Showing posts with label wind. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wind. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Biden: My Time?


Another Earth Day has come and gone, but here we are in the US way behind the rest of the world on generating power from the sun and wind. Why do we seem to be in a permanent state of denial?

More denial: Bernie  Sanders is leading in the polls--he's even popular among Republicans as the following video shows. If this is the case, why is the DNC trying to throw a wrench in the works? Coast Watcher gives his insights on  the real reasons behind Joe Biden's stepping into the race.


https://youtu.be/aHq_Dkx5GCo


Biden: My Time?
by Coast Watcher


On Thursday April 25 former Vice President Joe Biden finally came out and announced his candidacy for president. In many ways this was expected. His fan base in the so-called Democratic Party has long agitated for him to step up to the plate. They admire Biden "warts and all"—and my, doesn’t he have some warts!


Biden’s record is a long and shameful one for someone who supposedly espouses democratic values. Right-winger Biden has never met a war he didn’t like. He has voted for all American military interventions since beginning his Washington DC career as senator for Delaware in 1972. He was instrumental in helping draw up the iniquitous Patriot Act that followed 9/11. 
 


He readily accepts donations from Big Business. After stating that he would not accept corporate cash donations, Biden’s first fund raising event in Philadelphia was held at the private home of David Cohen, a Comcast executive known for cutting big checks for the Republican Party. Could the connection between the two faces of the Establishment be any clearer? Also present was Steven Cozen, founder and chairman of the union-busting law firm Cozen O’Connor, an obvious indicator of Biden’s contempt for the average worker. (It only matches his outspoken contempt for the Millennial generation.) One wonders why organized labor is so ready to leap on the Biden bandwagon. 

Incidentally, this cozy little event was a $2,800 a plate meal—hardly chump change for the average American. All this, and we haven’t even begun to list Biden’s history of sexual harassment of women of all ages!


In 1974 Biden went on record as saying he thought Roe vs. Wade "went too far. I don’t think that a woman has the sole right to say what should happen to her body." During Bill Clinton’s administration Biden supported and voted for the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) which did immense harm to the cause of LGBTQ+ rights. Twenty eight years ago, as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Biden presided over the confirmation hearings for Clarence Thomas, George Bush Sr.’s nominee to the Supreme Court. During the hearings, black law professor Anita Hill accused Thomas of sexual harassment. In response Biden and the all-white male committee virtually crucified Hill, subjecting her to an extremely embarrassing and detailed examination which reeked of racism and sexual bigotry.


On the same day Biden announced his candidacy, in an obvious attempt to head off trouble before it starts, he issued an apology in a telephone call to Professor Hill. She rejected it, saying in a statement: "I cannot be satisfied by (Biden) simply saying, 'I’m sorry for what happened to you.'" There’s absolutely no evidence that Biden is genuinely contrite for his behavior toward Hill and all other women who have said he has harassed them, either during, before or after this troubling behavior.


His supporters tout Joe Biden as running for the presidency in order to defeat Trump. Not so. For all intents and purposes, his sole purpose in standing for election as president in 2020 is to defeat Bernie Sanders, who has consistently led all other candidates in the polls, much as he did during the 2016 campaign. 

Sanders once more is faced with getting the shaft from the so-called "Democratic" Party. Their corporate handlers (Wall Street banksters and the military-industrialists) want anyone but a popular progressive candidate as president. These moneyed elitists don't want time and energy wasted on improving the quality of life for the vast majority of Americans. Who cares about a free college education or Medicare For All when you're a billionaire? Bernie Sanders and his kind are not wanted and need to be eliminated before more voters wake up to how rigged the voting process truly is.

Claims from the Sanders’ camp that the DNC has reformed and reduced the powers of super delegates are far from reassuring. If Biden wins the nomination (and after the example shown by the nomination of Clinton during the scandalous Democratic convention of 2016, it’s pretty much a given), then once again American voters in 2020 will be facing an identical slate from the the two major parties. Their choice essentially will be between voting for one serial woman groper over another. 
 

