From Robertreich.org
We’re falling into a double-dip recession.

In the longer term, we need a new New Deal that will bolster America's floundering middle class. Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit and extend it up through the middle class. Finance that extension through higher marginal income taxes on the wealthy, who have never had it so good.

Editorial: One more time: Vote no on Proposition 16

Why can this company use the profits they earn from selling us back our natural resources, to trick us into voting for a lying, thieving, Bull Shit initiative.  Are we a democracy, or are we just a Plutocracy, or oiligarchy, and we are serfs paying homage to our lords on the hill?

The Mercury News spells it out very clearly today:

http://www.mercurynews.com/editorials/ci_15189938

Some Serious Evil is going on with big oil:

This seems highly disturbing....we know the oil companies are bigger than big brother, here's a glimpse of what I'm sure is the tip of the iceburg:

Gulf Oil Spill: Media Access 'Slowly Being Strangled Off'

PG& E Busted on Baloney Proposition 16

PG&E’s Prop 16 campaign tactics declared illegal

May 4, 2010 3:34 am

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) was warned on Monday to stop using illegal telephone and direct mail tactics in their $35 million campaign to pass Proposition 16. (Los Angeles Times]
The warning letter came from the  California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) as PG&E continued to press for passage of the voters initiative on the June 8 primary ballot. Passage of Proposition 16 would make it harder for local governments and citizens to form nonprofits to provide electricity by requiring approval from two-thirds of the voters in an election.
The official warning stems from alleged PG&E behavior in Marin County, which is set to launch a public power service. PUC Executive Director Paul Clanon advised top PG&E executives that they were in violation of state law with such “aggressive moves.”
Clanon said that PG&E may not use its own phone banks to call customers and then transfer them to customer service after convincing them not to affiliate with the Marin project.
The PUC head also called recent PG&E mailers “misleading” and said that the utility must refrain “from sending any mailers of this nature in the future.”
PG&E officials said they were reviewing the letter and would respond this week.

From:  http://calcoastnews.com/2010/05/pges-prop-16-campaign-tactics-declared-illegal/

Life Changing Film

Not a great movie,
Not a great cast,
But this is a Great Movie

http://www.dirtthemovie.org/

Yeah!  Avatar

http://www.politico.com/click/stories/1004/camerons_climate_of_denial.html

and the state of U.S. denial

Garbage

We are burying ourselves in plastic.  Must switch to things that will degrade.  A must watch:  Charles Moore at the end of David Letterman...The best interview I've seen, this is what media is supposed to do:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zfNSeSPCA8&feature=player_embedded

Sunset Planet Alert


March 31, 2010: The solar system's innermost planets are about to put on a beautiful show.
This week, Mercury is emerging from the glare of the sun and making a beeline for Venus. By week's end, the two planets will be just 3^o apart, an eye-catching pair in the deep-blue twilight of sunset.
The best nights to look are April 3rd and 4th. Go outside at the end of the day and face west. Venus pops out of the twilight first, so bright it actually shines through thin clouds. Mercury follows, just below and to the right: sky map.
Right: Venus and Mercury converging over Saitama, Japan, on March 30th.

more at 

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2010/31mar_sunsetplanets.htm?list1350340

Why is there a debate...AP Article

Disputed isle in Bay of Bengal

disappears into sea

 

By NIRMALA GEORGE, Associated Press Writer Nirmala George, Associated Press Writer – Wed Mar 24, 9:29 am ET

