Month: July 2007

Why Fred Thompson’s Really Waiting to Announce

Trish

It’s all about bucks, baby.

Under the equal-time rule, if a network gives time to one political candidate, it is required to provide the same amount of airtime to his or her opponents. In other words, if Thompson appeared on a “Law & Order” episode for 10 minutes during prime time, NBC would have to give Thompson’s rivals for the Republican nomination 10 minutes of prime time each.

“The equal-time requirement applies when the person has legally qualified as an official candidate in a relevant state — for example, having his or her name formally approved to be on a state’s primary ballot — not merely when he/she declares his or her intent to run,” an NBC spokeswoman said. “If Fred Thompson formally announces his intention to run for president, NBC will not schedule any further repeats of ‘Law & Order’ featuring Mr. Thompson beyond those already scheduled, which conclude on Saturday, September 1st.”

John McCain’s Gay Sweater

Jon Ponder

John McCain’s campaign is broke — as any operation would be that burned through around $100,000 a day with no revenue coming in.

McCain reportedly believes his campaign is foundering because his handlers forced him to wear “gay sweaters” last spring. The real reason is his support for the Worst President Ever’s unpopular war, of course. On the other hand, the photo above seems to prove his point.

Christian Lobbyist on DC Madam’s List

Jon Ponder

Jack Burkman:

Burkman, a former staffer for Rep. Rick Lazio (R-NY) and a Bush-Cheney ’04 staffer, recently worked as a lobbyist for groups such as the Family Research Council, Caring To Love Ministries, and America’s Heroes of Freedom.

This guy is the poster boy for rightwing unctuousness. Here’s a typical over-the-top statement in which he pontificates about morality:

“But [the issue of gay marriage] and the moral fabric of the country is five times as important as the war on terror and the war in Iraq combined because … America will never be defeated in the field. Just like the Roman legions, we will never fall in battle. I mean, if Osama bin Laden thinks he can defeat the United States by knocking over buildings, he‘s crazy. But where we will fall and where we are falling as a civilization is from within.

Last summer, Wonkette reported that a young woman who was in Washington for gay pride events said Burkman tried to pick her up, gave her his real name and a business card. She told him that she was gay and said he asked if she ever made exceptions for men. She told him, “Not for Republicans.” She also described him as a “CREEEEEEEP.”

Intel Official: Bush Knows Where 9/11 Perps Are Hiding But Chooses Not to Capture Them

Jon Ponder

Apologists for Pres. George W. Bush routinely lay blame for the 9/11 attacks on the Clinton administration, alleging they missed a purported opportunity to capture Osama bin Laden.

In 2005, Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and the rest of the geniuses who took us into Iraq had a chance to decapitate al Qaeda but chose to let them go.

But since 2005, at least, the Bush administration has known that al Qaeda’s senior leadership, including, presumably, bin Laden, is in Pakistan:

Al Qaeda’s core leadership — a reference to bin Laden and his top aide, Ayman al Zawahri — is increasingly directing global terrorist operations from a haven in Pakistan’s lawless tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, officials from the CIA, Defense Intelligence Agency and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in presenting the unclassified report [to Congress last week].

And yet, unbelievably, Pres. Bush refuses to apprehend them. Why are the terrorists who attacked us in 2001 allowed to plot new attacks without interference? Because our allies, the Pakistanis, won’t allow U.S. forces to enter their country:

“It’s not that we lack the ability to go into that space,” said Tom Fingar of the office of the Director of National Intelligence. “But we have chosen not to do so without the permission of the Pakistani government,” Fingar told members of Congress [in testimony on July 11, 2007] who demanded to know why the U.S. did not take more decisive action against a known enemy.

In 2003, Bush invaded the sovereign nation of Iraq, without permission, to topple Saddam Hussein, who even Bush now admits had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks. But today the president refuses to bust up a safe haven for the perpetrators of the atrocities because Pakistan’s dictator, Pervez Musharraf, won’t allow it. How bizarre.

