KKKarma

Email from Greenpeace: Bush Announces Weak Global Warming Cuts

	Dear Greenpeace Activist,	April 16, 2008
	It took George Bush eight years to finally admit that global warming is affecting the planet in ways that are so profound they can be seen from outer space. Today, the soon-to-be-ex-President spoke in the White House Rose Garden and finally called for reductions in global warming pollution. But instead of proposing decisive action and reversing a two-term legacy of obstructing any meaningful progress on global warming, Bush has once again offered more "voluntary" proposals rather than hard science-based targets to reduce this country's global warming pollution. We know the President won't lead us to a solution on global warming, so it's up to Congress to step up. That's why as I write, Greenpeace is training me and 11 of my colleagues to be the next wave of Project Hot Seat field organizers. Project Hot Seat is Greenpeace's campaign to make global warming leaders in Congress. I'm inviting you to be part of this movement from the very beginning. Starting in May, we'll put our lives on hold to move to communities across the country to push candidates for Congress to do what's right--save the planet by stopping global warming! We're joining a team that's already working from coast to coast to make sure that the candidates listen to the voters and are committed to solving global warming. Will you contribute today so that we can hire more dedicated organizers like me to step up the campaign to stop global warming? Here's what I'm doing. In just two weeks, I'll move to my new home in Pennsylvania and begin to talk to my new community about global warming and what it means for them. After all, global warming isn't just about melting glaciers. It's about all of us. Communities across the country are dealing with record drought, wildfires, and floods. But while people are doing their best to make difference--changing light bulbs, carpooling, and buying energy efficient appliances--the President is making speeches and Congress is doing next to nothing. After I hit the ground, I'll recruit volunteers to talk to their neighbors, who will then talk to their neighbors, until we have a local movement big enough that our candidates for Congress have to listen. Greenpeace will keep you updated on our progress, but right now we can use your help so we can get even bigger. Will you help us win? For the Planet, Jillian Costigan Project Hot Seat Field Organizer P.S. You'll be hearing a lot more about this Project Hot Seat in the coming months, so stay tuned! This is just the beginning of the fight to stop global warming, and I hope you'll be an important part of it.

Commit to action on Earth Day

An email recivied from Bill Clinton foundation:

Dear Hernan,

April 22nd will mark the 38th Anniversary of Earth Day. Here at MyCommitment.org, a project of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), we are excited about how so many of us are committing to change, conserving resources, and protecting the environment.

As you may know, President Clinton launched MyCommitment.org last fall to give everyone an opportunity to make a commitment to improve the world. More than 1,300 commitments have already been made by people taking on a variety of challenges both in their communities and around the globe.

As the director of MyCommitment.org, I invite you to make a commitment today to conserve energy and protect our planet by taking these simple actions:

	Leave your car at home and reduce your automobile mileage by biking, sharing a ride, or taking public transportation regularly.
	Spring into green cleaning by using non-toxic household cleaning products with more natural ingredients and fewer toxic chemicals.
	Bring your own bags to the grocery store — it can take more than 1,000 years for a disposable bag to break down in a landfill.
	Support local farmers by buying locally grown food.
	Exchange your light bulbs for Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs in your home and work.
	Attend an Earth Day event in your local community.

Please record your commitment and your story at MyCommitment.org to inspire others to take action. On Earth Day, we will be profiling highlights from the commitments made during the week and will be sharing them with you.

President Clinton started the Clinton Global Initiative to tackle challenges such as climate change, and now his Clinton Climate Initiative is taking a large-scale approach to cutting carbon emissions in cities worldwide. Today President Clinton is asking you to join our fight and help your community. Please make a commitment here for Earth Day.

Best wishes,

Tracey Themne
Director
MyCommitment.org

P.S. We welcome you to share MyCommitment.org with your friends — for actions taken on Earth Day and beyond.

