Tuesday, June 30, 2009

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Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins: The Clean Energy Bill story you haven't heard Top
In these days following the House of Representatives' passage of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES), there's a wide range of opinions on the implications of this massive bill - particularly among progressive and environmental groups. Whatever their opinions on ACES, these groups all agree on one thing: Now that it's the Senate's turn to take on energy legislation, making ACES better will be a tough battle. But there is at least one story that gives reason for hope for the Senate fight: The story of how an unlikely coalition successfully pushed to include key provisions in the bill - provisions that will bring economic opportunity to disadvantaged communities. The Push for Equity ACES now includes almost $1 billion in funding for job training programs, and it ensures local access to quality jobs in green construction. Thanks to bold collective efforts, the House adopted these provisions, and the bill now includes opportunity for communities that too often languish at the margins of American prosperity. This unexpected success would simply not have happened without a broad range of groups - many of whom are not known for their engagement in climate and energy issues - coming together for a better, more equitable ACES. This coalition was made up of civil rights, social justice, labor, environmental, faith and community groups. The NAACP, the Building Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, Center for Community Change, Partnership for Working Families, Democracia USA, and Leadership Conference of Civil Rights all joined Green For All in calling for opportunity and standards. On the Hill, it was members of the Black and Hispanic Caucuses that pressed for the provisions. Champions like Representatives Bobby Rush, Emanuel Cleaver, and Ben Ray Luján in particular participated in the discussion and fought for their communities. The leadership role taken on by advocates for people of color and the working poor has never before been seen on this scale when it comes to climate and energy legislation. It was essential to getting the equity provisions into ACES, and has helped shift the terms of the debate. Senators should hear this message loud and clear as they draft legislation: Opportunity for low-income communities must be included. The Equity Provisions: 1. $860 million allocated to the Green Jobs Act . This measure will provide training to workers who need new skills for clean energy jobs - training that can be the first step on a pathway from poverty to a steady green career. 2. Local access to quality jobs , through the creation of a green-construction, careers-demonstration program. Representative Bobby Rush authored this amendment, which will promote middle-class careers and quality employment practices in the green construction sector. This program will empower the Secretaries of Labor and Energy to ensure that these green construction jobs are good jobs, and are accessible to low-income communities and local workers. The Bottom Line The bottom line is this: shifting to clean energy means redefining the very foundation of our economy. We must make sure that the principles of equity and opportunity for all are etched into that foundation. That means we need strong job quality standards. That means we need opportunities for low-income communities, opportunities like training, standards, and local hiring provisions, to be written into the laws. And that means we need strong allies, a broad movement of supporters, and bold champions on the Hill to make it happen. As we look ahead to the Senate crafting its version of energy and climate legislation, we'll need the political power, and people power, that a broad coalition can wield when it stands on common ground. The House passing ACES in and of itself may seem like more of the same, with groups on both sides arguing the merits of the bill. But look closer. Because we're gaining strength, we're forging partnerships, and we're building a growing consensus that low-income communities and communities of color must have a fair stake in a new clean energy economy.
 