Trump or Biden--it’ll be business as usual and with virtually the same policies. The United States will continue to ignore the needs of its poorer citizens. Infrastructure will continue to crumble. The US will still meddle in the affairs of foreign countries with bombings and drone strikes across the Middle East and Africa, murdering thousands of innocents yearly. The only real difference would be that we'd have replaced the current clownish incumbent in the White House with "Uncle Joe," a smooth-talking, experienced politician eager to please his wealthy donors. That's a vast improvement, right?

Related articles and video:







BIO: Coast Watcher isn't too optimistic that the DNC has learned its lesson from the 2016 election. He advises that you share this piece with every voter you know and keep them awake until Election Day 2020. 






***
From Progress America

Donald Trump isn’t shy about his disdain for the press. All he wants is for our independent media to turn into a GOP-aligned propaganda network, like Fox News. When that doesn’t happen, he calls the media the “Enemy of the People.”
The Trump Administration’s abuse of the press goes further than words--right now, reporters investigating the family separation crisis are being harassed in pursuit of the truth. 

We rely on journalists to tell the truth about what’s going on in the country. The House Oversight Committee must take action to ensure that the press can operate free of harassment by the Trump Administration.

ADD YOUR NAME: Congress must hold the Trump administration accountable for these unconstitutional actions to suppress press freedom!

From Trump’s decades of tax fraud, to the family separation crisis, to Russian interference in the election, to his cabinet’s many scandals/crimes, it’s no surprise that Trump doesn’t like the press.

But the solution isn’t trampling on the constitution--it’s respecting the elected office he holds in the first place!

ADD YOUR NAME: Congress must hold the Trump administration accountable for these unconstitutional actions to suppress press freedom!

Thank you,

Mike Phelan
Progress America
 ***
From Move to Amend:

May 28th is going to be a BIG DAY for democracy as Move to Amend supporters will take to Congressional offices across the country and tell them now is the time to support the We the People Amendment to end corporate rule.

And the best part is, YOU CAN JOIN US!
Here is all that's needed:

  • You, and some friends, or your community group if you already belong to one -- organize a demostration/press conference at the nearest office of your member of Congress.
>> Click here to find your Representative if you don't know or if you're not familiar with where their offices are (click their name to go to their website and check their office locations, depending on the size of your district there might be a couple).

  • Invite 3-5 community organizations to speak at your demonstration about how the issues they work on connect with corporate rule and how ending corporate constitutional rights will help "Free the People" they work to protect.
>> Ask the groups to pass a resolution of support in advance that you can bring into the meeting with your Congressperson (MTA National will provide a template)

  • Schedule a meeting with your Congressperson or their staff (Reps should be back home in their District the week of May 28) to happen right after your demonstration/press conference.
>> Plan to go into the meeting with 4-5 other folks from the event and together request they co-sponsor the We the People Amendment (HJR48).

  • Share what happened to reach more people!
>> MTA National will provide a template press release and tips for taking photos and recording the event to help spread the word on social media to folks who were not in attendance.

Sign up to Free the People and let us know you want to organize an action for May 28 in your community.


Amending the Constitution to end corporate rule and big money in politics requires a massive democracy movement. We’ve been building this movement for 10 years -- with thousands of endorsements and 800 communities that have passed resolutions and ballot measures, this year is the year we ask every member of Congress, which side are they on? We the People? Or Corporate Rule?


Help us demand answers and #FreeThePeople!
Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap
Move to Amend National Director


P.S.: Organize an action with your friends and #FreeThePeople this May 28 with Move to Amend.

