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Fossil Fuels Industry Climate Change Deniers Refuted By Their Own Scientists

Oh, the charm of the fossil fuels industry. In an effort to prevent public awareness of the growing climate crisis they do so much to create, they concocted an astroturf front with the Orwellian moniker Global Climate Coalition. The purpose of which was, of course, to deny its industry’s role in creating climate change. Thereby exacerbating the problem of climate change. Which does, actually, make it a coalition on global climate. A coalition determined to recklessly play a giant chemistry experiment with the climate, as long as its industry can make massive profits off it.

According to today’s New York Times:

For more than a decade the Global Climate Coalition, a group representing industries with profits tied to fossil fuels, led an aggressive lobbying and public relations campaign against the idea that emissions of heat-trapping gases could lead to global warming.

“The role of greenhouse gases in climate change is not well understood,” the coalition said in a scientific “backgrounder” provided to lawmakers and journalists through the early 1990s, adding that “scientists differ” on the issue

And it should come as no surprise, then, to learn that this astroturf front was so determined to deny its industry’s role in causing climate change that it actually engaged its own scientists. Who engaged in acts of science. And determined that, um, well, the fossil fuels industry does actually contribute to climate change. Oops.

But a document filed in a federal lawsuit demonstrates that even as the coalition worked to sway opinion, its own scientific and technical experts were advising that the science backing the role of greenhouse gases in global warming could not be refuted.

“The scientific basis for the Greenhouse Effect and the potential impact of human emissions of greenhouse gases such as CO2 on climate is well established and cannot be denied,” the experts wrote in an internal report compiled for the coalition in 1995.

Tortured

Via Big Tent Democrat, we get this, from CNN (emphasis mine):

Attorney General Eric Holder said Wednesday that he would “follow the law” as he weighed potential prosecutions of Bush administration officials who authorized controversial harsh interrogation techniques.

Big Tent points out that President Obama has already contradicted this, by stating that CIA interrogators won’t be investigated. But I’d also like to remind CNN that even John McCain understands the difference between “harsh interrogation techniques” and torture. So, why doesn’t CNN?

All That Needs Be Said About The Teabaggers

( – promoted by buhdydharma )

If War Is Hell

What does that make the Bushes?

Photo by Brendan Smialowski for The New York Times

New York Times:

For the first time in 18 years, the Pentagon granted the press access on Sunday night to cover the arrival of a coffin to Dover Air Force Base from overseas.

The coffin, draped in a flag and bearing the body of Air Force Staff Sgt. Philip Myers of Hopewell, Va, was unloaded from a government aircraft by the military honor guard. The 30-year-old Mr. Myers was killed by an improvised explosive device near Helmand Province in Afghanistan on April 4, according to the Defense Department.

A ban on news coverage of returning war dead, which had been in place since the Persian Gulf War in 1991, was lifted by the Obama administration following a review of the policy by Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Greenwald On Liberal Dissent

Glenn Greenwald finds comfort in liberal dissent:

It’s certainly true that one has no difficulty finding cult-like liberal veneration for Obama – those who invoke Bible-like “he’s-a-master-of-11-dimensional-chess” clichés to justify whatever he does (the Lord works in mysterious ways but even when we don’t understand what He does, we Trust that He is Supremely Good and more Wise than us and knows best); who declare, in Bush-like “with-me-or-against-me” fashion, all critics of Obama to be the Enemy; who pay homage to Kim Jong Il-like imagery such as this and this; who believe that “trust” — a sentiment appropriate for family and friends but not political leaders — should be vested in Obama and thus negate any concerns over how he exercises power.  Some overly-eager journalists and bloggers are devoted to carrying forth the administration’s message (usually delivered anonymously) in exchange for favorable treatment and/our due to a painfully excessive sense of devotion, and there’s a Democratic establishment with a built-in machinery to defend Obama no matter what he does.

But outside of those anonymity-granting blogger/journalists and Democratic apparatchiks, these drooling, worshipful, subservient sentiments are largely confined to the fringes.  With some exceptions, to find this right-wing-replicating blind loyalty to the Leader, one has to search blog comment sections and obscure diarists.  Many — arguably most — of the most vocal liberal Bush critics have kept their critical faculties engaged and have been unwilling to sacrifice their political values and principles at the altar of partisan loyalty.

It should be emphasized that mere criticism for its own sake is also not a virtue.  Those who reflexively and blindly criticize whatever Obama does (based on the immovable, all-consuming conviction that he is intrinsically Evil) are nothing more than the opposite side of the same mindless coin as those who reflexively and blindly praise whatever Obama does (based on the immovable, all-consuming conviction that he is intrinsically Good). Pre-ordained, overarching judgments of Obama that are detached from his actions and grounded in Manichean caricatures are irrational in equal measure, whether that judgment yields praise or condemnation.

A rational citizen, by definition, praises and supports political leaders only when they do the right thing (regardless of motive), and criticizes and opposes them when they don’t.  It’s just that simple.  Cheerleading for someone because they’re on “your team” is appropriate for a sporting event, not for political matters.  Political leaders deserve support only to the extent that their actions, on a case-by-case basis, merit that support, and that has largely been the behavior of progressives towards Obama.