Zachary Karabell: You can be great at soccer or globally dominant - you can't be both Top
So the United States lost to Brazil in the final of the FIFA Confederations cup, in that thrilling but painful tale of two halves, with the U.S. up 2-0 only to see Brazil roar back (or rather dance and prance and glide with balletic ferocity) and win 3-2. All I can say is, thank god. For the past sixty years, the powerhouses of international soccer (a.k.a. football) either have been empires past their prime and on the decline or countries that dream fruitlessly of empire - England, France, Italy, Germany, Argentina, Brazil, and Spain. To bestride the world as a soccer power is to not bestride it as an economic or military power. In its period of global hegemony, the United States was manifestly not a global powerhouse in soccer. It was mighty in everything but the sport that is played by more people in every corner of the world than any other. And so if the United States had magically defied the odds and the gods and beaten Brazil, it would have been the final sign that American is indeed in decline. Of course, the United States may already be in irreversible relative decline, its near miss against Brazil notwithstanding. But for a moment at least, order was maintained. The other rising global power, namely China, shares with the United States an historical ineptitude for the game. In fact, making fun of the Chinese national team is one of the few outlets for uncensored political expression in China, and indeed the team has been inept. It may be no coincidence that it was once coached by the same coach who struggled valiantly but in vain to remake Americans soccer, Bora Milutinovic (now the coach of the Iraq national team). China even failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, which is a feat that will probably elude the United States. Argentina - with its rich tradition of World Cup prowess, its intellectual sophistication and its astonishing natural resources - was once thought of a hemispheric challenger to the United States, before Juan Peron and Evita cemented the country's fate as a montage for an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. Its victories in soccer are in almost inverse proportion to its political and economic stability. Yet, there is the case of Brazil, which has been defying the odds and has started to demonstrate real leadership and success in today's globalized economy. It has a confident and thriving middle class, energy independence and cutting edge use of biofuels, as well as decreasing corruption. That may explain why the national team has struggled of late, as Brazil attempts the rare feat of having both an ascendant national economy and a dominant football team. For now, the world order is not yet dramatically upended, but as the game demonstrated and as the last year has proven, that order is in flux and the old hierarchies are unlikely to remain in place for long. More on Argentina
 
Touted Chicago School Reform A Failure: Report Top
Chicago Public School reform largely has failed, with the vast bulk of students either dropping out or unprepared for college and apparent gains at the grade-school level more perceived than real. That's the bottom line of a blockbuster report released Tuesday by the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club, a report that directly challenges the legitimacy of one of Mayor Richard M. Daley's major claimed accomplishments.
 
Yoani Sanchez: The Ghost of Power Cuts Past Returns to Cuba Top
Exclusive to Huffington Post. The Ghost of Power Cuts Past has returned across my country. The inconvenient blackouts so common in the nineties have returned because of the international crisis and the dysfunctional Cuban economy. We'd come to believe they were ancient history, overcome by the so called Energy Revolution driven--five years ago--by Fidel Castro himself. In a frenzy to reform electrical generation on the Island, millions of incandescent bulbs were exchanged for energy-savers and thousands of electricity generators were installed throughout the Island. The old Soviet air conditioners were replaced by more modern Chinese ones and the hardy refrigerators from the forties were turned into scrap. Along with these electricity-saving approaches, a stable supply of oil--coming from Venezuela at a very low price--helped to eliminate the annoying cuts in electricity. Our leaders pledged in front of cameras and on national television that only a hurricane or an accident could once again plunge us into darkness. Now the moment has come to trim the illusions but not, this time, because of the high price of fuel in international markets. Paradoxically, the problem has come because of a fall in the value of oil and its derivatives. Cuba can no longer resell a portion of the barrels that come from Caracas and this--along with the international financial problems--has forced it to re-impose the cuts. At the same time, a good portion of the state enterprises spend more than they produce, putting pressure on them to become more efficient or shut down. Those who will feel it the most, however, will be the residential sector, which will return to candles and rechargeable lamps for lighting. These days my compatriots are purchasing--compulsively--lots of flashlights and batteries. Yoani's blog, Generation Y , can be read here in English translation. More on Cuba
 
Mark Joseph: Michael Jackson & The Crouch's Top
A rumor has been circulating that Michael Jackson had converted to Christianity shortly before his death, after a meeting with singers Andrae & Sandra Crouch, with whom he previously worked with on songs like Man In The Mirror. Jackson was a member of the Jehovah's Witness sect for many years but was reported to have converted to Islam in 2008. We looked into it, and Bully! Pulpit gets to the bottom of the story here. More on Michael Jackson
 
Judge Bemoans Corrupt Cops While Sentencing One Top
An ex-Chicago cop was sentenced today to almost 11 years in prison for robbing drug dealers -- a case that prompted the judge to declare he's tired of the growing pace of wrongdoing by police officers.
 