***
From Friends of the Earth:
Good news! It’s being reported that Trump’s Department of the Interior has decided to table its efforts to hand over nearly all of our oceans to Big Oil.
This is a huge victory for our marine wildlife, coastal communities across the country, and climate. And it happened in part thanks to massive public opposition to the plan from people like you.
But Interior Secretary Bernhardt is already floating the idea of reviving the plan after the 2020 election. So we need you to urge the Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management -- the agency responsible for this plan -- to scrap it for good!
Trump and Bernhardt were forced to walk back the plan after coming under pressure from even Republican elected officials in coastal states. The governors of Florida and South Carolina listened to their constituents and came out against it due to the devastating impact it could have on their states’ beaches and tourism-driven economies.
After all, new drilling would threaten fishing, tourism, and the livelihoods of millions of Americans in coastal communities. The only benefits would go to Big Oil executives.
Every day we delay the plan is another day that our marine life and coastal communities are protected. So we need your help to keep the pressure on.
Trump tried to put Big Oil’s profits ahead of the people who live in coastal communities nationwide. Many of these communities depend on fishing and tourism for a healthy economy. 
What’s worse, Trump was doing this to help his friends in the oil industry. He even picked an Interior Secretary to lead the effort -- David Bernhardt -- who is a former fossil fuel industry lobbyist.
Our ocean ecosystems and coastal communities are more important than Big Oil’s profits. Public pressure is working to delay and stop Trump from causing the next ecological disaster in our oceans. We’re so close to a major victory for our environment -- but we can’t let up the pressure now.
Standing with you,
Hallie Templeton,
Senior oceans campaigner,
Friends of the Earth

Tuesday, February 6, 2018

The War on Beautiful, Clean Coal

The War on Beautiful, Clean Coal
by C.A. Matthews
"The war on beautiful, clean coal is over!" triumphantly declared  President Donald Duck Trump during his State of the Union address. Many scratched their heads in wonder upon hearing that statement. "When was there ever a war on coal?" Americans asked each other. "How on earth did we miss something as big as a military conflict against a fossil fuel?"

"Don't you mean there's been a war against the coal miners?" some remarked as over 78,000 coal miners have died from Black Lung disease since 1968.  "Haven't communities been attacked by water, land and air pollution caused by burning fossil fuels? Aren't deaths and injuries caused by asthma and heart disease caused by coal burning on the rise? How can this be construed as a war on coal? How can anyone even think that coal is clean in the first place?" 

Ah, but these are all "fake news" stories according to Mr. Trump. No one has ever died or been injured by beautiful, clean coal (which bathes daily) says the fossil fuel execs who now advise the tiny-handed man behind the big desk in the Oval Office. There are literally dozens of jobs to be created by extracting what remains of coal from deep in the ground. How can there be more people working for Arby's than for coal mining concerns as many left-leaning publications cite?  No one needs to eat food nearly as often as they need to burn coal, do they? (It's as absurd as saying coal miners can be retrained to work in the green energy industry!)
Beautiful, clean coal has had its shining reputation sullied by such books as Death in the Air. It tells the story  of the 12,000 persons who died (by coincidence) during a huge smog event in London in 1952 that was at least partially blamed on coal burning power plants. After those deaths during the horrific "pea souper" (which had nothing to do with burning coal, we swear!),  laws were passed to make the burning of coal cleaner than ever (fingers crossed). 

You'd think that 66 years later, coal burning has to be the cleanest thing on the planet, much cleaner than those dirty solar panels or ugly wind turbines. Besides, we can't risk soaking up all the sun's rays or the wind. How will we get a tan or enjoy a nice summer's breeze if solar panels and wind turbines hog all the sunlight and breeze, right?

Of course, a handful of individuals will make quite a bit of money from Trump's recent decision to slap a 30% tariff on foreign made solar panels. It's not like big GOP supporters like the Koch Brothers became billionaires from their dealings in the fossil fuel industry and denying climate change. (Oh...so they did.) Of course, some in the administration are invested in putting coal before so-called "clean green energy" sources in order to make even more money, but that doesn't take away from the inherent cleanness of coal, now does it?

