Progressive Democrat Issue 133: THOUGHTS

Some redundancy in this issue. Busy week! Tuesday was another Bill Clinton event, Friday heard John Edwards' policy speech at Pace University as part of the Press corps, and Saturday meeing Norm Siegel, former head of the NY Civil Liberties Union and candidate for NY Public Advocate. So this week's newsletter is kind of cobbled together. But then again, aren't they all!

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

AMERICAN NUNS DEMAND IMPEACHMENT, WITHDRAWAL

GLOBAL WARMING: Accelerating Disaster

THE ARTICLES THEY DON'T WANT YOU TO SEE 4: Science Focus


FLORIDA FOCUS: Safe Homes

NYC FOCUS: NY-13 Rematch

NEW JERSEY FOCUS: Democracy Radio

CALIFORNIA FOCUS: Stealing Elections

American Nuns Call for Impeachment

There is a radical, left wing conspiracy afoot in America...The National Coalition of American Nuns!


(photo lifted from PBS)

This is from the Winston-Salem Journal (also covered on Daily Kos):

“The National Coalition of American Nuns is impelled by conscience to call you to act promptly to impeach President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for ... high crimes and misdemeanors,” the group wrote in a letter written on behalf of its board members...

The letter was approved during a mid-August meeting of the board, held in Chicago. During that same meeting, the board unanimously adopted statements opposing all war and affirming peacemaking efforts. “Rather than continuing support of a just-war theory, a more compassionate church would oppose all war and teach peacemaking skills for all levels of government and interpersonal conflict resolution,” the statement reads.

The board also adopted statements pledging to work to “moderate the impact we make on planet Earth,” and supporting nuclear disarmament and relief efforts for the poor in Africa.

Goddamned commie pinko nuns! Well, this Jew hopes America listens to this particular group of nuns. And maybe we all need to start talking to our church, synagogue, mosque, shrine congregations and our knitting groups and hunting buddies and annouce similar statements to the media and to Congress. What do you think? Maybe if enough groups announce that we want impeachment, withdrawal from Iraq and moderation of our impact on plaent earth, all in the name of American moral values, someone will start listening.

Global Warming: Happening Faster than we Thought

Martin Frobisher in 1576 was one of the first navagators to try and find a Northwest Passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. He was 431 years too early.

This year, global warming has hit the Arctic sea ice harder than ever before, and the Arctic ice has melted to record lows...opening up the Northwest Passage to navagation.

From the Guardian:

The Arctic ice cap has collapsed at an unprecedented rate this summer and levels of sea ice in the region now stand at record lows, scientists have announced.

Experts say they are "stunned" by the loss of ice, with an area almost twice as big as the UK disappearing in the last week alone.

So much ice has melted this summer that the Northwest passage across the top of Canada is fully navigable, and observers say the Northeast passage along Russia's Arctic coast could open later this month.

Ummmm...let me just say holy shit!

I have been nudging everyone to get busy and get active because we only have 10 years to deal with global warming, according to the more optimistic climate scientists. Well, the more pessimistic climate scientists think we may already be irreversibly fucked, to use the technical term. For my son's sake I sure hope the 10 year window holds and that we start fucking doing something. But what is increasingly clear is that the consequences of global warming are coming on faster than the most expert scientists have predicted. The current debate among climate scientists is not whether global warming is happening, but whether it is coming fast or REALLY fast and whether we have any time left to deal with it.

Please folks. Don't let history look back at our generation and brand us the biggest fuck ups in human history. The warning signs are all there. It is all in place. Get busy at all levels, personal choices, government action, spending choices...get busy and let's all stop being history's biggest fuckups!

PLEASE, join me in focusing on forests for the rest of this year.

Or join me in pressuring financial agencies to invest in alternative energy, not coal.

Change your energy supplier to an all green supplier. We did a couple of years ago and it costs us about fifty cents a month more...but it greatly reduces our carbon footprint.

Or offset your carbon usage by contributing to building green energy production on Native American land, providing jobs as well as clean energy.

Or at the bare minimum, get compact fluorescent bulbs! That is a bare minimum. AND you even save money.

If you want to do more and save more money, cut back on meat and smoking. That will help too.

If you think we have time to procrastinate, you are wrong. If we act now, most climate scientists (though not all!) think we can mitigate the damage to our standard of living. But if we procrastinate, future generations will hate us for condemning them to a much worse life than we have.

