, both say the situation in Iraq is so fragile that it can change at any minute.  To me, that is not success.  It reminds me of "mission accomplished." which Mr. Bush proclaimed over five years ago.

 

I have written before that George Bush will turn this war over to the next President instead of taking care of the problem himself.  In February 2009, one month after he leaves office, 8,000 troops will come home.  That will still leave more troops in Iraq than before the surge but Mr. Bush will be gone.  

Paul Newman --- A Great American

Paul Newman passed away at age 83.  He lived the life of a true American in every sense of the word and in deed.  As a movie star, his success as an actor was instantly and lasting.  He was respected by his peers and all that knew him.

 

Newman and his wife choose to live their lives outside the Hollywood lifestyle.  They were private people and he gave very few public interviews.  Newman was also a very generous person, especially with children who needed help and with various charitable organizations.  It has been reported that his food business gave all of its profits to charities that totaled over $250 million.  Paul also visited those charities and especially loved to spend time with the children his charities supported.

 

Paul Newman was an American who made a positive difference in a lot of people's lives and the world.  The people he touched are better off because of his qualities.  Paul Newman brought out the best of qualities on what being an American is all about.

 

God bless you Paul Newman.

Natural Gas: The Push and the Propaganda

We have all heard T. Boone Pickens push for the use of natural gas as the future automobile fuel in his recent series of television ads.  Now, Aubrey K. McClendon, Chairman and CEO of Chesapeake Energy Corp., is taking out full page ads in USA Today promoting natural gas as the future fuel for autos.  Lets examine some of the statements in the ad:

 

Statement:  Demanding this EPA certified alternative fuel is an act of patriotism in a time of economic crisis.

My reply:  It would be a lot more patriotic if the oil and gas companies were drilling and producing on the millions of acres they already own or lease and have been sitting on for many, many years, instead of asking the U.S. to open up new lands for them to drill on.  

Statement:  A new landmark study shows North American natural gas supply far exceeds industry forecasts.  Given 22 U.S. gas rich shale basins and 21st century technologies, long-term abundance is assured.

My reply:  Despite the long term abundance of natural gas and the fact that supply far exceeds industry forecasts, the price of natural gas has increased as much as the price of oil and gasoline.  Remember, it is the energy industry that tells us supply and demand controls the price, so why is the price of natural gas so high when there is abundance instead of shortages?  The answer is energy monopoly; the energy companies want to have the country addicted to natural gas as fuel for autos to continue their monopoly and rising prices.  The American people are now paying a fuel adjustment charge on their energy bills which is more than the charge for the energy used --- so much for abundance. 

 

The bottom line is T. Boone Pickens and Aubrey McClendon want to keep America addicted to oil and natural gas for their own financial gain.  The greening of America, when it comes to fuel for automobiles, has to be other than gasoline or natural gas if we truly want to break the status quo, and the energy industry has to be kept away from monopolizing any fuel.

The First Debate: Analysis and Fact Checking

The dust from the first debate has settled and several things have become clear.  First and foremost, as I touched on last night before the debate, almost clairvoyantly,  McCain's temperament was perhaps his biggest downfall last night.  At times, the Senator from Arizona would grunt and gesture awkwardly with his hands; his face often was shown on national television displaying disturbing expressions.  Moreover, McCain's dismissive attitude toward Obama, although surely making Republicans smile, might not play so well in this country with the undecided voters who will decide this election; indeed, several focus groups conducted during and after the debate showed that Obama won the debate by a significant margin among undecideds and that McCain's attacks labeling Obama as "naive" and "unprepared" were among the audience's least favorite moments of the entire hour and a half.

As far as who won the debate, it truly is in the eye of the beholder.  For my money, for whatever it's worth, Obama won by a landslide; he appeared Presidential; he had complete dominance over the economic portion of the debate; he demonstrated a great volume of knowledge on foreign affairs, and most importantly, he kept his cool.

Fact Check Time: As with any debate, one or both of the candidates end up lying on their or the other's records.  Last night was no different.  Here are some of those moments along with the fact checking.

Charge: One of the most memorable moments was the exchange between the two candidates on former Secretary of State and current McCain adviser, Henry Kissinger.  Obama claimed that Kissinger encouraged meetings with foreign leaders without preconditions; McCain said Kissinger would never suggest such a thing. 

Facts: At a forum last Saturday with former Secretaries of State, Henry Kissinger agreed with the other former Secretaries and said:

"I am in favor of negotiating with Iran....What is it going to do if we can't achieve what we're talking about? But I do not believe that we can make conditions for the opening of negotiations. We ought, however, to be very clear about the content of negotiations and work it out with other countries and with our own government."

Charge: Another moment of contention was when Obama charged that McCain's plan wold give $4 billion in tax breaks to oil companies.  McCain attempted to dodge the charge.  Here are the facts as reported by the Associated Press:

Facts:

"The $4 billion in tax breaks for the oil companies is simply part of McCain's overall corporate tax reduction plan and does not represent an additional tax benefit. In other words, the corporate tax reduction applies to all corporations, oil companies included."

