The Hill reports that "Rep. Peter DeFazio’s phone rang. On the other end was Rahm Emanuel. The White House chief of staff last month expressed frustration with DeFazio’s resignation calls for President Barack Obama’s top two economic aides — Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and White House chief economist Larry Summers — and appealed for cooperation, according to DeFazio... Others are learning that DeFazio, who has served in the House since 1987 and describes himself as a 'progressive populist,' is not easily intimidated. He has emerged in recent months as one of the most vocal liberal critics of the Obama administration, blasting the president’s team for not getting tough enough with Wall Street. He’s also taken on his own party for failing to move left-leaning legislation through the Congress. Personal calls from Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and former Vice President Al Gore couldn’t persuade him to vote for the Speaker’s climate change bill. He also opposed the $787 billion stimulus, citing concerns that only 7 percent was devoted to infrastructure spending. DeFazio was one of only two Democrats to vote against those measures and the $700 billion bank bailout. (The other was Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.) a Blue Dog conservative.) Yet he’s also a pro-gun Democrat who has a B rating from the National Rifle Association. 'I would have less of a voice and I would have less respect if I voted for things I didn’t believe in because of pressure from the leadership,' DeFazio told The Hill in an interview. Obama himself has taken notice. 'Don’t think we’re not keeping score, brother,' Obama told DeFazio during a closed-door meeting of the House Democratic Caucus, according to members afterward." Tweet
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Former Professor Of Environmental Sciences Patrick Michaels: "How To Manufacture A Climate Consensus"
Mr. Patrick Michaels, formerly professor of environmental sciences at the University of Virginia from 1980 to 2007, is currently a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. He knows first-hand how the "consensus" on global warming is being manufactured and recently wrote about it in the Wall Street Journal. To read more about this be sure to visit http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704398304574598230426037244.html?mod=rss_Today's_Most_Popular. Tweet
Wall Street Journal Editorial: "The Iranian Scorecard"
The following is a must-read article about how the Obama administration appears to be trying to stall a bipartisan Congressional sanctions bill against Iran. The article also summarizes the developments with Iran up until this point. Visit http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704541004574600274098469020.html to read this important article. Tweet
Senator Ben Nelson Sells Out On Abortion Funding And Says He Will Vote For Cloture And For The Senate Health Care Bill
The Washington Post reports that in exchange for his support Senator Nelson "secured full and permanent federal funding for his state to extend Medicaid eligibility to everyone below 133 percent of the federal poverty level. The bill would require all states to do so, but Nebraska alone would not be required to pay a portion of the additional cost after 2016. Nelson also won concessions for qualifying nonprofit insurers and for providers of supplemental Medicare coverage from a new insurance tax, and he was able to roll back cuts to health savings accounts."
Politico reports that a the key fellow pro-life Democrat in the House of Representatives strongly opposes Senator Nelson's signing on to the bill. An aide to pro-life Democrat "Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) coordinated opposition to the Senate health bill’s abortion compromise this morning with the Republican Senate leadership, according to a chain of frantic emails obtained this morning by POLITICO. Stupak, in an interview with POLITICO, called the Senate bill’s abortion position 'unacceptable.'"