Kids Tattooed? Suburban Tattoo Artist Arrested For Marking Up Minors Top
Will County officials have arrested a man they suspect gave permanent tattoos to minors as young as 4 years old, NBC Chicago reports . The Joliet tattoo artist George "Hook" Jerutis, 54, posted a picture on his web site that shows him tattooing the Batman symbol onto a young boy who appears to be sitting in a high chair. The caption beneath the photo reads, "good deeds done free," and on the site Jerutis claims he once did a fundraiser for a boy needing open-heart surgery. "What we did was to have an Ink-a-thon for 72 hrs. straight," the site reads. "We managed to raise $1,100.00 for the cause. Tattooing allowed me to give back a little." It is not clear from the site whether the boy was the one needing surgery, or whether the tattoo pictured on his arm is real. It illegal to tattoo a minor, and Jerutis has been arrested for it before, according to the Joliet Herald News . Jerutis has been jailed since Thursday. His wife, Sandra, faces the same charge but was released on a recognizance bond, the Herald News reports . More on WTF
 
Tom Doctoroff: China's Digital Green Dam: The Party Capitulates Top
The Chinese central government's decision to delay the "mandatory installation" of the "Green Dam Youth Escort" filtering software on new computers, announced yesterday by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), highlights an evolving relationship between the Communist Party and the Chinese people. Despite being light years from introducing dramatic, multi-party political reform, it is increasingly "democratic" (i.e., responsive) to the demands of a new, economically-empowered middle class. According to meticulously composed propaganda, the Green Dam was intended to "block violence and pornographic contents on the internet to protect minors. It could also help parents control how much time their children spend online." The Chinese, a switched-on, pragmatic people who, by the way, are vigorous consumers of digital porn, instantly grasped the government's real goal was to control the free flow of information. The government has officially noted "technical issues" and "concerns about data security" as reasons for the delay. But everyone knows the truth. The CCCP, in its zeal to control the thoughts and actions of its people, crossed an infra-red line of a people who, in exchange for political subservience, demand a government that advances economic interests and the freedom to live without heavy-handed bureaucratic interference. The Green Dam, a ham-fisted attempt to monitor online dialog, directly threatened both quality of life and access to the outside world. The people, in on- and off-line worlds, revolted. Digital primal screams were deafening. Even editorial page debates were lively. On the street, the Green Dam became a joke. I have often argued that China, a Confucian society that cherishes order and stability as the prerequisite for individual and national advancement, does not crave bottom-up representative democracy. Furthermore, most Chinese have confidence in the ability of the central government - as opposed to local and provincial organs - to advance the interests of the majority. As the financial crisis sweeps across the globe, citizens are impressed with their leaders' far-sightedness. From aggressive stimulative policy to announced welfare reforms, most Chinese believe their country will emerge stronger than ever on the global stage once the tsunami recedes. In marked contrast to the Japanese, the Chinese people have faith in the wisdom of their rulers. But that faith is not blind. As any society passes into a post-industrial era, self-expression becomes necessary and apparent. In regimented China, a society in which rules and restrictions are omnipresent and genuine individualism has not taken root, the internet is a vital channel for information and, critically, emotional release. The Chinese maintain a less "functional" relationship with all things digital relative to Westerners. The Chinese are not simply "engaged" with the internet. They flock to a virtual universe to free themselves - and forge new relationships - in way that is not possible in the real world. They do it anonymously, no holds barred, according to a study conducted by JWT and IAC. In response to the statement, "Online I feel free to do and say things I wouldn't do or say offline," fewer than a third of young American agree and a large majority (41%) disagree. Among Chinese respondents, almost three-quarters agree (73%), and just 9% disagree. Similarly, there is a clear difference in outlook when it comes to the notion that "it's perfectly possible to have real relationships purely online, with no face-to-face contact." About a fifth of Americans agree (21%), while almost two-thirds of Chinese do (63%). The Green Dam threatened this deep love. The people said "No!" And the government threw in the towel. (My bet: the Party will find a face-saving way - an "indefinite delay" - that allows the issue to fade away. But its tactics will not be clear for a few months. American "free trade" complaints will have had little to do with the outcome.) Am I saying that the government's decision to delay the enforcement of Green Dam installation presages dramatic political reform? Certainly not. The vast majority of Chinese believe an empowered central government guarantees individual and national gain. But this is a clear case of an evolving relationship between rulers and ruled. There will be experiments in intra-party checks and balances, particularly at the local level. The judicial branch, particularly in the commercial arena, will have a wider berth to make decisions free of political interference. KPIs will be used to judge the performance of apparatchiks and some criteria will focus on "community satisfaction." Accountability standards will be promulgated and, more than occasionally, enforced. China will become more "democratic" but not in an electoral sense, at least not within the next couple decades. Societies do evolve. And China continues on its own journey to become a modern nation, with a government accountable for its behavior. But the contours of the Middle Kingdom's political structure will always assume the shape of its distinct worldview.
 