The Articles They Don't Want You to See 4: Science Edition

This is the fourth week in a row I am doing my "Articles They Don't Want You to See" feature. This week I want to highlight science...the science they don't want you to understand. Specifically Evolution, Global Warming and the HIV/AIDS connection. I write about the first two topics a great deal and will draw from earlier diaries I have written. The HIV/AIDS connection is something I only recently realized had a denial lobby associated with it that needed countering. I am a scientist and have been a scientist during the bulk of the history of AIDS research. Almost took a job in Seattle working on an AIDS vaccine (moved to NYC instead). I knew that there were deniers in South Africa and that is a major problem in Africa, but now I have encountered HIV/AIDS deniers on dKos and realize I can suggest some articles regarding that issue as well.

EVOLUTION:

Every year on Darwin Day, Feb. 12th, I post a three-part series on Darwin and Evolution intended to be an introduction to the topic with mention of up to date research supporting the theory of Darwnian evolution. Here are the links to this last year's essays:

Darwin Day Essay I: Evolution Explained

Darwin Day Essay II: Intelligent Deception

Darwin Day Essay III: Evolution Defended

Let me also highlight the Evolution News page on Science Daily.

I also highly recommend the National Center for Science Education.

And now is as good a time as any to suggest you look into what Darwin Day events are in your area...and if there aren't any, maybe you want to start one.


GLOBAL WARMING:

A brief rundown of the evidence for global warming (with links to data)

More details about global warming and some solutions,

An introduction to the Denial Lobby (some of the political info a bit dated).

The absolute insanity of the Denial Lobby, with a fair amount of detailed scientific evidence highlighted. LOTS of good links.

More sceintific evidence with links to data on Global Warming,

Debunking the so-called "Global Warming Swindle."

A military analysis of Global Warming.

A good general source on global warming, including solutions, can be found on the Union of Concerned Scientists website.

And perhaps the best source for info on Global Warming is RealClimate, the place where actual atmospheric scientists go to discuss the issue.

I focus a lot on my own diaries for the above two topics because I have been synthesizing info on them for years now...and I provide lots of good links within those diaries. I hope they are helpful.


HIV and AIDS:

Here are some very basic, scientific, articles linking HIV with AIDS.

The basic link

Extensive basic documents backing up the HIV/AIDS link

The introduction (with links to PDFs) to evaluating claims made by the HIV denial lobby.

An essay written by Stanley Prusnier (Nobel Prize winner, Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Department of Neurology and Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco) on the history of discovering the causitive agent for AIDS.


ARTICLES FROM LAST WEEK (with minimal comment):

Mitt Romney:
aka Hezbollah Mitt

Mitt Romney is either an abusive or at least abyssmally stupid pet owner.

Mitt Romney has said the United States should emulate Hezbollah.

Mitt Romney's flip flopping on abortion.

Mitt Romney illegally used corporate funds to pay a political operative.


LISTENING to our soldiers

The View from Iraq, by seven returning soldiers

Reminds me of something I heard on the Henry Rollins show which bears more attention: Chasing Ghosts, by 1st Lieutenant Paul Rieckhoff.


But rather than LISTEN to our Veterans, Republicans outright run away from Americans when the subject of Iraq comes up...sometimes literally.

The following come from Americans Against Escalation in Iraq:

PA: Rep. Tim Murphy Locks Door in Constituents’ Faces:

IL: Congressman Mark Kirk Runs Away from Iraq Vet, War.

VA: Rep. Thelma Drake Runs From Iraq Question.

MI: Rep. Vernon Ehlers Ducks Out on Iraq.

IA: Mother of Iraq Veteran Confronts Rep. Tom Latham on the war.

NY: Invitation to Take a Stand Day delivered to Rep. Randy Kuhl (in protective vests), but are shut out.

VA: Rep. Thelma Drake seeks "protection" from "unexpected questions.

NH: Sen. Sununu (R-NH) Refuses to Take A Stand

It is time to get right in the face of every Congressman, Republican OR Democrat, and confront them over Civil Liberties, Iraq and Impeachment. Call to make an appointment with your Rep today.


Emailgate:

The Strange Case of Michael Caputo

Bruno, Stone and Caputo: Emailgate

Caputo Responds

Caputo Speaks

Caputo's comment in response to a posting on Daily Gotham

And a related story.

