Today, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin let go and tossed an accusation and an insult at Presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama when Palin accused Obama of associating with Bill Ayers, the former member of the Weather Underground.
As those who regularly read this space know, the Ayers matter is a red-herring. But in attacking Obama, Palin opened the door to her own Anti-American behavior.
There's a new video going around that details Palin's involvement in a group that wanted to cause Alaska to quit America.
That organization, according to the blog "Left of Hudson" was so extreme that.
..Joe Vogler, it's founder, was buried in Dawson City, Yukon Territory, Canada, fulfulling his wish that he not be buried under the American flag.
On November 4th a very important vote is coming to San Francisco. It's called "Yes on H" and if it passes, this is what it will do:
Specifically, the Act directs the City to analyze, identify and pursue strategies that:
Maximize greenhouse reductions from the electricity sector at the minimum cost including the following clean energy mandates: by 2012 ensure at least 107 megawatts; by 2017 ensure 51%; and by 2030 ensure 75%. The SFPUC shall ensure that 100% or the greatest amount technologically feasible or practicable are met through clean energy by 2040. Nuclear is prohibited from being included in the definition of clean energy.
Investigate ways to improve electric service and reduce costs to customers, including through measures such as Community Choice Aggregation.
Establish an Independent Ratepayer Advocate to represent the interests of ratepayers and ensure affordable and reliable service.
Develop a Green Jobs plan providing workforce development for clean energy, construction and operations in PUC jurisdiction. Any PG&E employees who become City employees as a result of this Act will not suffer any reduction of compensation or seniority.
Evaluate the financial and environmental benefits of locally controlled electricity services, including renewable energy and energy efficiency. This includes a cost-benefit analysis of municipalizing the electric system, as well as shorter-term measures such as Community Choice Aggregation.
Seems like a no-brainer, and it is. One problem is that SF Mayor Gavin Newsom's not behind it, and no one seems to have a good reason why, including Mayor Newsom. Not a good idea for someone running for Governor of California.
Senator Barack Obama is proposing tax cuts that would help struggling, middle-class families get back on track and provide relief during these financially uncertain times.
No matter how many times John McCain claims otherwise, the overwhelming majority of Americans will never see a tax increase under Barack's plans. Barack's proposals will lower tax rates for 95% of families, including the small business owners that are the core of our economic well-being. It's time to help the folks that have been hurt the most by the Bush economic policies that McCain has backed for the past eight years.
John McCain pledged to run and honorable, honest campaign. Instead he's been using his stump speeches and attack ads to purposefully mislead voters about Obama's real tax plans.
The crisis that we're facing calls for innovative solutions. John McCain's plan calls for renewing Bush's tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. That didn't create jobs. That didn't stimulate economic growth. In fact, that approach is fundamentally more of the same, and the United State of America just can't afford it.
No more lies.
Before you vote, know who will raise your taxes more. According to independent, non-partisan comparisons, if you earn less than $250,000 per year? It's McCain.
You're standing on a riverbank and you see more and more people who appear to be trying to get out of the river, but they're tired and can't swim to shore so they're being swept on out to sea. Do you
go upstream and figure out why they're all in the river, or
blame the policies of the Bush~Cheney Administration, or
ignore the cause and hope sound-bites on the 6:00 news will make it clear that you're not pointing fingers but definitely in favor of keeping people from drowning?
While you're thinking which of those three you'd suggest, watch this excerpt from a recent interview:
Is that your final answer?
While forming a sub-cabinet to study the issue isn't exactly the epitome of small-government solutions, it is creative. It wasn't, however, one of the choices you were offered.
If you picked "3" you were likely impressed by Governor Sarah Palin's amazing winking soundbite show in what was supposed to be a debate Thursday night. I suggest you move to Alaska where you can rest assured you'll be hearing a lot more sound bites from her in the coming months and years.
If you picked "2" I sympathize, but you'd better be out working to get Obama elected, and working to add forward-thinking progressives who think about energy and the environment in terms of the future to both the U.S. House and Senate or you'll be whining on November 5th.
If you picked "1" feel free to add me to your friends list, we just might have something in common.
We urgently need a comprehensive energy policy for the United State that will, at a minimum:
Incorporate energy into an overall national security policy.
Unify energy and environmental policy, recognizing our obligation to act as planet-stewards on behalf of future generations.
Help create new jobs by strategically investing to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future.
Provide incentives to save more oil than we currently import from the Middle East and Venezuela combined.
Put hundreds of thousands of Plug-In Hybrid cars on the road sooner rather than later. Our government must work to encourage those vehicles are being built here in America.
Ensure 10% or more of our electricity comes from renewable sources within 5 years, and aim for 25% within 15 years.
Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to substantively reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Let's talk about the real world
The causes of global warming do matter. And while there is more than one reason people may fall in the river, making sure other people aren't pushing them in and figuring out what the main causes are -- and preventing those -- will save us a lot of time and risk we'll otherwise invest in hauling drowning people to shore. Governor Palin's flippant, sound-bite-ready reaction shows a naive, dangerous lack of understanding.
Just two days ago an iReporters created a video that reported news that Apple CEO Steve Jobs had a heart attack. The result was a drop in Apple's stock price before the iReport team got wind of the news that the video's report was false.
They took it down 20 minutes later.
For some reason, some want to blame CNN for this situation. CNN's not at fault because the video was never tagged for official use by CNN.