Friday, December 18, 2009
Saudi Arabia To Flog 75-Year-Old Woman For Breaching Sex Segregation Rules
The Telegraph reports: "The minister of interior (Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz) is reported to have ordered the immediate detention and flogging of a 75-year-old woman, Khamisa Mohammed Sawadi, along with two Saudi Arabian men known only as Fahad and Hadyan," Amnesty International said. "The Saudi Arabian authorities must not carry out the imminent flogging and imprisonment of an elderly woman and two younger men." Amnesty said all avenues of appeal had now been exhausted in Saudi courts against the trio's March conviction for being in the company of members of the opposite sex who are not close relatives. "It is abhorrent that an elderly woman is at risk of 40 lashes," said the deputy director of the watchdog's Middle East and North Africa Programme, Philip Luther. Tweet
Muslim Father In The UK Found Guilty Of Honor Killing
The Daily Mail reports that a "schoolgirl believed to be pregnant was murdered by her 'psychotic' father in an honour killing after police repeatedly ignored her pleas for help. Mehmet Goren, 49, a bully who terrified his Turkish family, was yesterday found guilty at the Old Bailey of murdering his 15-year-old daughter Tulay after she started a relationship with Halil Unal, man from a different Muslim sect. Yesterday it emerged that Tulay had come into contact with the police seven times in the two months before she died. Senior officers admitted that 'tell-tale signs' had been ignored and said lessons would be learnt. They described Tulay and her boyfriend as 'as close to Romeo and Juliet as you can get'. Her father was brought to justice after the girl's mother Hanim, 45, broke a traditional code of silence to denounce her husband as a murderer in court. Yesterday Tulay's sister Nuray Guler, who also gave evidence against her father, urged women who found themselves in similar situations to speak out to prevent anyone else falling victim to 'this primitive custom'." Tweet
Iranian Forces Take Over Iraq Oil Well
The AFP reports "Iranian forces took control of a southern Iraqi oil well on a disputed section of the border on Friday, US and Iraqi officials told AFP. 'There has been no violence related to this incident and we trust this will be resolved through peaceful diplomacy between the governments of Iraq and Iran,' a US military spokesman told AFP at Contingency Operating Base Adder, just outside the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah. 'The oil field is in disputed territory in between Iranian and Iraqi border forts,' he said, adding that such incidents occur quite frequently. An official of the state-owned South Oil Co in the southeastern city of Amara, and west of the field, said: "An Iranian force arrived at the field early this morning (Friday). 'It took control of Well 4 and raised the Iranian flag even though the well lies in Iraqi territory,' the official added. 'An oil ministry delegation is to travel to the area on Saturday to assess the situation.' The national security council was due to hold an emergency meeting on Friday chaired by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Iraqi state television said quoting the minister of state for national security, Shirwan al-Waili. The council also groups the ministers of interior, defence, foreign affairs, justice and finance. Tweet
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Wall Street Journal: U.S. Drones Hacked By Terrorists With $26 Software
The Wall Street Journal reports terrorists "in Iraq have used $26 off-the-shelf software to intercept live video feeds from U.S. Predator drones, potentially providing them with information they need to evade or monitor U.S. military operations.Senior defense and intelligence officials said Iranian-backed insurgents intercepted the video feeds by taking advantage of an unprotected communications link in some of the remotely flown planes' systems. Shiite fighters in Iraq used software programs such as SkyGrabber -- available for as little as $25.95 on the Internet -- to regularly capture drone video feeds, according to a person familiar with reports on the matter. U.S. officials say there is no evidence that militants were able to take control of the drones or otherwise interfere with their flights. Still, the intercepts could give America's enemies battlefield advantages by removing the element of surprise from certain missions and making it easier for insurgents to determine which roads and buildings are under U.S. surveillance... U.S. military personnel in Iraq discovered the problem late last year when they apprehended a Shiite militant whose laptop contained files of intercepted drone video feeds. In July, the U.S. military found pirated drone video feeds on other militant laptops, leading some officials to conclude that militant groups trained and funded by Iran were regularly intercepting feeds." Tweet
Interview With Judge Laurence Silberman, Whose Appeals Court Ruling Declaring 2nd Amendment Individual Right Was Upheld By Supreme Court In 2008
For a much shorter excerpt from the full interview above with the Judge discussing his Second Amendment ruling, watch this:
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Blizzard Dumps Snow On Copenhagen
Bloomberg reports that world "leaders flying into Copenhagen today to discuss a solution to global warming will first face freezing weather as a blizzard dumped 10 centimeters (4 inches) of snow on the Danish capital overnight." Tweet
Israel's Military Intelligence Head Yadlin: Iran Has Enough Uranium For Bomb
The Jerusalem Post reports that Israel's Military Intelligence Maj.-Gen. Amos Yadlin said at a conference on security challenges in the 21st century at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, that Iran was extremely close to mastering the necessary nuclear technology, and would wait on the threshold until it felt that the international community was too weak to stop its move toward the bomb. The Jersusalem Post reports that "Iran, he said, had already enriched 1.7 tons of low-enriched uranium at its facility in Natanz - enough for a nuclear weapon. On Monday, the London Times revealed that Iran had been testing a neutron initiator, the component needed to trigger an explosion in a nuclear weapon. 'They are also improving long-range missiles with solid fuel propellant, are also developing nuclear detonators and taking other steps that do not fit the Iranian claim that its program is for civilian purposes,' he said. Yadlin said that it appeared that the diplomatic efforts to stop Iran had failed, and that the time had come for the international community to impose tough sanctions on the regime. He rejected the claim that sanctions would unite the Iranian people behind the regime and said that the post-election demonstrations in June were proof that there was a deep fissure between the people and their rulers. Tweet
Adam Lambert's Father Wants His Son To Apologize Over His Obcene Performance At AMA
It is being reported that "Adam's father was reportedly so upset with him over the" obscene AMA performance that "he wants his son to make a public apology for it." It is good to know that even though the father of Adam Lambert supports and loves his son, he is still willing to publicly say that his son should apologize for doing things like stuffing a man's face into his crotch during a musical performance at the American Music Awards.