The Leader

There is but one Leader.

The Leader is infallible.

Criticism of The Leader is blasphemous.

We cannot always understand The Ways of The Leader, but we must have Absolute Faith in Him.

Those who have Absolute Faith in The Leader are Exalted.

Those who do not have Absolute Faith in The Leader are The Enemy.

Those who claim to support The Leader but lack Absolute Faith in Him are, at best, appeasers of The Enemy.

Those who claim to support The Leader but lack Absolute Faith in Him are, at worst Trolls Spies.

Those Who Work for The Leader are infallible.

Criticism of Those Who Work for The Leader is blasphemous.

All that is good emanates from the Doings of The Leader.

All that is not good is beyond The Leader’s control.

Dead Cats Bouncing

One of the best and most refreshing changes established by the Obama Administration has been its reliance on intellectuals, scientists, and experts rather than lobbyists and ideologues. Across a broad swath of federal departments, pragmatism seems once again to be valued. Unfortunately, with the world economy imploding, Obama continues to rely on the advice of corporatist insiders, and their advice is predictably corporatist. There also seems to be a bit of myopia going on.

On Saturday, Joan Walsh warned Obama supporters not to be taking credit for the previous week’s slight market rally:

As someone who has repeatedly defended Obama from GOP efforts to blame him for the current crisis and to deride the “Obama economy” only 55 days into his presidency, I think the administration could be playing a dangerous game. Live by the week’s economic news, die by it as well. If the Dow dives next week, or retail spending dips again, does that mean the stimulus failed?

Right on cue, Vice President Biden then weighed in:

“Consumer confidence is slightly up. The market is slightly up,” Biden said. “It’ll go down again, but the people are beginning to figure out that the president’s got a plan and he believes we can work our way through this.”

Um.

Nouriel Roubini has been warning that there may be “dead cat bounces,” or “bear market suckers rallies,” and there’s no reason to think the latest is anything else. Which means that Biden should maybe be a little more circumspect about taking a day trader’s view of a one week market rally.

Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, last week:

The First Official Act

When Barack Obama becomes president, tomorrow, his first official act should be to ban torture. Nothing else would more clearly delineate the full and final break this nation is making from the legal and moral turpitude that was the Bush Administration. For logistical and practical reasons, Obama cannot immediately end the war or shut down Gitmo- although both must be done as quickly as is possible. He cannot immediately stop our economic free-fall. He cannot immediately begin to repair the possibly irreversible damage done by Bush to the environment. But he can ban torture. He can order all government entities that are in any way involved with torture to stop immediately. He can make clear that any government officials still involved with torture will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, and possibly turned over to international officials for possible war crimes violations.

Corporate media and other Beltway types want Obama neither to end torture nor to prosecute the Bush officials who signed off on it. The law necessitates that he do both. And in this ostensible nation of laws, no one should be above the law. If we are, indeed, a nation of laws.

Last Friday, Big Tent Democrat wrote the following:

…the Beltway wants the torture policy of the Bush Administration swept under the rug and forgotten…

With all due respect to one of my favorite bloggers, I don’t think he goes far enough. The Beltway doesn’t just want Bush’s torture regime swept away and forgotten, it wants Obama to be complicit in it. Because the enabling of the Beltway and the corporate media made them complicit in it.

The best thing our newly inaugurated president can do, tomorrow, is to attempt to begin to establish a fundamental sense of moral and legal integrity in this nation. And to stop hurting people for no reason. As of tomorrow, solving and resolving all of Bush’s countless messes, crimes, and disasters becomes Barack Obama’s responsibility. Barack Obama’s first act as president should be to ban torture.

Dear John

You’re not going to be president. Ever. Your moment came, and your moment went. Bush took it from you. He had the money and the slime, and he took it from you. You thought you would have another chance, this year, but you didn’t. For a moment, when you got a bounce in the polls after selecting Sarah Palin as your running mate, you probably even thought you had the campaign won. You could taste it. You could picture yourself behind the desk, in the Oval Office. You could hear people calling you “Mr. President.” You could see yourself on national television announcing you had launched more wars. That must have felt good! It must have been exciting! But then the voters took a closer look at Sarah Palin. They didn’t like what they saw. The luster disintegrated. Then, things got worse. The economy collapsed. That damn Bush, again. Of course, it couldn’t be that the entire deregulation paradigm you’ve known, loved, and embraced has something wrong with it. Just as with that war you said would be a cakewalk, and which wasn’t, it couldn’t be that you were egregiously, horrendously, devastatingly wrong. Of course not. Diplomacy can be wrong. Peace movements are wrong. But wars are never wrong. Even so, it doesn’t matter. Nothing matters. It’s over, now. Your greatest goal. Your ultiumate aspiration. It was so close to happening, you could almost reach out and touch it. Like a dream that seems so real, and then you awaken and can’t quite grasp that it wasn’t. But you have to deal with the reality that it wasn’t. It’s gone. Just like that. And you’re not going to be president. Ever.