Karl Rove drew derisive laughter at a news conference in Denver earlier this month when he inadvertently acknowledged the Bush administration’s new policy of not invading other countries preemptively:

KARL ROVE: The United States has concerns about taking unilateral action in a sovereign nation without their approval. And so this has always been the difficulty we have with — [Laughter.] Unless, of course, they‘re Saddam Hussein

Rove gave that answer to a question about the revelation that, in 2005, the administration had fixed locations for senior al Qaeda leaders in Pakistan, but while the Navy SEALs were en route, Sec. of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and, probably, Vice Pres. Cheney, called off the attack.

Let’s get this straight: Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and the rest of the geniuses who took us into Iraq had a chance to decapitate al Qaeda but chose to let them go.

If the American people ever find this out, it’ll make it very difficult for loyal Bushies to blame the next attack on Bill Clinton.

UPDATE (July 17, 2007): The summary of the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) that was released today described al Qaeda’s location in Pakistan:

“We assess the group has protected or regenerated key elements of its homeland attack capability, including: a safe haven in the Pakistan Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), operational lieutenants and its top leadership,” according to the estimate.

“We see a firming up of their capability, primarily because of the safe haven,” one official said at a briefing on the report. Said another, “The existence of this safe haven is critical to their ability to train and to plan.”

Schwarzenegger: Environmental Cheerleader

Buck Banks

At the close of the Serve to Preserve global climate summit in Miami, Republican Florida Gov. Charlie Crist called in another Republican, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, to cap off the conference. It was a good call, as it drew lots of media, aligned Florida with California in the fight against greenhouse emissions and set the stage for Crist’s signing this afternoon of executive orders mandating a slew of environmental measures that mirror the Golden State’s.

Schwarzenegger fulfilled his rah-rah role admirably, delivering a speech aimed at making the audience feel good about itself for attending the summit. Long on platitudes and short on substance, it was one of those speeches that are forgettable but serve a salutary rhetorical end.

After listing his accomplishments and the goals he has set for California, Schwarzenegger went over the now-familiar economics of environmentalism argument: “We won’t have an economy if we destroy our environment. It’s not a choice of either or, the two go hand in hand.”

Then he hit the old bipartisan note: “There is no Democratic Earth, there is no Republican Earth, there”s just one Earth and it’s up to us all to save it.”

Schwarzenegger then went into full cheerleader mode, exhorting his audience not to be surprised when others attack you for championing the environment. He mentioned that there is a billboard in Michigan accusing him of destroying 85,000 jobs in the automotive industry by imposing emissions standards that Detroit can’t meet. He argued that he is not telling Michigan to get out of the car business, “I’m saying to Michigan, get off your butt!”

The climax of the cheerfest was Schwarzenegger quoting one of his famous movie lines: “We have to say, Hasta la vista, baby, to greenhouse gases.”

The Governator received a standing ovation for that gem.

Vinod Khosla on Climate Change: Encourage Innovation, Think the Unthinkable

Buck Banks

At the Serve to Preserve climate change summit in Miami, we’re being told by our governor that the state of Florida is going to get greener through volunteerism, told by a Kennedy how bad the Bush administration’s environmental record is and by Teddy Roosevelt’s great-grandson how, no matter what we do, we’ll always be dependent on oil so we have to marketize carbon emissions.

But Vinod Khosla, the co-founder of Sun Microsystems and head of Khosla Ventures, actually told us some things that make real sense, as well as some that seem unthinkable.

‘We need to encourage the innovators and the unthinkable of today will become the commonplace of tomorrow.’
— Vinod Khosla

Khosla is really smart, and he has a track record to prove it. A few years back, he sat down with the major phone companies and told them that the Internet would make long-distance phone calls free. He was right and AT&T went out of business for a while. In 1996 he told nine of the top 10 newspaper organizations — Tribune Co., Knight-Ridder, etc. — to watch the Internet because innovations were coming that would impact their industry. Today, Google is worth more than all the still-existing newspaper companies combined.

So if I could, I’d follow Khosla around and bet on any horse he placed a bet on. He’s what they call a visionary.

While Theodore Roosevelt IV of Lehman Brothers proposes a classic market-based approach to global warming where technological advances will be encouraged by a marketplace based on carbon caps and trading — in other words a fossil fuel-based economy — Khosla says that within 25 years we can end our dependence on oil completely.