Adam Lambert is on Barbara Walter's yearly list of the most fascinating people. An exchange between Bill O'Reilly and Barbara Walters takes place after Bill O'Reilly describes Lambert as "this gay guy" after which Walters immediately accuses him of being "homophobic." Watch the exchange for yourself as well as Dennis Miller's commentary on the issue:
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Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Hugo Chavez Gets Applauded At Copenhagen After Diatribe Against The "Terrible Ghost" Of Capitalism And Obama
Andrew Bolt of the Herald Sun reports that when Hugo Chavez "said the process in Copenhagen was 'not democratic, it is not inclusive, but isn’t that the reality of our world, the world is really and imperial dictatorship…down with imperial dictatorships' he got a rousing round of applause. When he said there was a 'silent and terrible ghost in the room' and that ghost was called capitalism, the applause was deafening. But then he wound up to his grand conclusion – 20 minutes after his 5 minute speaking time was supposed to have ended and after quoting everyone from Karl Marx to Jesus Christ - 'our revolution seeks to help all people…socialism, the other ghost that is probably wandering around this room, that’s the way to save the planet, capitalism is the road to hell....let’s fight against capitalism and make it obey us.' He won a standing ovation."
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Obama Loses Another Angry Liberal MSNBC Host: Olbermann Would Choose Jail Over "This Perversion Of Health Care Reform"
I thought I'd post this as another example of Obama losing another one of his cheerleaders because of the compromise with Joe Lieberman, and I apologize to all the good people out there that can't stand anyone posting a clip of Olbermann ranting for 12 minutes:
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TweetLiberal MSNBC Host Ed Schultz To Obama: "Your Base Thinks You’re Nothing But A Sellout"
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I am grateful that Senator Joe Lieberman is standing by his principles and has seemingly forced the public option and medicare buy-in out of the Senate health care bill. At the same time, I understand why liberals that wanted a government takeover of health care feel that Obama has sold them out. The purists like Howard Dean have called on Democrats in Congress to "kill the bill" because it does not include measures like the public option. But what they fail to realize is the political realities on the ground. At this point, a health care bill with the "public option" would fail. That is because Senator Joe Lieberman has said, and has not been bluffing on this either, that he would join a Republican filibuster of any bill that includes measures like the public option. There are currently 39 Republicans, and if you add Senator Lieberman, there is the necessary 40 Senators to block the bill by filibuster. Obama therefore has only two choices: go down as a complete failure in not achieving the political agenda that has consumed his first year in office by not passing any health care legislation despite Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress, or compromise with Joe Lieberman so that the legislation has the 60 votes necessary to end a Senate filibuster and go to a vote on the Senate floor where it can clearly pass. It is clear from a perspective of liberal ideological purity that the effort should be abandoned without some government takeover of health care. But from the perspective of political calculating, it would greatly weaken Obama and his agenda in the future if he were not able to get any piece of legislation with his name on it that he could call "health care reform." Howard Dean is not in the White House, so he has the luxury of saying "kill the bill." But Obama at this point is clearly not giving up on passing anything that can be called "health care reform" because to give the Republicans a victory in his first year in blocking this bill would be tantamount to a disastrous political defeat for Obama.. Tweet
Senator Chuck Schumer Calls Flight Attendant A "Bitch"
Politico reports that "Sen. Chuck Schumer loves the sound of his own voice, but it carried a bit farther than he might have liked on the US Airways shuttle from New York to Washington on Sunday. According to a House Republican aide who happened to be seated nearby, the notoriously chatty New York Democrat referred to a flight attendant as a 'bitch' after she ordered him to turn off his phone before takeoff. Schumer and his seatmate, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), were chatting on their phones before takeoff when an announcement indicated that it was time to turn off the phones. Both senators kept talking. According to the GOP aide, a flight attendant then approached Schumer and told him the entire plane was waiting on him to shut down his phone. Schumer asked if he could finish his conversation. When the flight attendant said 'no,' Schumer ended his call but continued to argue his case. He said he was entitled to keep his phone on until the cabin door was closed. The flight attendant said he was obliged to turn it off whenever a flight attendant asked. 'He argued with her about the rule,' the source said. 'She said she doesn’t make the rules, she just follows them.' When the flight attendant walked away, the witness says Schumer turned to Gillibrand and uttered the B-word. 'The senator made an off-the-cuff comment under his breath that he shouldn’t have made, and he regrets it,'" a Schumer spokesman said. Tweet