Christina Bellantoni: Dems to air sad health care stories to push Obama plan Top
First published at WashingtonTimes.com Organizing for America, President Obama's campaign arm housed at the DNC, is raising money to start television ads starring some of the hundreds of thousands of people who submitted their own personal health care stories. "These personal messages will make a powerful case for why we need comprehensive health care reform, and need it now," OFA writes to Web donors who contribute to the effort. "With help from OFA supporters like you, we should be able to get the first of these messages produced and in front of voters in key areas within a matter days," OFA says. The effort doesn't specify which voters are defined as from "key areas" -- perhaps those living in states with senators who don't support Obama's call for a public option to be included in the health care reform bill working its way through Congress. Last week, MoveOn.org announced it would be targeting Sen. Kay Hagan, a freshman red-state Democrat who said she wouldn't support a public option. MoveOn said the ads would run in her home state of North Carolina and also in D.C., noting that many of her volunteers and donors from the 2008 campaign want a public option included in the plan. The OFA solicitation was sent to the 13-million strong Obama campaign list as well as to Democrats on the DNC email list. "The stories have been read millions of times, and the reaction is an overwhelming, 'Wow -- we've got to get to work,'" Mitch Stewart, executive director of OFA, tells supporters in the email, which directs donors to a spiffy new logo. "Here's our latest idea: Putting our supporters in coast-to-coast television and online ads, telling their own stories, in their own voice. It could be a breakthrough moment in this debate, when millions of Americans realize how urgent reform really is," Stewart wrote, adding the air time "won't be cheap" and asking for donations. Stewart also points out the Clinton effort failed in part thanks to the fake "real people" named Harry and Louise who ran ads during the debate over the health care bill. "Phony stories helped defeat health care reform in the past. But this time, real stories could be the reason we win," he wrote. Earlier this month I looked at this strategy, noting in a story in our Plugged in Politics section that personal stories didn't help the Clinton effort. Their stories of health care heartbreak were so gut-wrenching and compelling, so the theory went, surely policy would change. The year was 1993, and instead of leading to a sweeping overhaul of the health care system that the young new Democratic president had promised, those stories are now artifacts in an ex-president's library, a testament to a monumental, failed effort. As another Democratic president tackles the issue, President Obama's team is going after those same stories of tears, loss and a health care system gone wrong that President Bill Clinton and his aides once employed.  Read the full story  here . There's no way of knowing yet if these real stories will make the difference this time around, or if having  a 60th Democratic senator  could make the Obama health care plan a reality. But the White House thinks it's a winning strategy since it is, after all, one Obama used successfully during the election. Obama holds a health care town hall tomorrow in Northern Virginia, and I'll bet the president will be telling more of those personal stories. —  Christina Bellantoni , White House correspondent,  The Washington Times Please track  my blog's  RSS feed  here . Find my latest stories  here , follow me on  Twitter  and visit my  YouTube page .
 
Dennis Whittle: The Work is Grueling, but at Least the Pay is Bad! Top
Dr Nesse believes that persistence is a reason for the exceptional level of clinical depression in America--the country that has the highest depression rate in the world. That is from an interesting article on Economist.com. Some recent research indicates that mild depression may be nature's way of discouraging people from trying to achieve unattainable goals. One of the researchers notes that that the dynamism of the US comes from lots of people pursuing unreasonable goals. On the one hand, entrepreneurial spirit makes the US the engine of innovation in the world. On the other hand, the costs in terms of mental health are significant. All of this research is still at the speculative stage. But this article does provide a useful caution against overly romanticizing entrepreneurship. Someone asked me the other day what I thought the most useful thing was that they could do to promote social entpreneurship. "Create a nice place for social entrepreneurs to get together, blow off steam, and decompress," I told him. Maybe we should do the same for the project leaders on GlobalGiving, many of whom are out there every day straining to achieve the impossible. As one of them told me a while back, "The work is grueling, but at least the pay is bad!" [GlobalGiving]
 