Michael Bouldin and Liza Sabater of the Daily Gotham traced the precise connections that link Michael Caputo and Roger Stone.

Roger Stone threatens Eliot Spizter's elderly father. Then claimed he didn't do it but was seeing a play that night...a play that was closed that night.

Roger Stone may be losing it.

Karl Rove directed a massive partisan misuse of taxpayer money.

Finally, a bit of history for those too young to remember: The Tragedy of Bhopal Continues 23 Years Later.

FLORIDA FOCUS: Safe Homes

From Florida CFO Alex Sink:

CFO SINK ANNOUNCES MY SAFE FLORIDA HOME FAIRS

Fairs to be held in Pensacola, Tampa, and Ft. Lauderdale

Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink announced the My Safe Florida Home (MSFH) program will partner with local government and non-profit organizations and businesses to hold fairs in three Florida cities with the intent of raising awareness about the MSFH program’s safety and financial incentives. The series of fairs will take place from September to November in Pensacola, Tampa, and Ft. Lauderdale and will be free to the public.

“It is my hope the My Safe Florida Home fairs will help raise awareness among Floridians about the program’s safety and financial incentives,” said CFO Sink who oversees the Department of Financial Services which runs the MSFH program. “In addition to learning how safe your home is against storms, this program has helped save many homeowners an average of $154.51 a month on their wind insurance premiums through free hurricane inspections.”

The first MSFH fair will take place in Pensacola on Saturday, September 15, 2007, at the Pensacola Civic Center from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. The Pensacola fair is being co-hosted by the Gulf Power Corporation, the Escambia County Commission, and WEAR-TV and will feature over 50 exhibitors. The Tampa Bay area MSFH fair, co-hosted by the City of Clearwater will take place at the Harborview Center and Coachman Park in Clearwater on Saturday, September 29, 2007 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. On Saturday, November 3, 2007, the third MSFH fair will take place in Ft. Lauderdale at the Broward County Community College from 10 a.m. – 4p.m.

Insurance company representatives will be on hand at the fairs to assist homeowners in understanding which hurricane-resistance measures will best protect their homes, and how they can apply for discounts on their insurance premiums. By law, insurance companies are required to offer policyholders discounts on the wind-coverage portion of their homeowner policy premiums for specific measures that reduce their homes’ exposure to windstorm damage. Homeowners are encouraged to bring insurance documentation to obtain information on possible insurance savings through the program.

Products will be displayed throughout the day to highlight methods and procedures homeowners can use to make their homes safer. All exhibits and workshops are free. Representatives from CFO Sink’s office will also be on hand to assist eligible homeowners apply for MSFH free inspections or grants.

To date, the MSFH program has completed 89,268 inspections. More than 106,000 Florida homeowners have signed up for free wind inspections through the program, signifying the program has exceeded 25 percent of its long-term goal of 400,000 free wind inspections in the next two years.

Any Floridian who lives in a single-family, site-built home is eligible for a free wind inspection through the MSFH program, which helps Floridians identify how they can strengthen their homes and reduces the overall potential for hurricane damage in our state. Floridians can apply on-line at www.MySafeFloridaHome.com or by calling the program toll-free at 1-866-513-6734. Homeowners who receive free wind inspections through the MSFH program will receive a detailed inspection report, complete with additional information on estimated insurance premium discounts, if insurance information is provided at the time they applied.

Additionally, some Florida homeowners receiving free wind inspections may be eligible for matching grant reimbursements of up to $5,000 to make recommended improvements. To be eligible, the Legislature requires that homeowners: have received a completed wind inspection after May 1, 2007; live in a single-family, site-built home built before March 1, 2002; have a valid homestead exemption; have an insured value of $300,000 or less; and be located in the wind-borne debris region. Additionally, while the free wind inspections will still cover seven potential wind-resistance improvements, matching grants may only be applied to opening protections, including windows, exterior doors and garage doors, as well as the bracing of gable ends.

NYC FOCUS: NY-13 Rematch

A few weeks ago, Daily Gotham broke the news that Steve Harrison, the man who almost unseated Bush/Cheney buddy and Iraq war advocate Vito Fossella, wants a rematch. Steve Harrison is running against Vito only this time is starting much earlier and with more money on hand.

I think it is worth reviewing some of last year's race between Vito and Steve Harrison.