House Passes New $155 Billion "Jobs Bill"
Is this an admission that the stimulus has been an utter failure and complete waste of taxpayer money? Reuters reports that "the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a $155 billion measure that seeks to create jobs and blunt the impact of the worst recession since the 1930s. By a vote of 217 to 212, the House approved additional spending for 'shovel-ready' construction projects and money to avoid layoffs of teachers, police and other public employees. The Senate is expected to consider the measure early next year." If construction projects were so essential, why was it not part of the stimulus bill? Tweet
U.S. National Debt Exceeds Debt Limit
CBS News reports that the "latest calculation of the National Debt as posted by the Treasury Department has - at least numerically - exceeded the statutory Debt Limit approved by Congress last February as part of the Recovery Act stimulus bill. The ceiling was set at $12.104 trillion dollars. The latest posting by Treasury shows the National Debt at nearly $12.135 trillion." Tweet
Lockerbie Bomber Released By Scotland To Libya Now Gone "Missing"
The London Times reports that mystery "surrounded the Lockerbie bomber last night after he could not be reached at his home or in hospital. Libyan officials could say nothing about the whereabouts of Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi, and his Scottish monitors could not contact him by telephone. They will try again to speak to him today but if they fail to reach him, the Scottish government could face a new crisis. Under the terms of his release from jail, the bomber cannot change his address or leave Tripoli, and must keep in regular communication with East Renfrewshire Council."
Shocked! Shocked, I say!
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Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman: "Modern Anti-Semitism Has Taken On The Form Of Being Anti-Israel"
The Jerusalem Post reports that anti-Semitism "is being used to delegitimize the State of Israel, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Wednesday. Speaking at the Foreign Ministry's third annual Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism, Lieberman said 'classic anti-Semitism, along with Iranian funding and Islamic anti-Semitism, is being used to incite hatred against Jews, and to delegitimize the State of Israel.' He said that global anti-Semitism had 'crossed the line,' and that those behind the effort were 'seeking to destroy the Jewish state piece by piece... using academic boycotts and economic sanctions.' He also noted 'human rights groups' effort to deny Israel legitimacy by pushing the United Nations Security Council to adopt the Goldstone Report,' which accused Israel of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity during Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip. 'Modern anti-Semitism,' the foreign minister asserted, 'has taken on the form of being anti-Israel... Instead of saying throw the Jews into the sea, they talk of a world without Zionism, and without Israel.' Referring to the matter of Iran, Lieberman said, 'It's scary that 60 years after the horrors of the Holocaust, we see examples of anti-Semitism being funded by Iran.' He added that the Islamic republic 'denies the Holocaust, calls for the destruction of Israel, and is trying to achieve nuclear capability. These efforts remind us of [the Nazis' rise to power] 70 years ago.'" Tweet
64% Of Americans, And Nearly All Republicans, Oppose Closing Guantanamo Bay And Moving Terrorists To The United States
Gallup reports that "Americans remain opposed to closing the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba and moving some of the terrorist suspects being held there to U.S. prisons: 30% favor such actions, while 64% do not. These attitudes could present a significant roadblock for President Obama at a time when he seeks congressional approval to move terrorist suspects from Guantanamo to a converted state prison in northwestern Illinois... McConnell and the other GOP lawmakers who have spoken out against the move are clearly representing the sentiments of rank-and-file Republicans across the country, only 8% of whom favor closing the prison and moving prisoners to the U.S. An additional political challenge for Obama is the fact that he lacks strong support among rank-and-file Democrats as well. Half of Democrats agree that the Guantanamo Bay prison should be closed and some prisoners moved to the U.S., while 45% disagree. Twenty-eight percent of independents favor the prison closure. These partisan breaks are similar to what Gallup found in May." Tweet
Senator Blanche Lincoln Says That Constitution Permits Congress To Force Individuals To Buy Health Insurance
To listen to this for yourself visit http://www.eyeblast.tv/public/checker.aspx?v=GdaG2GSUSU.