Markos Moulitsas Warns Harry Reid: Franken Win Takes Away Your 60-Vote Excuses (VIDEO) Top
Markos Moulitsas, founder of the Daily Kos, and Bill Press, a syndicated radio host, were guests on "The Ed Show" tonight to discuss the political implications of Norm Coleman conceding to Al Franken in the marathon Minnesota Senate race after the State Supreme Court ruled in favor of Franken. Despite the fact that Democrats will have a so-called 'super majority' when Franken is seated now that their number has reached 60 in the Senate (with two independents regularly voting with the Dems), these two progressives did not sound confident that the Democratic party and the White House would become more aggressive with their agenda. Moulitsas rightly points out that the Bush administration did not have nearly as large majorities as the Obama administration will, and yet they still considered that a mandate to push through Congress controversial policies such as the Bush tax cuts. Both Press and Kos believe that Harry Reid has been using the lack of a 60 votes as an excuse for not being assertive enough in passing their legislation. Kos told Shutlz: I think to a certain level we're a little cynical hearing Harry Reid use that 60 vote crutch as an excuse for not getting things done... Now we have this incredible reversal of fortunes in the Senate, the American people have spoken very, very loudly, very, very clearly, that they want Democrats in charge. And yet for some reason, Democrats still think they need Republicans to sign on when the American people have so clearly rejected them. And if you look at the polling to this very day, they still continue to reject Republican governance. So let's do it, let's do what the American people have asked Democrats to do, and let's not use any excuses like this 60-vote nonsense, which is now obviously longer an issue. If this is any indication, progressive pressure will ramp up on the Democrats and the Obama administration to sideline Republicans if they obstruct Democratic priorities (something sure to happen on health care reform, especially regarding a public option) since they ostensibly no longer have to rely on attracting Republican votes to pass legislation in the Senate ( something many progressives didn't believe was valid in the first place. ) Whether Democrats can keep wayward members of their own party from straying remains to be seen. [WATCH] Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News , World News , and News about the Economy More on Al Franken
 
Dennis Whittle: Where's the Beef? Top
The World Bank's private sector arm, the IFC, recently backed out of a dea l funding cattle ranching in Brazil after objections from the Bank's own evaluation group, which argued that the deal posed a "grave risk to the environment:" Vinod Thomas, the IEG's director-general, sums up the dilemma: "Climate change threatens to derail development, while business-as-usual development threatens to destabilise the climate." The job of the World Bank and other aid agencies is not to promote business as usual. It is to promote innovation - new ways to grow, and to do so in a way that helps rather than harms the environment. The Economist magazine and others dwell on the costs of fighting climate change, but they rely too much on a static mind-set. With the right signals and incentives, great creativity will be brought to bear, and the problems will be addresses at far lower cost than we think. Many of the solutions (especially energy efficiency measures) will generate net benefits, even with existing technologies, according to McKinsey . The others will be harder to tackle, but they can be tackled. To do so, however, will require extreme ingenuity and persistence - meaning that the next depression may be a psychological one rather than an economic one. [GlobalGiving] [image credit: Jelle at Flickr under a Creative Commons license ] More on Climate Change
 
Vote Put Off On 2nd Chicago Wal-Mart Top
A move to bring a second Wal-Mart store within city limits has been stalled once again.
 