The "experts" do tend to yammer on about the negatives of coal burning plants, but when did scientists ever know what was good for Americans, right?  (You wouldn't go to a person who spent a good amount of time in an elitist higher institute of education to diagnose your illness or perform surgery on you, would you? I thought not.)  Scientists actually believe in fairy tales such as "climate change" and "global warming," so their credibility rating is fairly strained as it is. Get a load of this nonsense from this U.S. News article from a couple of years ago:

"If we want to reduce air pollution, the source we want to focus on eliminating is in coal burning," says George Thurston, a professor in the Department of Environmental Medicine at the New York University School of Medicine and one of the report's authors. "The message is that the source that is the biggest problem for climate change is also the biggest air pollution problem for health.
With adversaries like these pseudo-scientific-climate-whiners frightening the public all the time, no wonder Americans didn't realize there was an actual war going on against beautiful, clean coal. (There are only so many hours in the day in which to close your eyes and put your fingers in your ears and hum loudly to block out all that fake science news.)

Our fearless orange leader in the White House has defeated the naysayers with a mighty stroke of his pen and  taken the lead on making coal our number one energy source above the burgeoning renewable energy market. (Coal-powered plants will be everywhere!) It's him we'll have to thank come next year this time when you (or a loved one) are sitting in an emergency room with an oxygen mask strapped to your face and a crash cart nearby.
Until then, here's some "fake news" articles and videos you might find entertaining and informative:

Clean coal memes from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2015/jul/10/fossil-fuel-memes-coal-mining-environment-pollution 

What Trump's Tax on Solar Power Means:
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/trumps-tax-on-solar-power-heres-what-you-need-to-know-w515823 

White House to Ask for 72 Percent Cut in Renewable Energy Programs:
http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/48217-white-house-to-ask-for-72-percent-cut-in-renewable-energy-programs-report 

The entire coal industry employs fewer people than Arby's:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-coal-industry-workers-20170331-story.html 

US coal miners are offered free training to work in the wind turbine industry:
https://qz.com/990192/a-chinese-company-wants-to-retrain-wyoming-coal-miners-to-become-wind-farmers/

Coal burning is the most toxic pollution for your heart:
https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/12/02/coal-burning-is-most-toxic-pollution-for-your-heart

Black Lung Incurable and Fatal Stalks Coal Miners Anew:
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/24/opinion/sunday/black-lung-incurable-and-fatal-stalks-coal-miners-anew.html 

Nebraska GOP lawmakers trying to restrict wind power development by labeling it "not renewable."
https://www.nationofchange.org/2018/02/06/republicans-nebraska-trying-restrict-wind-power-development-labeling-not-renewable/

A review of Death in the Air: http://nstbookreviews.blogspot.com/2018/02/death-in-air.html

The Fossil Free Fast Livestream (event starts at approx. 58:39): https://youtu.be/YcbiXp_HGDk
These guys really know how to spin the story about clean coal... 
***
February is Black History Month and many organizations are hosting events to celebrate African-Americans' contributions throughout history--and today. Watch this panel discussion held at University Church in Toledo, Ohio. These ladies gave some great insights.
***
More "wars"  worth fighting for...

Fight for $15

Why do we deserve dignity?
It's simple.
I AM A MAN  
Make & share YOUR sign now.
We will carry your message to Memphis on Feb 12.
BIG news – on February 12, we're protesting across the country to call out the billionaires, corporations, and politicians working so hard to hold us back.

The day marks fifty years since black sanitation workers in Memphis kicked off a historic strike to demand higher pay and union rights.

Martin Luther King Jr. marched with them. Now, we carry on the same fight.



The sanitation workers and Dr. King demanded fair pay for hard work. They demanded union rights.

They said, simply: "I AM A MAN."


I AM A MAN


We say the same. We need fair pay of $15 an hour. We need strong union rights.

And we deserve this for no other reason than that we are men, we are women, we are people – we work, and sweat, and breathe just like the billionaires and corporate politicians who hold us back.