Firstly, the Constitution never gives the federal government the power to force individuals to buy something regardless of whether they want to based on the "health and well being" of the people in the country. A person who knew just a little about the Constitution would never have given such a vague and ridiculous answer. A person with some knowledge of our Constitution would have pointed to a provision of the Constitution that grants certain powers to the federal government, or at least cited a Supreme Court precedent that is somewhat analogous to the issue at hand.
Perhaps this Senator, whose words clearly show her to be an ignoramus when it comes to the Constitutional, was referring to the "general welfare" clause. However, to force an individual to buy a particular form of insurance is not "general" at all, and if the person is young and healthy it may not even be in the welfare of the person to do so either. A simple reading of the Constitution does not imply that the federal government has the right to mandate purchasing a product. It certainly falls nowhere within the Enumerated Powers.
The sad truth, however, is that the beginning of the end for the Constitutional structure of our government was 1937 when FDR threatened the Supreme Court "packing." He threatened to "pack the Court" with "his" Justices if they didn't rubber stamp New Deal legislation. Since then, almost every federal power-grabbing piece of legislation has been rubber stamped by the Court via Article I's Necessary and Proper Clause or the Commerce Clause.
But this Senator clearly knows nothing of of the Constitution anyway, and it is a shame that those who know and care little about the Constitution actually serve in our Senate.
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Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Arkansas Federal Court Rules That "Freethinkers" Display Must Be Put Up Near Nativity Scene
The AP reports that a "secular display celebrating the winter solstice and 'freethinkers' such as Albert Einstein and Bill Gates can be placed at the Arkansas Capitol alongside a traditional Christian nativity scene, a federal judge said Monday. The Arkansas Society of Freethinkers sued last week after Secretary of State Charlie Daniels rejected its proposal, saying it wasn't consistent with the Capitol's other decorations and displays. The group asked for a quick hearing before the winter solstice, which is Dec. 21. U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright granted an injunction Monday allowing the display to go up."
Just curious, but what holiday is the "Freethinkers" display celebrating? And if it celebrates no holiday at all, would it not then make sense that the Secretary of State would say it was not consistent with the Capitol's other holiday displays?
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House Of Representatives Passes Sanctions Against Iran
The AP reports that the "House of Representatives voted Tuesday to impose new economic sanctions against Iran as lawmakers expressed doubt about the Islamic Republic's willingness to respond to diplomatic efforts to curtail its purported nuclear arms program. The legislation, approved 412-12, would end access to US markets for foreign companies that sell refined petroleum products to Iran or help that country develop its petroleum capacity. While Iran is a major crude oil producer, its lack of ability to produce enough gasoline and other refined petroleum products is a major economic vulnerability. With no Senate action on the legislation expected this year, the House vote was for the time being primarily a warning that the United States is ready to act on its own if the Teheran government does not respond to current international efforts to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power. The bill drew opposition from lawmakers who said it would mainly cause hardship among poor and middle-class Iranians." Tweet
Howard Dean: "Kill The Senate Bill"
Howard Dean had the following to say on the version of the Senate Bill that seems to be emerging: “This is essentially the collapse of health care reform in the United States Senate. Honestly the best thing to do right now is kill the Senate bill, go back to the House, start the reconciliation process, where you only need 51 votes and it would be a much simpler bill.”
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Tweet9th Circuit To Hear Case Regarding San Francisco's Anti-Catholic Resolution
The Thomas More Law Center reports that a panel of eleven judges of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals sitting in San Francisco will hear oral arguments concerning the constitutionality of San Francisco Board of Supervisor’s virulent resolution attacking the Catholic Church for its teachings against homosexual adoptions. The en banc panel will review the earlier opinion of a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit that upheld the resolution.
To read the resolution visit http://www.thomasmore.org/downloads/sb_thomasmore/CatholicLeagueSF-CityofSFResolution.pdf.