NEW DELHI – For nearly 30 years, India and Bangladesh have argued over control of a tiny rock island in the Bay of Bengal. Now rising sea levels have resolved the dispute for them: the island's gone. New Moore Island in the Sunderbans has been completely submerged, said oceanographer Sugata Hazra, a professor at Jadavpur University in Calcutta. Its disappearance has been confirmed by satellite imagery and sea patrols, he said. "What these two countries could not achieve from years of talking, has been resolved by global warming," said Hazra. Scientists at the School of Oceanographic Studies at the university have noted an alarming increase in the rate at which sea levels have risen over the past decade in the Bay of Bengal. Until 2000, the sea levels rose about 3 millimeters (0.12 inches) a year, but over the last decade they have been rising about 5 millimeters (0.2 inches) annually, he said. Another nearby island, Lohachara, was submerged in 1996, forcing its inhabitants to move to the mainland, while almost half the land of Ghoramara island was underwater, he said. At least 10 other islands in the area were at risk as well, Hazra said. "We will have ever larger numbers of people displaced from the Sunderbans as more island areas come under water," he said. Bangladesh, a low-lying delta nation of 150 million people, is one of the countries worst-affected by global warming. Officials estimate 18 percent of Bangladesh's coastal area will be underwater and 20 million people will be displaced if sea levels rise 1 meter (3.3 feet) by 2050 as projected by some climate models. India and Bangladesh both claimed the empty New Moore Island, which is about 3.5 kilometers (2 miles) long and 3 kilometers (1.5 miles) wide. Bangladesh referred to the island as South Talpatti. There were no permanent structures on New Moore, but India sent some paramilitary soldiers to its rocky shores in 1981 to hoist its national flag.
The demarcation of the maritime boundary — and who
controls the remaining islands — remains an open issue between the two
South Asian neighbors, despite the disappearance of New Moore, said an
official in India's foreign ministry, who spoke on condition of
anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on international
disputes.
Bangladesh officials were not available for comment Wednesday.

Okay, I got my blog back, but how did they get into it in the first place

History of the Past, by George Martin

Back in the past, there was history.  All sorts of things happened back then.  Yes, that was then, and here we are now.  Back then, well, it was happening, but only for awhile.

 

Now that is all behind us now.

From george

There are plenty of good five-cent cigars in the country. The trouble is they cost a quarter. What this country needs is a good five-cent nickel.
  - Franklin P. Adams

 

Some Healthy Things for the Brain and Soul

 

http://www.chalquist.com/unplugging.html

From george

If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee.
  - Abraham Lincoln

 

The 00 Decade

Here’s a good summary for this decade:

 

Bottom line, difference between 1999 and 2009:

 

1.        Dow was and is  10,000

2.       Houses are worth less-in many places drastically less

3.       Basically 0 increase in job creation—the first decade in history private sector employment actually declined.

4.       By 2007 household income was flat, and it’s only gone downhill since then.

5.       Republicans want to fix everything by lower taxes and reducing regulations, which they just finished doing for 9 years last year,  the democrats are too wimpy or too dumb to come up with any strong ideas on what to do going forward. 

6.       In general, an observable un-ability to learn from our mistakes, so the 00’s decade =zero

 

From:  “The Big Zero”  by Paul Krugman, December 27, 2009

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/28/opinion/28krugman.html?_r=1

 

 

 

 

See Your Future, Today

If you are one of those who has doubts about the dangers of a growing world continuing to be powered by fossil fuels, or wonders if the idea of man-caused climate risks is a load of hooey, please read the following:

 

“Last year, the U.S. Embassy ..(in Beijing) installed an air monitor on the roof of one of its buildings, and every hour it posts the results to a Twitter feed, with a score ranging from 1, which is the cleanest air, to 500, the dirtiest. American cities consider anything above 100 to be unhealthy. The rare times in which an American city has scored above 300 have been in the midst of forest fires. In these cases, the government puts out public-health notices warning that the air is “hazardous” and that “everyone should avoid all physical activity outdoors.” As I type this in Beijing, the Embassy’s air monitor says that today’s score is 500.”

 

From Green Giant, by Evan Osnos, The New Yorker Magazine, Dec 21 &28, 2009

Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/12/21/091221fa_fact_osnos#ixzz0aTLWrRMu

,

 

I don’t see how anyone can spin this.  Rush Limbaugh broadcasting from a coal power plant on Earth Day, and the rest of the entertainers don’t have much to work on with this plane, simple observed data.  And if that’s not enough, call up someone in Beijing, or talk to someone who went to the Olympics.

 

China started years ago to address their appetite for oil and coal, and is probably the leader in non-fossil fuel energy technology now.  As long as we here continue to be held hostage by a Senate dominated by the scarcely populated but more than equally represented coal states, we probably will sit by until a good wind will have nowhere to push the ‘smog’ away. 

 

If our leaders, the media, and the business community won’t push back on the fossil fuel economy, who will?

 

George Martin

December 22, 2009

 

 

At least 2009 will not be a complete loss, we found Some Water on the Moon

Copenhagen, Historic Failure

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/dec/18/copenhagen-negotiators-bicker-filibuster-biosphere

FW: [FWD: The Queen's Jet (I will pass this on every time I receive it!)]

The never ending Hysteria dominating our broken political system

 

From: George [mailto:gmorgjr@sbcglobal.net]
Sent: Wednesday, December 16, 2009 11:53 AM
To: 'tdelas@foothilllaw.com'
Subject: RE: [FWD: The Queen's Jet (I will pass this on every time I receive it!)]

 

How about getting rid of the Glass-stegall act?  It's been completely wiped out by both dems and repubs.  It was created in 1932 to separate banking, casino gambling (as it was called then, now called dervitives and credit default swaps), and investment houses. 

 

Where were all the hysterics when this law was being destroyed?  And why is that guy so hysterical now?  That's what I don't get.  Yeah, Newt Ginrich, one of the biggest bullshitters in history, probably didn't take advantage of the Air force flying options as often as Pelosi,  but he lived a couple of hours away (where he moved in Georgia because he couldn't get elected where he lived).  He made up the contract on America, etc.  and think about it, you know about asset management.  Our ridiculously giant armed forces have these planes.  The planes are maintained, and have to be flown.  So the costs are already gone before anyone comes up with a reason to fly and maintain these incredibly high end assets.

 

I was at NASA moffet field a couple of months ago, and one of the astronauts landed while we were standing out side.  They each get a really pretty little white jet, looks similar to an F-104, to use as they see fit.  Is that less expensive, and a better use of taxpayer money than flying the leader of the house of reps?  What the hell does it matter, when the money is burned whether anyone other than Generals using the asset or not.

 

How can we lower the level of hysteria, and focus on the real issues, like, the rape by wall street, Pakistan teetering on the edge, no jobs for young people, no jobs for high school graduates, and colleges restricting enrollments and raising fees.  The average tuition for state universities has double from 2000 to 2008 instead of hysterically  calling a grandmother a queen because she happens to be an elected official.  This crap makes me ill.

 

Have a nice day.   George

 

Subject: RE: [FWD: The Queen's Jet (I will pass this on every time I receive it!)]

 

Wherever...but take away power to set interest rates and giving the population a perverted investment incentives.

Best,

 

Date: Tue, December 15, 2009 5:33 pm

Tony,

 

I've figured it out.   First of all, these guys shouldn't call the first female speaker of the house a queen. 

 

But more importantly, despite all the history, we need to start a referendum to re-locate the capital to the middle of Kansas.  It was fine when it was 13 colonies, but now all the money comes from California and New York so let's put it in the middle.  And we could leave K street in Washington.

 

The mid-west could use the attention and the money…

 

Okay then!

 

G

 

Sent: Tuesday, December 15, 2009 2:28 PM
To: George
Subject: [FWD: The Queen's Jet (I will pass this on every time I receive it!)]

 

Is this true?

 

Tony

More GOVERNMENT OUT OF CONTROL………………………………………. THIS KIND OF BS HAS TO STOP………..

