Green Concrete

For years I have been skeptical of the whole idea of "clean coal." Capturing the carbon from coal-fired plants and sequestrating it in the ground or in the ocean seemed expensive and foolhardy. But now I am a believer. I just read about a process for sequestrating the CO2 in the most unbelievable place: concrete!

Team America, &#$% Yeah!

It astounds me that people actually think America is the world’s police force and by extension Obama it’s President. But that is exactly how many people continue to see America’s relationship with other countries. And it is this belief that has lead to our disastrous foreign policy and diminished reputation around the globe.

Mark Sanford's Worst Infidelity

As newsworthy as being a social conservative who doesn't act with the courage of his convictions is, the matter of what made and still makes Governor Sanford's behavior problematic, is not the breach of his marital promises to his wife, but the breach of his responsibilities to his constituents.

Run for the Hills, It's the Moderates!

The way insurance companies, Republicans, and others would have it, a public option is a radical plan, which will destroy the superior private options. But with three quarters of the American public on the side of a public option, we have to ask ourselves whether its the destruction of a superior option, which is what those people are afraid of.

Tehran Tea Parties

Likening the recent protests in Iran to the “tea parties” in America is just more dangerous rhetoric by desperate Republicans. The protests in Iran are the manifestations of a fed-up, highly democratic people coming face to face with the abortion of their democratic process. Deep-seeded political tensions between progressives and conservatives in Iran have no political parallel to anything going on in America.

The myth of America’s private health care system

All this blather about the evils of socialized medicine and a government controlled health care system illustrates the utter ignorance of the facts surrounding this issue. If you listen to the goofballs spouting this nonsense; it’s as if there isn’t a problem with our health care system at all.

Dished Out, But Not Taken.

The Republicans are all too happy nowadays to exercise procedural powers in order to get in the way of the Democrat's legislation. Their latest stunt demonstrates how far this has gone. Votes on votes on votes, gumming up the works even on items where there is unanimous consent. Or in the senate, where a majority exists to pass a bill, not sixty votes, but it has become practice. The Republicans state they are merely giving tit for tat, but are they really?

Obama’s Same-Sex Dilemma

President Obama has dipped his toes into murky water regarding same-sex marriage. He made it clear during his campaign that he did not support same-sex marriage but was not opposed to same-sex unions as a way to ensure economic security and other marital benefits for same-sex couples. Just don’t call that union marriage. It’s absurd to think that someone can be for same-sex couples receiving the benefits of marriage but oppose calling them married. Semantics, I suppose.

Iranians Are People Too

President Obama has an unprecedented opportunity in making headway with the Middle East. Due to the uproar in Iran over the possible fixing of their presidential election Americans are know seeing the Iranian people in a totally different light than has been cast over them the past eight years.

No Public Option, No Reform

Health insurance companies, conservatives, Republicans and some Democrats - they are all for health insurance reform, but are violently against the public option. This is an incoherent approach. Without a public option the system we have now will remain pretty much as is There will be no healthcare reform.

Rush Limbaugh: Failure At Any Cost

Pessimism from the right about any government intervention into the economy is just to be expected these days. Rush Limbaugh is not satisfied with pessimism, he's expecting his listeners to join with him in politically motivated economic sabotage.

Why Do You Care?

In this Land of the Free, we have abolished both institutionalized racism and institutionalized religious discrimination, two of the most insidious evils mankind has ever conceived of. Between them they have been responsible for millions of deaths in the last hundred years alone. So why have we renounced them as a society? Because they are wrong, and because doing so has made us a better country.

My question, to anyone who opposes basic human rights for gay people, is therefore: why?

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Pro-Life Killers

I am pro-life and I'll kill anyone who disagrees with me.

This seems to be the philosophy of many religious-right people. Some are so self-righteous they go out and do the killing. Their less self-righteous leaders egg them on by spewing venom, hatred and curses.

Sotomayor: She's no Harriet Miers but...

Orrin Hatch: shut up. As one of the most vocal supporters for Harriet Miers', one of the most laughable appointments to the supreme court, you have no credibility in the discussion for the appointment of Sonia Sotomayor.

Why Are Homosexuals Safer In China Than The US?

Many have said that the 2008 Olympics in Beijing were China’s coming out party to the world, but did you know about China’s real coming out party? In Shanghai this past June there was a successful gay pride parade carried out by the local LBGT (Lesbian Bisexual Gay Transgender) community. Although many out there can argue whether or not the existence of a LBGT community in China is advancement, no one can argue with the fact that a community such as this receiving greater freedom and tolerance is a sign of the Chinese government loosening control over individual rights. On closer examination we even find that the Chinese people actually have a different reaction to homosexuality than American people do. They are less violent by far. Why?

House Passes Energy Climate Bill

The House narrowly passed what has long been considered to be an impossible bill to push through during a recession. It was bi-partisan in its passage, as 8 Republicans voted for it, and 44 Democrats voted against it. However, this sweeping energy innovation and climate protection bill, faces a short life as it heads to the Senate later this year.

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Health Care, Profit vs. Non-Profit

The lines are drawn in all manner of peculiar and gerrymandered shapes around the issue of health care. Seems nearly everyone talking about it is attempting to obfuscate the core issue at hand: For Profit vs. Not-For-Profit health care insurance in America. Incumbents are getting loads of promises, threats, and campaign money for their war chests on this issue.

Red Provinces vs. Blue Provinces in Iran.

We all hope that the people of Iran can rise up long enough to get a positive reaction from the government or even to follow through with another revolutionary sweep to power by a new generation, but a question persists. Are there really enough wealthy and middle class progressive Iranians to hold onto power in Iran?

Breaking up is hard to do. Or is it?

One of the few things about which many liberals and conservatives are in concordance is that Washington is a grunting, stinking, rampaging pig that’s devouring states’ rights with untamed abandon.

Iran has America's Voting Problem

Iran appears to have an American voting problem. They can't seem to use their vote to remove politicians from office. Regardless of how the people vote, the incumbent wins. That is the claim of many in Iran.

Wise Voting?

In a democracy, is there such a thing as wise voting? And if there were, wouldn't a majority of voters vote accordingly?

The answers are, Yes and No, respectively. Here's why.

American Education Conflict

What an incredibly controversial topic education is in America. Any attempt to discuss education in a public forum usually devolves into debate and heated contention. The reason is that a great many Americans don't trust others to educate their children, and many a school personnel are witness to some horrible parenting at home.

Kicking the Dog

We have all witnessed someone getting angry at someone else they can't strike out at, and going home and kicking the dog, instead. Poor dog. Nancy Pelosi has become the Republican's dog they love to kick because they can't seem to land a blow on Obama. She is a liberal and a female with power in a traditional man's role, and for many Republicans, that makes her the 'bitch' they love to kick if they can't undo Obama.

Want to be Heard? