So, who can you trust to get unbiased political info? Unfortunately, the days of fairness in news coverage dissolved during the Reagan Administration. Unbiased journalists are pretty much a thing of the past. In fact, it seems many of the "talking heads" on tv & radio are in fact not journalists--no journalism or mass communication degrees. The news ranks have also diminished in the last decade, so that fewer reporters are available to dig for facts. Add to this the fact that a few corporations own the majority of the news outlets (& thus control what we hear). In recent years, I've had to go to the Internet to find the real story. Though you have to beware on the 'net because not everything you read is correct. Check it out, verify it with other sources, then it might have a touch of truth to it. That's why I try to include citations or links to sources on each post--you know where I get my info. I also have a list of Favorite sites to the lower right on this blog. A brief recap:
1. Looking for your representative? Want to check on the latest federal legislation? Go to the Library of Congress--Thomas, they like to call it.
2. Want to know an excellent group for scientifically supported information on the environment? Go to the Union of Concerned Scientists.
3. Want an exhaustive site with mega-sources from both sides of the political stream? Go to realclearpolitics.com.
Keep checking back for updated Favorites.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Saturday, July 12, 2008
The Fickle Fist of FISA
FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which Bush proudly acknowledges he ignored (thus breaking the law), was just amended by Congress & signed off by the Prez. Why should you care about Foreign Intelligence? Because it just gave the government even more power to tap your phone calls & read your emails (and blogs). It also retroactively excludes Telecom companies from lawsuits based on warrantless spying. Why do you care, since you've done nothing wrong? Because it allows them to spy w/out a paper trail. No paper trail means that, if someone makes a mistake, and you are falsely accused of something, there's no paper trail that can track the events & help you prove your innocence. It also reduces your 4th Amendment Rights. In case you don't remember the 4th, here it is:
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." (see the whole list at http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.billofrights.html).
Flippin & Floppin
Check out the article at Huffington Post (just click on the title) for the latest McCainisms in detail. Here's the list for this week:
1. McCain unambiguously called Social Security "an absolute disgrace."
2. McCain's top economic policy adviser calls Americans a bunch of "whiners" for being worried about the slumping economy.
3. Iraqi leaders call for a timetable for U.S. withdrawal, McCain gets caught in a bizarre denial and flip flop.
4. McCain's economic plan to cut the deficit has no details and is simply not believable.
5. McCain's deficit plan includes bringing the troops home represents a major Iraq flip-flop.
6. McCain campaign misled about economists support.
7. McCain makes a joke about killing Iranians.
8. McCain denies, flatly, that he ever said that he is not an expert in economics.
9). McCain distorts his record on veterans benefits in response to a question from Vietnam Veteran, who then proceeds to call McCain out on it.
10.) McCain demonstrates he knows nothing about Afghanistan and Pakistan.
1. McCain unambiguously called Social Security "an absolute disgrace."
2. McCain's top economic policy adviser calls Americans a bunch of "whiners" for being worried about the slumping economy.
3. Iraqi leaders call for a timetable for U.S. withdrawal, McCain gets caught in a bizarre denial and flip flop.
4. McCain's economic plan to cut the deficit has no details and is simply not believable.
5. McCain's deficit plan includes bringing the troops home represents a major Iraq flip-flop.
6. McCain campaign misled about economists support.
7. McCain makes a joke about killing Iranians.
8. McCain denies, flatly, that he ever said that he is not an expert in economics.
9). McCain distorts his record on veterans benefits in response to a question from Vietnam Veteran, who then proceeds to call McCain out on it.
10.) McCain demonstrates he knows nothing about Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Pickin' & Grinnin'
T. Boone Pickens, an oil man from an oil family in Oklahoma (read his bio at http://www.boonepickens.com/early-days.asp) just released this message to the media:
"America is in a hole and it's getting deeper every day. We import 70 percent of our oil at a cost of $700 billion a year - four times the annual cost of the Iraq war. I've been an oil man all my life, but this is one emergency we can't drill our way out of. But if we create a new renewable energy network, we can break our addiction to foreign oil. On January 20, 2009, a new President gets sworn in. If we're organized, we can convince Congress to make major changes toward cleaner, cheaper and domestic energy resources.To get this done, I need your help. Check out the plan. If you think it's worth fighting for, please join our effort, and encourage everyone you know to do the same." (see his plan at http://www.pickensplan.com/).
View his short video, read the plan, respond to it. He supports moving Natural Gas into transportation & Wind Power to replace 38% of our current oil imports.
Contact your local, state & federal representatives, if you haven't already. (Go to http://thomas.loc.gov/to search for your representative. This link--Library of Congress--is also posted under My Favorite Links on the main blog page). Remember, the bigger the noise, the more likely they'll listen.
"America is in a hole and it's getting deeper every day. We import 70 percent of our oil at a cost of $700 billion a year - four times the annual cost of the Iraq war. I've been an oil man all my life, but this is one emergency we can't drill our way out of. But if we create a new renewable energy network, we can break our addiction to foreign oil. On January 20, 2009, a new President gets sworn in. If we're organized, we can convince Congress to make major changes toward cleaner, cheaper and domestic energy resources.To get this done, I need your help. Check out the plan. If you think it's worth fighting for, please join our effort, and encourage everyone you know to do the same." (see his plan at http://www.pickensplan.com/).