 

I don't care who you are ... Democrat, Republican, or Independent ... liberal or conservative ... blue state or red state ... you have to be appalled at the sheer gall of this woman! This is QUEEN PELOSI'S NEW JET!!!  And the Democrats talk about Sarah's dresses??? Queen Pelosi wasn't happy with the small USAF C-20B jet, Gulfstream III, that comes with the Speaker's job ... OH NO!  Queen Pelosi was aggravated that this little jet had to stop to refuel, so she ordered a Big Fat, 200-seat, USAF C-32, Boeing 757 jet that could get her back toCalifornia without stopping!  I understand that a former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, flew commercial most of the time. Many, many legislators walked by and grinned with glee as Joe informed everyone of what Queen Nancy's Big Fat Jet costs us, the hard working American tax payers, literally thousands of gallons of fuel every week. Since she only works 3 days a week, this gas guzzling jet gets fueled and she flies home to California every Friday and returns every Monday, at a cost to the taxpayers (YOU and ME are those taxpayers!) of about $60,000, one way! As Joe put it ..."unfortunately we have to pay to bring her back on Monday night and that costs us another $60,000!"  Taxpayers, that is $480,000 per month and that is an annual cost to us of $5,760,000!!!  No wonder she complains about the cost of this war ... it might cramp her style and she is styling on my back and yours.  I think of the military families in this country doing without and this woman, who heads up the most do-nothing Congress in the history of our country, keeps fueling that jet while doing nothing. Queen Pelosi wants you and me to conserve our carbon footprint.  She wants us to buy  smaller cars and Obama wants us to get a bicycle pump and air up our tires. Who do these people think they are???  Their motto is ... Don't do as I do ... JUST DO AS I SAY!  If you think this is outrageous, forward it to all those on your email list!  Keep in mind the figures above do NOT include the cost of plane or crew ... just the fuel!!!  One has to wonder what the total package costs us? And on top of that ... now she wants to tax our IRA's & 401K's! PASS THIS ON IF YOU CARE ABOUT ANYTHING AT ALL!

 

 

 

Editorial: Finally, America takes the lead on climate change - San Jose Mercury News

Editorial: Finally, America takes the lead on climate change - San Jose Mercury News

SJ Murk Published this on Sunday

http://www.mercurynews.com/letters/ci_13985548?nclick_check=1

The Vast Global Conspiracy

As we all know, the Scientific Community has banded together to create the myth of GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE.  Why have they done this, well, uh, because they , uh, well, because those smart people are always trying to trick the rest of us.  Uh, oh, wait, I’m a scientist.

 

The San Jose Mercury News, known to the rest of us as the Murky News, continues to publish letters to the editor uncovering this heinous plot.  Here is a recent example, and my response.  At least we can all agree that the world is flat, and is there something going on in Copenhagen? 

 

From the SJ Mercury News, Letters to the Editor, December 7, 2009:

Climate change is a smoke screen

Of course the "science academics of every major industrialized country" support the climate change scam that was called global warming before that theory went down in flames.

The world of science has no product to sell, so the greedy among them can only cash in on the big payday if they throw in with governments seeking even more regulatory control. It's a smoke screen aimed at money and power.

The climate change crowd claim no controversy exists and that the leading scientists share a consensus in their beliefs. Yet Al Gore and all the others won't go anywhere near an open, public debate on their theories. Their so-called science is an insult to those scientists who openly do studies and research based on facts and results, not the opportunity for revenue.

Jon Azevedo

Santa Clara

 

My Response:

 

Jon Azevedo writes that climate change is a farce for profit.  Also he tells us there has not been debate or review of this complex issue.   I suggest he read the history of the UN IPCC, and the onerous process their publications endure.  It took until 2007 for them to finally agree that increasing global temperature  “is very likely due to the observed increase in …human.. greenhouse gas concentrations”. 

 

I don’t know how Mr. Azevedo reaches his conclusions.  But   I’m sure he and the others who dispute organizations like the American Meteorological Society know far more than vast majority of the worlds’ climate experts.  And I’m sure King Abdul of Saudi Arabia would agree with him.  Controlling risky carbon emissions and gaining energy independence in this country could really be upsetting to the highly altruistic global oil industry.

 

More Responses:  http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_13954403

 

 

George Martin

San Jose, CA