Indian see white man about to shoot self in foot. Indian say NO...
Common sense - more important than greed._________________________featuring: reality, Faux "News" kryptonite
Its that time again. Time to pick someone to determine our future for us. (Yes, it's that important.)
So, how are you going to decide?
Will you let the negative ads on TV effect your decision? Be honest. Most of us will. That's why candidates spend so much money on negative TV ads.
Often, negative information effects us more than positive. That isn't so bad, except when the negative information is simply lies. Carl Rove learned that lies can be more effective than the truth. His manipulations of the press, government, and the American people led to his ouster from the Bush administration. But lies sell – and he's back. However, this time, he has a thousand clones.
One of the most effective lies the Rove clones have used is to accuse their opponents of their own digressions. For example; big oil cronies calling environmentalists “eco-fascists.” (Obviously, the U.S. didn't invade and occupy Iraq for environmental reasons.) The accusation is used to counter the truth – before the truth is well known.
In the election here in Nevada, we're seeing plenty of these unscrupulous tactics. There is a very close race for a House seat between incumbent Dean Heller and challenger Jill Derby.
I've met Jill Derby. Wow! I don't think I've met a more perfect candidate. Her credentials are amazing. Her opinions are well thought out. And she listened to us. Moreover, she hasn't taken money from the oil companies. (The Dean Heller campaign has taken $40,000 from Exxon, Mobil, Occidental Petroleum, Chevron, and the Wildcatters Fund.)
So, with the perfect candidate running against him, what options does Dean Heller have? His team has to make stuff up.
The Dean Heller campaign has called Jill Derby a “big spender.” Jill Derby spent $100,000 in travel expenses, over 18 years, while volunteering for the Nevada Board of Regents. However, over only 12 years as Nevada Secretary of State, Dean Heller spent nearly $500,000 in travel expenses.
Let's also consider campaign debt. Back in August, Dean Heller had the fifth most debt of any sitting congressman. Currently, he has $321,000 in debt. In contrast, Jill Derby has only $2,000 in debt and $245,000 in cash on hand.
So, who's the conservative and who's the big spender?
Things are not always as they seem (on the attack ads.)
Has the fossil fuel industry consistently schemed to rev up profits?
Are you a slave to a system manipulated to keep power generation centralized?
Are Native Americans still being treated like Indians?
Are America's ideals destined to be roadkill?
I have a confession. George W. Bush and I have something in common. We both love to ride mountain bikes. There's nothing like getting outdoors for a good ride in the fresh air and natural surroundings. It only makes sense for mountain bikers to be environmentalists. But, “President” George W. Bush is about as far from an environmentalist as anyone can get.
For instance, his appointed bureaucrats are poised to trash Moab, Utah – one of the best places to mountain bike in the country.
The Bush BLM is fast-tracking six “resource management plans” for the Moab area. The BLM wants to officially designate over 17,000 miles of dirt routes in the wild areas in Southern Utah near Moab. They also want to open 80% of 11 million acres for oil and gas drilling – by December (just before Bush leaves office). A mountain biker wouldn't do that. Is Bush being blackmailed? Who really runs this Country?
Follow the money...
When you initially consider the two things the BLM intends to promote (off road vehicles and oil exploration), they seem unrelated. But remember, Bush Jr. has a lot of oil men buddies/backers. When you look at the two from an oil man's perspective, they aren't so unrelated after all. These are both ways to maximize oil profits. Here is an opportunity to get as much cheap oil as possible, and an opportunity to get people to use as much oil as possible. The oil companies must see this as a good thing. And an awful lot of people too lazy to walk (and likely too lazy to think) have been tricked into believing this is about freedom. No, this is about corporate anarchy.
I'll tell you what a good thing is...
Better yet, I'll show you.
A good thing is when we don't have to toil to make these fossil fuel companies even richer – while we poison ourselves just to get around.
There are people who have already escaped the oil addiction cycle. It can be done.
When you combine renewable power generated locally with that shared on long distance power lines and that stored in battery powered vehicles, renewable power becomes far more reliable. Renewable power can be shared – like music on the internet.
Which means that power can be reliably generated at home – and doesn't have to be minded or drilled. That's what the fossil fuel industry doesn't want us to know. That's the technology the fossil fuel industry hopes to marginalize. What else can you expect the fossil fuel industry to do? Change? Not without a fight. The profits are too obscene. Even if they know that global warming is destroying the balance of our environment, their system is geared to keep the cash coming in. Expect them to fight dirty. Expect them to lie. Expect them to pay off politicians. Expect them to buy patents, or even buy off companies; and shut down competing industries. Nothing is below elements within the fossil fuel industry.
Maybe that's why oil men like Bush Jr. don't seem to care about Moab. Maybe they believe the end of the world is coming anyway. Maybe they believe that God will see them destroying things here and will (senselessly) invite them into heaven to destroy things there too? MAYBE NOT! Then again, maybe the oil men just figure they'll be dead by the time the bills come due, and don't care about the rest of us.
So, just how long has this been going on? Well, there are some who are convinced that Prohibition was actually part of a strategy, schemed up by no less than John Rockefeller, for oil to take over the automobile market. Think about it. Americans like to drink. Most of the members of the American Congress back in 1917 liked to drink to. And prohibition was a ban on alcohol manufacturing, not consumption. Alcohol (biofuel) was used to fuel cars before gasoline. The transition to gasoline happened during prohibition (you couldn't get alcohol). What started it all? John Rockefeller donated 4 million dollars to a temperance society. That's equivalent to 60 million dollars today. Evidently; the oil industry has been manipulating our political system ever since it was powerful enough to get away with it.
So, just how big a problem is it? These massive corporations have taken on a life of their own, and don't intend to die, even if humanity does. Alternative energy has been marginalized for the past 28 years. (I've mentioned the dirty tricks the fossil fuel industry has used in previous posts.) If you remember the 1970's, you'll remember that at no time since has renewable energy had any where near the political support it did back when Jimmy Carter was president. Massive campaign contributions and unprincipled propaganda efforts have seen to that. (Anyone with a TV today might assume the oil companies have switched over to renewables already, if we didn't know any better.) And many within the populous either have been convinced that there isn't a problem, or that there isn't anything they can do about it. Our civilization is in high gear to self-destruction.
So, just how bad is it for some? Since the 1950's, the US Government has been forcing an exodus of over 12,000 Navajo people from their reservation – for Peabody Energy to mine coal there. “Through this forced relocation, the Federal Government has destroyed the subsistence lifestyle of thousands of Navajos, uprooted whole communities, and left the Navajo Nation and Navajo people to bear much of the burden of addressing the extraordinary economic, social, and psychological consequences of relocation.” And now, after all this, John McCain, chairman of the Senate committee on Indian Affairs; is campaigning to put an end to Navajo relocation payments.
I'll bet you thought this all ended back in the 1800's. The white man chasing Indians off their land, and offering them nothing but empty promises in exchange. Well... it's still happening, but it's actually worse now. The white man's corporations contaminate the ground and pollute the air – when there are far cleaner, safer, and less oppressive options (that cost just a little bit more).
This could all be avoided if we relied on renewable energy.
One might conclude that the highway to hell is powered by fossil fuels.
Remember back in the last few days of Bill Clinton's term when he pardoned a handful of people? Remember what a fuss the Republicans made about it? They tried so hard to make it look like Clinton was so corrupt.
I'm not about to say what Clinton did was the right thing, but the corruption of the Bush lame duck administration makes Clinton look like a boy scout.
The Bush administration has been up to speed for months now, doing unpopular and immoral things for big business profits:
Let's start with the rush to open up the Grand Canyon to uranium mining. In spite of a Congressional ban, the Bush controlled BLM has published a proposed rule which OK's mining within 5 miles of the Park. This would effect the drinking water for over 25 million people – in addition to the wildlife of one of America's premier Parks.
They've removed what little protection the Appalachians had from mountain top removal coal mining. Not that there was much protection in the first place. But now there is hardly any.
There's the gutting the Endangered Species Act. Department of Interior officials are attempting to review 200,000 comments from the public concerning this back door bypass of democracy – in just 32 hours. That's not a review. They don't care what we think. Their response to our comments about endangered species is obvious. “Kill'em all, let God sort'em out!”
And of course, they continue to do worse than absolutely nothing about global warming. If the polar bear is no longer protected by the Endangered Species Act, there will be even less pressure to do something about global warming. If the EPA won't do anything about carbon emissions, and won't allow states to with deal with them either, what we have here is a step backwards.
This all might not seem so sinister, if it were not for all the scientific evidence that the environment is going from bad to worse at a frighteningly accelerating rate.
To put this in perspective; the wealth loss from the disappearance of the planet's forests dwarfs the bank crisis... And Bush Jr. has made both problems even worse.
Rolling Stone magazine once published an article arguing that George W. Bush is the worst president in history. The article reported that an organization of historians had agreed that this presidency has been the most poorly run in all of America's history. But, I guess Bush Jr. revels in that title.
The economy is collapsing.
The environment is collapsing.
And the regulatory system to keep it all together is still being dismantled.
These acts are worse than corruption. This is the deconstruction of the protections to our world that have taken decades to enact. We will never be able to repair the consequences of many of these acts.
Could things get any worse? Yes...
Bush Jr. still has two more months to screw things up beyond recognition.
We could even end up with a “December Surprise.” You know, like back when Bush Sr. was president – when he sent US troops to Somalia (just before the end of his term).
Don't be surprised if Bush Jr. follows in his daddy's footsteps for a change, and gets us in another “war” – this time with Iran. Why? Because he's the only one who wants war. Moreover, this a great way to say F.U. to the incoming Democratic president – and also the American people (who no longer see him as God's chosen one).
To misquote George Bush Sr.; “What we are looking at is good and evil - right and wrong.”
Has the Republican Party been taken over by crooks, haters, and proto-fascists?
Let's examine each of these accusations.
1. Remember the Bush administration bailout that was supposed to rescue the economy? Well, now we know who really got bailed out. $70,000,000,000 of that bailout money will be going to pay and bonus packages for the Wall Street bank executives who got us into this mess (by gambling with other people's money). Did any of them get fired? No. Has the Bush administration backed down on deregulation, or considered re-instating the laws that have protected us from this kind of corruption since the Great Depression? No. Does Treasury Secretary Paulson have a rational plan to help out main street? No.
In China, an ex-Beijing official received the death sentence for corruption. And although I don't support it, you can bet they will have far less corruption in China.
2. One of the uglier tactics the Republican Party has been using during the presidential election is the totally unfounded claim that Obama is a Muslim. This is obviously a veiled claim that all Muslims are terrorists. This is just another form of racism. There is no way, without all this hate, that the US would have been willing to be responsible for the deaths of close to a million Iraqis – when it was primarily Saudis who were responsible for 9/11.
3. Our Constitutional Bill of Rights has been reduced to barely more than a piece of paper. Executive power has marginalized the balance of power of the legislative and judicial branches. And every law meant to protect our citizens from pollution, oppression, product irresponsibility, and corruption oversight has been under years of attack.
In an unprecedented (and previously illegal) move, the Bush administration has brought in Army troops to keep the peace in the US (crush civil disturbances). They have also set up internment camps. They have taken given themselves the power to take over command of the (formerly State controlled) National Guard. And Moreover, they have given themselves the right to declare martial law whenever they fell like. Yes, the Bush administration now has a "Pinochet option."
Most Republicans are good people with the best of intentions. So, what happened? The same thing that has happened to the Democrats, though to a lesser extent. Our system has rotted from within. Our electoral system is at the root of the problem. And both McCain and Obama are products of that electoral system. Until we get the big money out of elections and change the two party system to proportional representation, things will never really get completely fixed.
Their cover story, THE SMART LIST, 15 people the next president should listen to; included Peter Gleick, from the Pacific Institute. The title of his article was:
DEAL WITH THE WATER CRISIS NOW
If Las Vegas could reduce their waste and renegotiate the Colorado River Compact, there wouldn't be a need for a water grab.
I just heard the debate. But what I heard was so much more than what we have come to expect.
Thanks to the internet and DemocracyNow.org, I got to hear the debate – not just between Barack Obama and John McCain, but also with Ralph Nader and Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinnney participating.
WOW!!! This is the future of political debates. The mass media can no longer shut out third parties.
Mr. Nader and Ms. McKinney brought the debate to a much higher level. I highly recommend you listen to the debate as it should have been.
Click Here for transcripts, an audio stream, or a video stream to the debates as you would hear them in a truly free country.
“Wired” and "Time" magazines have recently published articles about a company, “Better Place,” that intends to partner with auto manufacturers to develop electric cars that could radically change the industry.
These electric cars are based upon existing technology that could be implemented in such a way as to circumvent existing economic constraints. The costs for electric power (for these reasonably priced cars) would be as little as one third that of gasoline. And if implemented with truly clean power generation, could reduce CO2 emissions by 60% by 2030!
These electric cars would be powered by lithium ion phosphate batteries – which are both energy efficient and safe. (These batteries could also be used to power your home, providing backup for renewable power.)
“Discover” magazine has recently published an article about two companies, “Sumitomo” and “VRB Power Systems,” that build giant batteries that can store renewable energy for those occasional times when the wind isn't blowing anywhere.
And “Technology Review” magazine has recently published an article about an MIT scientist who has discovered a new, more efficient way to concentrate sunlight onto smaller, less expensive solar panels. The scientist, Marc Baldo, claims that this technology will make photovoltaic power generation cheaper than coal.
My point is; that by the time the coal-fired and nuclear power plants are built, it is very likely that the technology to safely generate and store electric power will be available cheaper than the dangerous methods we've used for the past century (even with their subsidies). Which is exactly why the coal and nuclear industry are in such a hurry. They realize that this is their last chance to make a few billion more dollars. And this is also their last chance to marginalize renewable power. They know that when renewable energy becomes cheaper than coal and nuclear, it won't really matter – if their generators are already built.
People don't always make the best decisions. And existing industries dread disruptive technologies. We are resistant to change, even if it may save our civilization. For example, a small start-up company, “Avion,” built a practical car that got over 100 miles per gallon – back in the 1980's – and nobody cared. The price of gas had dropped, and you could buy a dependable gas guzzler from Ford or GM. Even GM scuttled their very successful electric car back in the 1990's. If only...
The decisions we make today can have far reaching consequences tomorrow. We can be bold and take responsible action, or we can hesitate and continue to make the same dangerous mistakes... The old industries are betting millions that we'll be too afraid, or just won't care enough to do the right thing. They will try to convince us that economy is more important. But remember, the economy is just a subset of the environment. Eventually the destruction of our environment will result in the destruction of our economy.