View his short video, read the plan, respond to it. He supports moving Natural Gas into transportation & Wind Power to replace 38% of our current oil imports.
Contact your local, state & federal representatives, if you haven't already. (Go to http://thomas.loc.gov/to search for your representative. This link--Library of Congress--is also posted under My Favorite Links on the main blog page). Remember, the bigger the noise, the more likely they'll listen.
Saturday, July 05, 2008
An Oil Slick
First, apologies for missing weblinks in previous posts. For some reason, they disappeared. So, let's see how it goes w/this entry. Go to http://by119w.bay119.mail.live.com/mail/mail.aspx?rru=inbox&n=1849308191. Many Americans are now favoring oil drilling in order to reduce prices & dependence. What many don't know are the following facts:
Fast Facts on Drilling and Gas Prices
Drilling will not lower gas prices today or solve our energy crisis.
1. Even the U.S. Energy Information Administration has said that massive exploitation of new oil deposits will not produce oil for nearly a decade -- and then will not lower gasoline prices by more than a few cents per gallon.
2. Under the Bush Administration, drilling permits have risen from 3,802 to 7,561 between 2002 and 2007. Eight years of increased oil leasing and production on America’s public lands has left us with nothing but high gas prices for consumers and record profits for Big Oil companies.
3. More drilling would not affect world oil prices. The US has less than 3% of the world's oil reserves, yet we consume almost 25% of the world's oil.
Expanded drilling threatens permanent damage to wildlife.
1. Offshore drilling threatens dolphins, whales, sea turtles and other imperiled wildlife. Drilling discharges mercury and other toxins into our fragile ecosystems. Such pollution can destroy beaches, and poison and kill the marine wildlife that we all care about. The noise from drilling is also incredibly disruptive to marine mammals. So while oil companies like ExxonMobil would continue to swim in record profits, dolphins and whales could become fatally disoriented, beach themselves and die.
2. Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge threatens polar bears and other Arctic wildlife. The noise and disturbance caused by drilling in the Arctic Refuge -- the most important onshore denning habitat for America’s struggling polar bears -- could cause polar bear mothers to abandon their cubs to die.
3. Expanded drilling perpetuates global warming. Such drilling would further extend America’s dependence on climate-changing fuel sources that are threatening the very survival of polar bears and other animals.
We need real solutions that will end our dependence on oil once and for all.
1. It’s time to take back the giveaways to Big Oil and secure our energy independence by investing that money in clean, renewable energy, energy efficiency, increased public transportation and the technologies needed to get our cars going further on a gallon of gas.
2. A bold national commitment to renewable energy will put our economy back on the right path by bringing energy costs under control, creating over 820,000 new jobs, and making us more energy independent.
3. Congress should stop giving tax breaks to Big Oil and start funding constructive alternatives that can make a difference in people’s lives NOW!
(in case my credits above get lost, the above is quoted from Rodger Schlickeisen at Defenders of Wildlife. The title should link to their website.)
Fast Facts on Drilling and Gas Prices
Drilling will not lower gas prices today or solve our energy crisis.
1. Even the U.S. Energy Information Administration has said that massive exploitation of new oil deposits will not produce oil for nearly a decade -- and then will not lower gasoline prices by more than a few cents per gallon.
2. Under the Bush Administration, drilling permits have risen from 3,802 to 7,561 between 2002 and 2007. Eight years of increased oil leasing and production on America’s public lands has left us with nothing but high gas prices for consumers and record profits for Big Oil companies.
3. More drilling would not affect world oil prices. The US has less than 3% of the world's oil reserves, yet we consume almost 25% of the world's oil.
Expanded drilling threatens permanent damage to wildlife.
1. Offshore drilling threatens dolphins, whales, sea turtles and other imperiled wildlife. Drilling discharges mercury and other toxins into our fragile ecosystems. Such pollution can destroy beaches, and poison and kill the marine wildlife that we all care about. The noise from drilling is also incredibly disruptive to marine mammals. So while oil companies like ExxonMobil would continue to swim in record profits, dolphins and whales could become fatally disoriented, beach themselves and die.
2. Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge threatens polar bears and other Arctic wildlife. The noise and disturbance caused by drilling in the Arctic Refuge -- the most important onshore denning habitat for America’s struggling polar bears -- could cause polar bear mothers to abandon their cubs to die.
3. Expanded drilling perpetuates global warming. Such drilling would further extend America’s dependence on climate-changing fuel sources that are threatening the very survival of polar bears and other animals.
We need real solutions that will end our dependence on oil once and for all.
1. It’s time to take back the giveaways to Big Oil and secure our energy independence by investing that money in clean, renewable energy, energy efficiency, increased public transportation and the technologies needed to get our cars going further on a gallon of gas.
2. A bold national commitment to renewable energy will put our economy back on the right path by bringing energy costs under control, creating over 820,000 new jobs, and making us more energy independent.
3. Congress should stop giving tax breaks to Big Oil and start funding constructive alternatives that can make a difference in people’s lives NOW!
(in case my credits above get lost, the above is quoted from Rodger Schlickeisen at Defenders of Wildlife. The title should link to their website.)
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