A world economy that’s not dependent on oil? Unthinkable! Yet Khosla says that there is some innovator out there who, today, tomorrow, next year, will create the next technological breakthrough that will enable us to end our addiction to oil.

“Oil is replaceable by cheaper alternatives,” said Khosla. “The danger is that as we wean ourselves off oil, the price will fall, which will slow the technical innovation away from oil.”

But Khosla says that we already have made incredible strides toward efficiency, we just don’t realize it. “The U.S. economy, in terms of energy efficiency, is saving $750 billion per year of gross national product when compared to our energy usage in the 1970s.”

Khosla advocates a complete change in our approach: “Green isn’t a choice, it’s deciding which risks we want — higher start-up costs and lower eventual costs, more jobs and more Googles or more of the same, competition for energy or a safe oil supply,” he said.

“All we need to do is change our mindset,” said Khosla. “We need to encourage the innovators and the unthinkable of today will become the commonplace of tomorrow.”

Celebrity Dirt Goes Green

Trish

We welcome a new addition to our blogroll, er, sorry Jon, “web sites list.” This one was discovered by Buck during his live reporting from Florida’s “Serve to Preserve” global warming conference.

Ecorazzi bills itself as The Latest in Green Gossip, with current features on Rob Lowe’s testimony in Washington on behalf of hybrids, Courtney Cox’s line of global warming awareness t-shirts, and Madonna’s new movie on Malawi. At last, a way to waste time on celebrity scoop while feeling virtuous. Thanks, Ecorazzi!

Bike Guy Has a Global Warming Solution

Buck Banks

Chris Alphin is a bicycle messenger in downtown Miami — easily one of the most dangerous jobs in Florida. Alphin often takes his breaks in the bayfront park adjoining the Hotel Inter-Continental. Between deliveries yesterday, he happened to wander into the vicinity of the Serve to Preserve global climate change summit convened by Gov. Charlie Crist.

But when he realized there was a conference on global warming going on, the Miami Beach resident decided to mount a one-man protest. He rode over to the CVS pharmacy, bought poster board and a marker and voilá — instant climate message with his “Human Powered, 0 Emissions” sign.

‘I just hope I can remind somebody about some other options.’
— Chris Alphin

“I didn’t even know this was going on,” said Alphin. “All these guys with their multi-million-dollar solutions, and there’s not a single bike path in downtown Miami. Riding your bike is not seen as an option.”

Alphin’s politics are currently “in flux,” he said: “I used to be a pretty harsh Republican, but lately I think the Republican Party has been taken over by big business. But it’s the same for the Democrats.” Hence, the flux.

This is his first-ever protest, he said, though he does participate in monthly Critical Mass rides where bicycle riders get together to “celebrate cycling,” Alphin said. He’s realistic about the potential impact of his protest, as he walks his bike back and forth across from the hotel’s portico, behind the hybrids, electric and hydrogen cars on display: “I just hope I can remind somebody about some other options.”

Alphin owns a car, but says while he puts 200 miles on his bike every week, he only drives 50 to 60 miles a month.

If he could say one thing to the politicians and attendees at the summit, Alphin says, “Cycling has got to be part of the solution, especially for trips that are three to four miles or less — if it was safe. But it’s not safe. I ride around the streets of Miami every day, so I’m used to the traffic. But it’s intimidating for someone who’s not used to it, and there are no bike paths, so they are forced to drive.”

With that, the Bike Guy continued his dogged one-man demonstration in the 100-degree heat.

Bush Shifts Blame for War Failure away from Himself, Rummy onto Gen. Tommy Franks

Jon Ponder

One of Pres. George W. Bush’s latest delusions is that history will view him more kindly than he is seen today, just as Pres. Harry Truman has become a beloved figure over the course of the five decades since his presidency. But it was Truman, a Democrat, who once famously said that the “buck” stopped with him — that he was ultimately responsible for all the decisions made by his administration.