Last year, the NY Times endorsement of Steve Harrison went a long way to sum up the difference between the candidates. The NY Times SLAMED NY-13 Republican Vito Fossella as a Bush lap dog who refused to support our troops, help Staten Island's transportation needs and is part of the Republican Culture of Corruption. Here's what they said last year:

Fossella [is] anything but the independent fighter for constituents that he claims to be in this campaign. He has been a real water-carrier for the Bush administration and the Republican leadership, staunchly backing the war in Iraq while at the same time denying health benefits to National Guard and Reserve members who make up much of the American force there.

The congressman...has been unsympathetic to environmental concerns and has opposed a woman’s right to choose. He does his constituents no favors by his support for privatizing Social Security. He has voted to protect gun makers and sellers. While Mr. Fossella has lately sought funding to deal with health problems related to to the attacks of Sept. 11, he has largely been missing on important local issues. His Democratic colleague, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, who represents the Sixth District, has often been left to advocate Staten Island’s many transportation needs, including the North Shore rail.

Mr. Fossella has offered only lame excuses for improperly using his campaign funds for skiing holidays in Vail (including lessons and equipment), as well as vacations in Florida — transgressions first reported by the Daily News. He has received donations from a lobbying firm with ties to Jack Abramoff. Earlier this year, he was fined a reported $60,000 for misusing his taxpayer-funded official mailing privileges.

Remember that Fossella also receives disappointingly low ratings from organizations like the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans for America, the Alliance for Retired Americans, AFL-CIO, Planned Parenthood and League of Conservation Voters. Other ogranizations (not mentioned in the above linked article) that rate Fossella very poorly are Disabled American Veterans, NARAL, National Farmers Union, Taxpayers for Common Sense, ACLU, National Education Association, and Republicans for Environmental Protection (all these and many more ratings can be found on Project Vote Smart.

In other words, Fossella sucks on almost all issues that matter to Americans.

Here is what the NY Times has to say about Fossella's Democratic opponent, lawyer and marathon runner Steve Harrison:

Mr. Harrison...is an attractive alternative to Mr. Fossella in his own right. Mr. Harrison has a presence in both sides of the district; he resides in Brooklyn, while his mother and sister live on Staten Island.

As chair of Community Board 10 in Brooklyn, he demonstrated leadership as he oversaw one of the city’s largest efforts to contain overdevelopment through rezoning. He has a good command of the issues, and a feel for the concerns of the district. Mr. Harrison surprised many with his passion and keen intelligence in a series of debates with Mr. Fossella. The distinctions could not be clearer. We endorse Mr. Harrison for Congress.

Having met Steve Harrison, I can say he is a great candidate, very intelligent, capable and personable. Please help us win the NY-13 race (as well as all key NY State Congressional races).

NEW JERSEY FOCUS: Democracy Radio

DFA has a new, live radio program.

Listen Live every Saturday morning from 10:30 AM - 11:00 AM - or download the podcast anytime to listen to the latest hot topics, gossip and opinion on New Jersey politics with host (yours truly) Jeff Gardner and Jay Lassiter. Click to listen:

CALIFORNIA FOCUS: Stealing Elections

There is a new Republican plot to steal elections. This time aiming to steal electoral votes from California. This comes from a Palm Springs paper:

On the surface, it sounds good: Electoral votes should be proportional to the popular vote and candidates should have to pay more attention to California if they want to win here. But if a proposed measure that would reallocate California's 55 electoral votes passes, the outcome would fundamentally change how U.S. presidents are elected.

No one state, not even California, should be able to do that.

California has more electoral votes than any other state in the union. A ballot measure to reallocate these votes could result in a Republican being elected president each time out, regardless of the popular vote.

The initiative is a proposed amendment to the state elections code. The fear is that California voters won't realize the unintended consequences until it's too late.

Make no mistake, this is an attempt to grab votes and make it nearly impossible for a Democrat to become president this election and beyond...

"It's a Republican effort to lower the electorate vote count for Democrats," New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, Democratic candidate for the presidency, told us at Thursday's Prez on the Rez forum. "It's a political power grab. I strongly oppose it and hope California will wake up to this."

To my California readers: If this ballot initiative passes, California will win most future elections for the Republicans...and do so against the will of most voters.

Fight this ill-conceived initiative. Contact the California media and oppose this measure. And tell the California Dem. party that you oppose it.

And you can read more opinions from other newspapers here.