Beau Friedlander: Happy National Sovereignty Day, Iraq. Sorry About The Mess Top
"They clearly don't want us there anymore, so why stay?" That's what someone told Air America intern Leah Wawro today in New York's City's Union Square Park when she asked about the US troop withdrawal from Iraqi cities. As I recall, however, they never wanted us there. There's no need to go back to the early 90s. Let's rewind to August 2002. Remember when then White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card, speaking about the possibility of a war in Iraq, told a New York Times reporter, "From a marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in August." I'll never forget that statement, because I owned a publishing house at the time and I was possessed by the strong desire to use it to fight what seemed inevitable: another massive invasion of Iraq. Within weeks and with a lot of help from Chelsea Green publisher Margo Baldwin, Derrick Jensen, and my trusty sidekick Trevor Bundy, we put together a book. William Rivers Pitt conducted an interview with former United Nations weapons inspector Scott Ritter, Jensen turned it into his own peculiar brand of Q&A magic. Six weeks later the book was in stores. War On Iraq was almost instantly a New York Times bestseller. Within months, long before the invasion, the book was an international bestseller. I sent copies to every member of the Senate via Federal Express to ensure delivery before the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 rubber-stamped Bush's idiotic dreams of a latter-day crusade in the Middle East. I got one letter back. Former Republican Senator Don Nickles sent a handwritten thank-you note. That's it. War On Iraq was a paltry 96 pages. Will Pitt lovingly referred to it as a "beer coaster." Still, everything in that book turned out to be correct. There were no weapons of mass destruction. There were no centrifuge parts. The bio-weapons were past their expiration date. Saddam Hussein had no connection to al-Qaeda (they hated him). Oh, yeah. There was also that part about how removing the Iraqi president from power would plunge that nation into civil war and ethnic division the likes of which it had never seen. Stay tuned. It's all in that little beer coaster of a book (you can still find used copies online) and it was all a matter of public record before we invaded and further destroyed an already largely US-destroyed nation. You know what else was a matter of public record? George W. Bush's comment about Saddam Hussein: "This is the guy who tried to kill my dad." Remember that one? Was that the reason we attacked Iraq? Of course not. But if you've read this far, you're dwelling in the truth of the matter. We attacked Iraq. We were the aggressors. We invaded a weak nation and sent it spiraling out of control. And yet liberal New Yorkers think it suffices to mention that they want us to leave? Sweetheart, they never wanted us there in the first place. Our presence is an ongoing affront to democracy and human dignity, and yet now that the damage is done, everyone's stuck between that rock and a hard place, and it's not going to get better forever and a day. Thanks, George W. Bush. Thanks, 107th United States Congress. Thanks, Judith Miller. Good work, America. Be proud. from Air America
 
Alec Baldwin: 150 Years for Madoff? Top
Madoff got 150 years? Why? Does that serve the greater good? Does that really contribute to solving the problems that stemmed from Madoff's misdeeds? I want to suggest, as I am confident others have, that Madoff be given a reduced sentence in exchange for answering every question that investigators ask regarding how he did what he did and what are his recommendations for how this might be detected and/or prevented in the future. Put him away for life? Who does that help? The incompetents at the SEC who stood by and allowed this to happen? Madoff should become the Frank Abagnale of the securities and investment fraud universe. What can we learn from him, to actually change things? More on Bernard Madoff
 
Trip Van Noppen: How Many Presidents Does It Take to Change a Light Bulb? Top
How many Presidents of the United States does it take to change a light bulb? Just one. It's no joke. Millions of Americans have already changed their light bulbs to save energy and fight global warming. New lighting standards announced Monday will help all our homes and businesses make the switch, and as a result, save billions of dollars in utility bills and create thousands of new jobs. The new lighting standards will save enough energy annually to power all U.S. homes for almost a year, while saving consumers $1 billion to $4 billion a year in utility bills. The long-delayed standards come just a few months after the president directed Energy Secretary Steven Chu to speed up the process of setting efficiency standards for a variety of home and commercial appliances, from refrigerators to soft-drink vending machines. This is the kind of leadership that will build the clean energy economy of the future. As the President said in making the announcement, a light bulb seems like a small thing. But collectively, billions of more efficient light bulbs will make a big impact. The Department of Energy calculates that the new lighting standards will save enough energy to eliminate the need for up to 14 large power plants. The standards will also cut carbon dioxide emissions by 593 million metric tons over 30 years, an act equivalent to removing roughly 110 million cars from the road for a year. Consumers save, too. The new standards will save users up to $71 billion over thirty years. Over the life of a typical bulb meeting the new standards, the average buyer would save over $67 on a new fluorescent lamp and about $8 on a new incandescent reflector lamp. (To learn more about energy efficiency, visit www.earthjustice.org/energyefficiency/ .) DOE could have gone further, but this is a significant improvement from where the Bush administration was heading. In coming months and years, the administration will be rolling out new standards for more than two dozen appliances, including water heaters, washers and dryers and room air conditioners. It's a no-brainer: Some manufacturers argue that with a troubled economy, we can't afford to make our appliances more efficient. The truth is, we can't afford not to. More on Barack Obama
 