“My primary question to General Franks was, do you have what it takes to succeed? And do you have what it takes to succeed after you succeed in removing Saddam Hussein? And his answer was, yes.”
— Pres. Bush

At a news conference yesterday, Bush casually shifted blame for the early failure of his war in Iraq away from himself and his Sec. of Def. Donald Rumsfeld onto a subordinate, Gen. Tommy Franks, proving, once and for all, that he is no Harry Truman, and never will be:

[FOX NEWS REPORTER:]Thank you, sir. You have spoken passionately about the consequences of failure in Iraq. Your critics say you failed to send enough troops there at the start, failed to keep al Qaeda from stepping into the void created by the collapse of Saddam’s army, failed to put enough pressure on Iraq’s government to make the political reconciliation necessary to keep the sectarian violence the country is suffering from now from occurring. So why should the American people feel you have the vision for victory in Iraq, sir?

THE PRESIDENT: Those are all legitimate questions that I’m sure historians will analyze. I mean, one of the questions is, should we have sent more in the beginning? Well, I asked that question, do you need more, to General Tommy Franks. In the first phase of this operation, General Franks was obviously in charge, and during our discussions in the run up to the decision to remove Saddam Hussein after he ignored the Security Council resolutions. My primary question to General Franks was, do you have what it takes to succeed? And do you have what it takes to succeed after you succeed in removing Saddam Hussein? And his answer was, yes.

Now, history is going to look back to determine whether or not there might have been a different decision made. But at the time, the only thing I can tell you, Wendell, is that I relied upon our military commander to make the proper decision about troop strength. And I can remember a meeting with the Joint Chiefs, who said, we’ve reviewed the plan. I remember — and seemed satisfied with it. I remember sitting in the PEOC, or the Situation Room, downstairs here at the White House, and I went to commander and commander that were all responsible of different aspects of the operation to remove Saddam. I said to each one of them, do you have what it takes? Are you satisfied with the strategy? And the answer was, yes.

The reason the generals answered the president in the affirmative is because they knew that saying otherwise would get them in deep caca with their boss, Bush’s Sec. of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld.

But even if it were true, Bush’s blame-shifting yesterday serves to underscore his weakness as a leader. The truth is, Gen. Franks knew what all the top brass knew: Generals who disagreed with Rumsfeld, Bush and the party line were fired.

Franks certainly has some responsibility for the failures in Iraq, but ultimately, history will lay the blame on his bosses:

[…]

We All Need to Pay to Support Green Energy Production

Buck Banks

Sorry, Trish, but it looks like the right thing for you and me to do is pony up that extra $9.95 per month that Florida Power & Light says it will use to support more environmentally friendly energy production methods.

Trish and I have had a long-running discussion about whether we should pay the extra $9.95 per month so our electricity utility, Florida Power & Light Co. can invest in green energy production. We both have been reluctant, mainly because we don’t trust our big electricity supplier.

FPL has commited to a 15 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.

I decided to ask around at the Serve to Preserve summit here in Miami.

Matt Banks of the World Wildlife Fund told me it’s our responsibility to do it to move us away from coal-powered power toward renewable resources like solar and wind. He said WWF has been working with FPL on a number of projects in its Power Switch Program and has actually gotten the energy company to publicly commit to a 15 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and to have 20 percent of its energy production based on renewable resources and to retire at least half of its least efficient coal-burning plants — all by 2020.

The company is under huge pressure to produce more electricity these days, said Banks. FPL is adding new customers at a rate of 100,000 every 10 days. That’s why the company recently tried to rig a deal to build a coal-burning power plant on the edge of the Everglades. Fortunately, the Florida Public Service Commission stopped that stupid plan, but you see why Trish and I are leery of trusting FPL.

Banks pointed out that through WWF’s efforts and pressure, FPL is under greater public scrutiny now, and is more likely to meet or exceed those goals and more likely to do the right thing rather than risk bad publicity.

But back to that extra $10 per month. I asked Banks whether I could trust FPL to really use that money to support greener energy production. His answer was an unequivocal Yes.

“We should all do our part and pay that extra monthly amount to support more environmentally friendly energy production,” Banks said. “Besides,” he added, “it’s the right thing to do.”