Charge: McCain and Obama argued over whether or not Obama voted to cut off funding for U.S. troops.  Here are the facts, again as reported by the AP:

Facts:

"Despite opposing the war, Obama has, with one exception, voted for Iraq troop financing. In 2007, he voted against a troop funding bill because it did not contain language calling for a troop withdrawal. The Illinois senator backed another bill that had such language and money for the troops."

Charge: At one point in the debate, McCain claimed that Dwight Eisenhower wrote a resignation letter on the eve of D-Day to be sent if the invasion did not go well.  The AP has the facts:

Facts:

Eisenhower prepared to take responsibility in the note to be delivered in the event of D-Day disaster but did not offer to resign.

John McCain: Not Maverick; Erratic

"The fundamentals of our economy are strong."

Who said this?  When did they say it?  If one was watching the news as of late, the guess could be made that Bill Clinton said this during the 1990s when the economy was prosperous and both Wall Street and Main Street were satisfied. 

But it wasn't Bill Clinton who said this.  And the person who said this wasn't talking about the '90s.  John McCain said the above quote on Monday, September 15, when Lehman Brothers collapsed and the stock market had its worst day since 9/11.  The American economy, ever since that fateful Monday, has been in a steep dive with no end in sight, leading many to believe that a depression is on the way.

Yes, on Monday the "fundamentals of our economy" were "strong", but by Tuesday John McCain reinvented himself as a the modern day Teddy Roosevelt, rallying against the corruption of Wall Street Barons.  

John McCain continued that theme through last week and into this week when talk of a $700 billion bailout plan was proposed by the White House.  John McCain, sensing a political gold mine, decided to suspend his campaign, call off the debate, and fly to Washington to save the day.  

There was, of course, a few issues to be had with the above statement.  For one, is it really fair to say that your campaign is suspended when your television ads are still playing, your campaign personnel are going on cable news 24/7 to attack Barack Obama, and Sarah Palin, your Vice-Presidential pick, is holding campaign rallies across Pennsylvania?  Secondly, why call off the debate?  Isn't a crisis time like this a time when the American people most need to hear from their leaders, especially the two men who could inherit this economic crisis?  More on the calling off of the debate in a minute.  Finally, John McCain was not needed in Washington.  He is not on the Senate Banking committee, the Senate committee negotiating with the White House.  John McCain, putting it bluntly, went to Washington to look pretty.  He accomplished nothing, and, sadly, Congress is now further away from settling on a plan than they were before John McCain came to their rescue. Why are they further behind?  Well, according to several members of the House and Senate, John McCain did what he said he wouldn't: politicize the event and in turn make a bipartisan effort into an extremely partisan one.  

The debate, as we now know, is back on.  No solution has been reached, but John McCain is, as usual, going back on his word.  It's clear to me and should be obvious to all why McCain attempted to postpone the debate.  Just a few hours after making his "I'm not going to the debate" statement, McCain suggested that the Vice-Presidential debate next week should just be replaced by a Presidential one.  How convenient!  Sarah Palin, the least qualified and knowledgeable VP candidate in history, wouldn't have to face tough questions yet again. Thankfully, Barack Obama and Joe Biden stood firm; Friday's debate would go on, with or without John McCain, and the Vice-Presidential debate would be next week no matter the circumstances.  Left with the option of either going back on his word or leaving Obama with one and a half hours of free national exposure, McCain chose the latter.  

So the debate will go on and we'll finally see McCain and Obama face-to-face confronting each other on the crucial issues facing America, but the happenings of the past two weeks surely brings into question McCain's judgment and rationality.  Perhaps even more than the debate, these last two weeks have drawn a clear contrast between Obama and McCain:  Obama is cool under pressure, while McCain acts erratically. 

Hypocrisy Watch: David Vitter

It is not enough that U.S. Senator David Vitter fell off his moral mountain last summer, proving himself to be one of the biggest hypocrites in Washington, but Sen. Vitter is now trying to appease the right wing of his party by asking his conservative colleagues to sign on to his resolution that would put the Senate on record as disagreeing with the Supreme Court's ruling that rejected the death penalty for those convicted of raping a child, without murder.  

The fact is, however, that the Supreme Court has already asked attorneys educated on this issue to submit briefs on whether the high court should reconsider that ruling. So, in short, Vitter wants the Congress to get involved where it is not necessary nor warranted.  Surely, Congress has more important things to do.  The legal authorities involved will and can handle this issue very well as they have with similar situations in the past.  If Mr. Vitter really cared, he should introduce legislation to actually correct the situation as he sees fit, rather than introducing legislation that just says that he disagrees. One again, it's talk, not action, for Vitter and the Republican Party.