Now, I don’t want to upset you. Your temper is legendary, and you need to keep your cool, tonight. You desperately need for people to like you. Certainly, you have every reason to be seething, but you can’t let it show. You suffered for this country. You’re a maverick. You were intimately involved in the infamous Keating 5 scandal, and you had the honor and dignity to apologize for it, but now you want us to know it wasn’t really your fault, anyway. Nothing bad ever is. And you survived. You’re a survivor. You have the ability to flip-flop, lie, and be as nasty as Bush, because you’re a straight-talker with a cool bus who survives. You know how the game is played, and you play it. You’re one-of-a-kind. The nation needs you. The world needs you. You’re such an important person. You deserve to be president. You’ve earned it as few ever have. Certainly more than Bush ever did. Certainly more than Barack Obama ever will. But it’s not going to happen. You’re not going to be president. Ever.

I can only imagine your raging fury. Barack Obama is so much younger than you. He did not suffer as a POW. He did not serve in uniform. He did not help cause a major political scandal, and manage to survive it. He is handsome. He is articulate. He was the brilliant student you were not. If he wanted to, he could get the hot babes you no longer can. The guy’s infuriating! But he’s going to be president, and you’re not. He’s only been in the Senate for four years, but he’s going to be president. And you’re not. Not ever. Ever. Ever. Some punk kid who sweeps in out of nowhere and takes away your life’s dream, your destiny, and he’s going to be president. Some punk kid who didn’t come from a distinguished family, and he’s going to be president. Some punk kid who is uppity and outside the mainstream, and he’s going to be president. And you’re not going to be president. Not next year. Not ever.  

Rocket Science

Lots of people I greatly respect, from Glenn Greenwald to dday, are wondering aloud whether Sarah Palin is an ignoramus or whether she is carefully avoiding revealing her true beliefs. And while I do think there is plenty of the latter going on, it is also now terrifyingly obvious that the former is also true. So, I’ll say it: Sarah Palin is an idiot. Steve Soto was right when he immediately recognized her deer-in-the-headlights vacant stare. Because you can see it in her eyes. You can see it in how she struggles to come up with even the most basic evasive answers. Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of watching her jaw-dropping interviews is that you can actually see her thinking. Or trying to think. And it is not pretty.

There is a pervasive myth in the corporate media that Bush is actually much smarter than he seems. The rationale, such as it is, insists that because he has clever Machiavellian political instincts, there’s something deeper and more sophisticated going on than most people realize. But what the purveyors of this drivel don’t realize is that they, themselves, are not particularly smart. At its most base level- which is the level on which Bush, McCain, Palin, and the entire ratfucking Rovian Republican paradigm operate- the level of a sewer- politics is actually pretty simple. It requires a fierce lust for power and attention, but no more intellectual nuance than does playground bullying. It’s not about issues or ideas, it’s about knocking heads against walls and making people bleed. And that’s what this brand of politics has given us- a president, and now a nominee for vice-president, with the intelligence, maturity, and capacity for greatness of generic playground bullies.

Sarah Palin is an idiot. It’s okay to say it. Because it’s true.

Chihuly At The De Young

Photobucket

John McCain Has A Comprehensive Economic Plan!!!11!1!111!

Not only that, but…

John McCain will put the national interest ahead of partisanship to build an America that is safer, freer and more prosperous than when he was elected.!!!1!1!!!!11

And…

John McCain will help Americans hurting from high gasoline and food costs.!!!1!!!!1111!!!

And…

John McCain’s Lexington Project will address the rising costs of energy that are hurting small businesses.!1!1111!!1!!

You see, I was just reading the Washington Post:

Spread John McCain’s official talking points around the Web — and you could win valuable prizes!

That, in essence, is the McCain campaign’s pitch to supporters to join its new online effort, one that combines the features of “AstroTurf” campaigning with the sort of customer-loyalty programs offered by airlines, hotel chains, restaurants and the occasional daily newspaper.

On McCain’s Web site, visitors are invited to “Spread the Word” about the presumptive Republican nominee by sending campaign-supplied comments to blogs and Web sites under the visitor’s screen name. The site offers sample comments (“John McCain has a comprehensive economic plan . . .”) and a list of dozens of suggested destinations, conveniently broken down into “conservative,” “liberal,” “moderate” and “other” categories. Just cut and paste.

I went to the site (and I will now bathe in turpentine and kerosene!), and the current featured blogs to spam are Red State, Jeff Emanuel, and Daily Kos. It’s been a while since I’ve posted at Daily Kos, but this might be the motivation I need!

People who sign up for McCain’s program receive reward points each time they place a favorable comment on one of the listed Web sites (subject to verification by McCain’s webmasters). The points can be traded for prizes, such as books autographed by McCain, preferred seating at campaign events, even a ride with the candidate on his bus, known as the Straight Talk Express, according to campaign spokesman Brian Rogers.

A ride on the bus! What could be cooler than that? As my eighteen-month old son might sing:

The wheels on the bus go round and round

Round and round

Round and round

The wheels on the bus go round and round

All through the town!

Woo hoo!!!1!11!1!

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