February 12 is just the beginning. This spring, we will join with tens of thousands in the Poor People's Campaign to launch six weeks of protests and direct action all across the nation.

Just like the sanitation workers in Memphis 50 years ago, we will make our voices heard.

Make and share your sign now – and we will let you know soon more ways you can join the fight.

Thanks,
Latierika Blair
McDonald's Worker
Memphis, TN
Fight for $15

 

***
From Care 2 Petitions:

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has a personal fortune of more than $105 billion and has been heralded as "the richest man in the world." 

Yet, his company's employees are struggling to pay for their most basic needs. Recent reports found that workers in Ohio have had been forced to resort to food stamps, formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) just to keep food on their tables. This isn't unique to Ohio. Underpaid employees can be found in Amazon facilities from coast to coast. That makes it even more appalling to learn that Amazon employees can't even use these benefits at the newly launched Amazon grocery store, Amazon Go. 

Take action today and sign the petition demanding that Amazon Go accept SNAP. 

Amazon (and its CEO in particular) has made billions off of the backs of their underpaid employees. The least they could do is allow them to shop in their stores. 
Sign the petition today and demand Amazon GO accept SNAP. 
Thank you,

Corey Hill
The Care2 Petitions Team


***
From Friends of the Earth:

Donald Trump and his administration could soon allow pipelines to cross our National Parks.

This is just one piece of Trump’s disastrous infrastructure plan. Last week, leaked documents showed that the plan will allow Trump and his corporate cronies to sidestep environmental protections, public health, and worker safety. Meanwhile, the fossil fuel industry could reap huge benefits.

This plan still has to go through Congress. So we need your help to push your Senators to stop it!


Trump wants to give Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke unilateral authority to allow pipelines to cross our parks. That’s the same Ryan Zinke who gutted Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. He’s all too eager to hand over our wild places to his buddies in the fossil fuel industry.

At the same time, Trump’s plan would allow many infrastructure projects to sidestep key analyses of their adverse health and environmental impacts. It would allow his administration to sell off public lands to oil and coal interests. And it would eliminate requirements that projects comply with the Clean Air Act.

The only winners in Trump’s infrastructure proposal are corporate polluters and special interests. So we need to send Congress a strong message that any infrastructure bill should prioritize people and the environment over corporate profits.


Trump’s vision for our environment is clear. He thinks our public lands are first and foremost meant to be exploited for the benefit of Big Oil and other extractive industries. And he thinks clean air and clean water can be sacrificed to increase those industries’ profits.


But the American people don’t want our environment handed over to polluters. Together, we can pressure Congress to stop these attacks on our wild places. Will you join us?


Standing with you,
Nicole Ghio,
Senior fossil fuels program manager,
Friends of the Earth 


***

We've come a long way since the Unity Reform Commission was unanimously adopted by 4,500 Democratic convention delegates in Philadelphia.

Recently, DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee took up the URC's final recommendations, and Chairman Tom Perez said publicly that he wants them passed in full. Our mandates are not aspirations. They have already been debated and negotiated. The DNC should adopt and implement these reforms.




Here are the major URC mandates:

  • Sixty percent reduction in unpledged delegates—from 715 to 300.
  • Reform caucuses to include same-day registration, same-day party switching, and voting by mail; push for state law reform for same-day registration, party switching and voting by mail in primary states.
  • Party financial transparency and eliminating conflicts of interests.
Most of these actions require state party reform, a critical step to opening the Democratic Party to the grassroots. Our reforms are meant to deconstruct those obstacles and promote grassroots participation in our democracy.



Our team spent nine months negotiation these reforms which required compromise from all sides. It wasn't always easy and, in the end, we may not have gotten everything we wanted. But we believe that these are important reforms that should be implemented to begin the long work to rebuild our party. It's time to implement these changes so that we can have real unity and reform.


In solidarity,

Larry Cohen
Lucy Flores
Gus Newport
Jane Kleeb
Nomiki Konst
Nina Turner
Jeff Weaver
Jim Zogby