Climate Change Bill Fight Just Beginning Top
The climate change bill passed by the House of Representatives on Friday was only the first step towards achieving major environmental policy reform. As historic as the moment might have seemed, the bill still faces huge obstacles before becoming law. The measure, sponsored by Reps. Henry Waxman (R-Calif.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.), passed with a close 219-to-212 margin and came only after massive arm-twisting by the White House and Democratic leadership. And even then, 44 Democrats voted against the measure. Only eight Republicans crossed the aisle to vote for it. Such a margin could be deadly in the Senate, where the bill is headed next and where it is expected that the GOP will filibuster -- requiring 60 votes for the bill to pass. With Sens. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Robert Byrd (D-W.V.) unlikely to participate and moderate Democrats potentially on the fence, the party will have to turn to moderate Republicans to add a few votes. For this to happen, observers say they have two options: Either weaken the bill's restrictions on carbon dioxide emissions or ramp up internal lobbying efforts on fence-straddling senators. Either plan could backfire. Mike Lux, a highly respected strategist within the progressive community and former adviser to Bill Clinton, warned against tinkering with the environmental regulations that the House established. "If you give away too much to senators, you end up having a bill that not only doesn't help very much but ends up hurting you," Lux told the Huffington Post. "So I think it's a pretty careful balancing act that they're going to have to think through and work through." "If it was left to my devices," continued Lux, "I'd say screw [tinkering with the] legislation -- let's just do everything we can to continue building the political pressure on folks." He added that Democrats should be "extremely focused on not moving backward in terms of environmental regulations." If that's the strategy Democrats decide to pursue, the targets are obvious. "It's got to be a mix of both [parties]," said Lux. "[Maine Senators] Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins are actually going to be easier to get than some of the Democrats," including Sen. Mary Landrieu (La.), whose support will be elusive due to the influence of the fossil fuel industry. Then there's the basic philosophical hostility that some "centrist" Democrats feel toward government involvement in environmental policy, which could compel them to oppose the measure. Nebraska Democrat Ben Nelson is "as conservative as Republicans like Snowe and Collins -- maybe more," said Lux. The seating of Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) will help. But what will it take to win Republican support? "This will be very tough," John Pitney, political science professor at Claremont McKenna College and former Republican operative, said to the Huffington Post. "There are very few Republicans that might vote for this," he continued, naming Senators Snowe, Collins and George Voinovich of Ohio among the possibilities. The price tag and possibility of a tax increase to pay for the provisions may be a deal breaker for conservatives, Pitney added. "They need to be convinced that the cost is manageable... The tax issue resonates more than the environment issue." So far, Republicans have shown little enthusiasm for the bill. House Minority Leader John Boehner decried the legislation as "a pile of shit." Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) branded climate change a "hoax" and earned a round of applause from his colleagues. Noting these objections, Pitney argued that a passable bill might require environmental regulations to be watered down even further. "The House bill in its current form would be a long shot," he said. GOP leaders are nervous about the passage of this bill, and as the Huffington Post reported , the conservative base might be willing to target members of the party who support the measure. But changing the legislation too drastically could backfire. Already, some environmentalists say that the legislation's regulations on greenhouse gases are too weak. The Environmental News Network has criticized its "plentiful polluter permits, weak renewable electricity goals, and low carbon emission reduction targets." Greenpeace deputy campaigns director Carroll Muffett said that "this bill is worse than nothing." That said, there is some room for Democrats to maneuver. While environmental advocates share some of Muffett's concerns, many consider the legislation a vital step toward achieving a clean energy economy. "Politically, we cannot afford to lose," said Ivan Frishberg, political director for Environment America. "A loss for this really sets us back. The momentum from victory on a weak bill at least gives us momentum to keep working to do more of this. But a loss on something like this really sets us back for years and years and years to come." Get HuffPost Politics On Facebook and Twitter! More on Barack Obama
 