Porky Promises

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has repeatedly made a major campaign promise to veto any bill that comes to his desk as president if it contains earmarks. "I'll veto every bill that has a pork-barrel project on it," he has said. "I am a deficit hawk," he proclaimed this week, attempting to explain how he would pay for his economic plan that includes massive corporate tax cuts. McCain has failed to note, however, that earmarks have paid for projects that he supports, such as U.S. aid to Israel. Confronted with this reality this week, McCain's campaign quickly granted an exception for Israel. McCain "will ensure America remains committed to the security of Israel, including maintaining America's assistance levels," a spokesperson said. In detailed analyses, Center for American Progress Senior Fellow Scott Lilly observes that McCain's ill-conceived earmark-cutting proposal reflects his greater concern with scoring political points than with a substantive examination of the federal budget. The issue isn't the specific earmarks, Lilly argues. Rather, "it's about whether the debate over the future of this country should be based on fluff or substance."

FOREIGN AID? JUST PORK: McCain has long labeled himself as "a very strong proponent to the State of Israel." "If we fail in Israel, where will we succeed?" he asked in July 2007. It is surprising then that McCain was unaware that his earmark plan would obliterate U.S. funding assistance for Israel. McCain's chief economic adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin has said that McCain embraces the Congressional Research Service's (CRS) definition of the term "earmarks." But under that definition, U.S. aid to Israel is considered an earmark. "[C]ongressional directives specifying spending amounts that are the same as shown in the Administration's illustrative listing for country distributions also are regarded as earmarks. Annual earmarks for economic and military aid to Israel totaling $3 billion is an example of such directives," CRS explains. CRS also counts "nearly three-quarters of the entire Foreign Operations Appropriations bill as an earmark," Lilly writes, including "more than $1.8 billion in annual funding for Egypt, nearly half a billion dollars for Jordan, and tens of millions from countries such as Haiti, Kosovo, and the Philippines. ... All tolled, $14.4 billion, or two thirds of all foreign assistance, would be eliminated if McCain stuck with this proposal."

SHUTTING THE DOOR ON MILITARY HOUSING: U.S. assistance to Israel is not the only casualty in McCain's anti-earmark pledge. CRS's earmark definition also includes funding for military family housing. The Pentagon has said the proportion of recruits who remain in service is 15 percent higher at bases with high-quality housing. As Lilly notes, Congress has renovated or replaced worn military housing mostly "by using earmarks." CRS "counts not only the [military] family housing units added by Congress as earmarks but also those requested by the Pentagon and the White House." What's more, tens of millions in military housing are directed to McCain's home state of Arizona. Will McCain now grant another exception for much-needed military housing, further eroding his promise to veto "every bill that has a pork barrel project?" Or will he deride it as "outrageous" Washington spending?

THE FUZZY MATH: McCain's earmark numbers simply do not add up, leaving two-thirds of his tax proposal unfunded. His estimates of the costs of earmarks are based on CRS's 2005 analysis of the budget, a year in which earmarking reached a high point. But since then, earmarking has declined 23 percent below 2005 levels, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS). While McCain claims $65 billion in earmarks is "already on the books," CRS's definition adds up to $52 billion. TCS came up with only $18.3 billion; the Office of Management and Budget, only $16.9 billion. Ultimately, McCain's budget could not offset the $300 billion a year tax cuts he is also proposing. "Until he has produced a complete and plausible set of spending reductions to cover the cost of his tax proposals, he should withdraw them, or at least concede that they will be paid for by yet more borrowing and a deeper sea of red ink," Lilly charged. When confronted this week with the skepticism of experts about his budget plan, McCain retorted, "I disagree. I disagree with the experts. I disagree. I disagree. I disagree with the experts. I have experts of my own."

Police hits a woman

Era of blogger’s control is over. (Is it over?)

I read this article and I wanted to share with you:

Louis Gray, who is now my favorite blogger who covers what’s happening in the social media space, writes a blog post about how bloggers are getting worried about the fracturing of their comments. It is currently on the top of TechMeme, and since today’s Saturday, that must mean it’s the bitchmeme of the week.

Anyway, I am seeing this trend big time. Over on FriendFeed I’m seeing better comments than I see on most blogs (and more quantity too).

The era when bloggers could control where the discussion of their stuff took place is totally over.

This is a trend that the best bloggers should embrace. Me? I follow wherever the conversation takes me.

As someone else wrote: steal my content please.

As a counterpoint, Tony Hung tells us all to NOT steal his content. Me? I’ve found that by being open with my content a lot of good has come back to me, so I’m with Louis on this one.

Bloggers, pick your sides! Who you with? Louis? Or Tony?