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D.C. City Council Votes To Legalize Gay Marriage
CNN reports that the "Washington City Council voted Tuesday to legalize same-sex marriage in the nation's capital. The bill will be given to Mayor Adrian Fenty, who has expressed his support and vowed to sign the bill. If the mayor signs it, Congress will have 30 days to intervene before it would take effect. It is considered unlikely that the Democratic majority on Capitol Hill will block the bill. Tuesday's second vote was needed to send the measure to Fenty. The council passed the bill in an 11-2 vote December 1." Tweet
PA Workers' Union Official Bassam Zakarneh: Hamas Leaders Hid In Tunnels And Launched Rockets From Among Children And The Elderly
Bassam Zakarneh, the head of the Palestinian Authority Workers’ Union, had the following to say in a speech which aired on Palestinian Authority TV on November 9, 2009:
"The message of the Palestinian people is clear: It will not accept anything less than the terms laid down by President Abu Mazen. Peres said that President [Abbas] will accept a lesser peace, because it is better than war... What he doesn’t know is that we have already accepted peace with 78% less of our land. We respond to him and to Netanyahu, who says that Jerusalem is just like Tel Aviv, by saying that Haifa is just like Jenin... We have said that the Palestinian people will continue with its struggle and its long-term popular war. We have stressed this to all the factions. All the options are open. The Fatah convention determined that all the options are open – including the option of armed struggle. This is our clear message to everybody... After the [UN discussion of the Goldstone Report] was postponed, voices criticized us: 'Because of you, the blood of 1,400 martyrs was spilt in vain.' This was heard especially from the mouthpieces of the Hamas movement, from the same leaders who used these martyrs as sandbags, while they hid in tunnels. They would place a missile, cover it with a tent, amid buildings with 200 children and old people, and they would launch the missile and hide."
To see the clip for yourself visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/2288.htm.
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Monday, December 14, 2009
Al Gore Corrected By Scientist After Telling Global Warming Lie
The London Times reports that "the climatologist whose work Mr Gore was relying upon dropped the former Vice-President in the water with an icy blast. 'It’s unclear to me how this figure was arrived at,' Dr Maslowski said. 'I would never try to estimate likelihood at anything as exact as this.' Mr Gore’s office later admitted that the 75 per cent figure was one used by Dr Maslowksi as a 'ballpark figure' several years ago in a conversation with Mr Gore. The embarrassing error cast another shadow over the conference after the controversy over the hacked e-mails from the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit, which appeared to suggest that scientists had manipulated data to strengthen their argument that human activities were causing global warming."
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CBS/NYT Poll: Just 37% Call Global Warming High Priority
CBS reports that "with world leaders debating how to address climate change in Copenhagen and the U.S. Senate poised to take up a climate bill in the coming months, a new CBS News/New York Times poll finds that just 37 percent of Americans believe the issue should be a priority for government leaders. That's a significant drop from April of 2007, when 52 percent of those surveyed said the issue should be a high priority." Tweet
Sunday, December 13, 2009
NYT: Mayor Bloomberg Is Flying To Copenhagen On Private Jet Even Though "He Ranks Among The Worst Individual Polluters Ever To Hold Public Office"
The New York Times writes that "a strong argument can also be made that on a personal level, he ranks among the worst individual polluters ever to hold public office. Mr. Bloomberg owns a helicopter and two jets, both Falcon 900s. He flies everywhere on private jets, by far the least efficient form of transportation on or above the earth. He takes his jet to Bermuda many weekends. He has flown around the globe on it. He uses it to go to Washington. He is planning to get to Copenhagen for the climate conference by private jet, too. The carbon math works out like this: by taking his Falcon 900 to Denmark, Mr. Bloomberg will be responsible for the release of 37 times the carbon dioxide than if he and his entourage flew on a scheduled commercial flight. The calculations were done at my request by Dimitri Simos, the developer of software used by the airline industry to assess aircraft emission and performance. Mr. Simos said that a Falcon 900 carrying eight people from Newark to Copenhagen would produce 21.6 tons of carbon dioxide. By adding eight people to the scheduled Scandinavian Airlines flight, the aircraft, usually an Airbus A330-300, would produce an additional 0.58 tons of carbon dioxide. Mr. Bloomberg’s routine trips to Bermuda are even more carbon costly: the private jet produces 130 times more emissions than going commercial. On those jaunts, Mr. Simos said, the Falcon produces 4.3 tons of carbon dioxide; putting another two people on an American Airlines Boeing 757-200 that flies to Bermuda would produce only 66 more pounds." Tweet
Is The Recession "Over"? Top White House Economic Advisors Can't Get Their Stories Straight
Larry Summers says the "recession is over":
Christina Romer says the recession is not over:
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