Mamatis Clouds Turn NYC Sky Orange After Thunderstorm (VIDEO) Top
New Yorkers this weekend snapped photos and shot video of the sky last weekend after rare clouds, resulting from moist air and dry air mixing after a thunderstorm, turned the sky orange. The clouds, described as "strange, pink popcorn clouds," are called 'mamatis' clouds. Watch the report below. Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News , World News , and News about the Economy More on Video
 
Chris Kelly: God is My Doorman: Mark Sanford for Non-Christians Top
Hemingway said that the problem with Henry Miller was that he got laid in the afternoon once and thought he invented it. Governor Mark Sanford got laid in Argentina two weeks ago and the way he continues to go on about it, you'd think he cracked cold fusion. The man won't shut up. If Henry Miller talked about his sex life as much as Governor Mark Sanford talks about his sex life, people would have started thinking he was some kind of perv. So today Mark Sanford needed to amend the number of times he kissed the Spider Woman in the last year, for those of you keeping score at home. Now it's five, including two overnights in New York, one for general fornication and one more - approved by his wife! - that was supposed to be just to talk about old times. Sort of an adultery exit interview. The fact that someone as unconscious as Jenny Sanford was in a position of authority at Lazard Frères makes it amazing that there's a banking system at all. One thing Mark Sanford isn't doing is resigning. Why? Because God Himself wants Mark Sanford to stay on as Governor of South Carolina. Just ask Mark Sanford: "Immediately after all this unfolded last week I had thought I would resign - as I believe in the military model of leadership and when trust of any form is broken one lays down the sword. A long list of close friends have suggested otherwise - that for God to really work in my life I shouldn't be getting off so lightly." And if anyone knows about getting off, it's Mark Sanford. But more importantly, the Almighty insists that Mark Sanford stay in office. South Carolina is his punishment. Like when Job got boils. And the citizens get to help God help Mark Sanford be a better man. Which I think we can all agree is what public service is all about. "While it would be personally easier to exit stage left, their point has been that my larger sin was the sin of pride." That and years and years of adultery. But mostly pride. Here's what I always thought I kind of missed out on as a Catholic, instead of whatever horseshit Mark Sanford practices: Self-diagnosis. When it came to sin, we didn't get to call our own balls and strikes like that. "If I walked in with a real spirit of humility then this last legislative term could well be our most productive one - and that outside this term, I would ultimately be a better person and of more service in whatever doors God opened next in life if I stuck around to learn lessons rather than running and hiding down at the farm." Again, what else can we do for you, Gov. Sanford? I'm glad the taxpayers have this chance to let you improve yourself, but is that enough? Next time you're boning someone in South America, can we hold your dick? Okay, now clearly Mark Sanford is just a twitching loon who should be locked up before he hurts someone. What's cool is that he isn't even out of office yet, and he's already talking about God opening doors. Our former favorite disgraced Christian egomaniac, Sarah Palin, waited until the week after the election, when she told Fox News: "Faith is a very big part of my life. And putting my life in my creator's hands - this is what I always do. I'm like, OK, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray, I'm like, don't let me miss the open door. And if there is an open door in '12 or four years later, and if it is something that is going to be good for my family, for my state, for my nation, an opportunity for me, then I'll plow through that door." The open door to which they refer, of course, is from Revelation: "I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name." -- Revelation 3:8 American Evangelicals love Revelation, because it doesn't make a lick of sense and then everything explodes. Kind of like Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen . But they love Revelation 3:8 most of all, because it sounds like God's promise that you'll win the lottery. Evangelical business advice always comes back to Revelation 3:8. God opens doors. Like this one: Your opportunity to buy these timeshares. God wants you to get rich working from home. The same way he opens the door to a Palin Administration. Immediately followed by the Apocalypse. Don't say you weren't warned. I'm not sure Mark Sanford's going to like the door that God opens for him, though. According to Revelations 21:8, adulterers and liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone. Forever. Even if you've been to Argentina, and gotten used to the heat, that's still gonna hurt. More on Sarah Palin
 

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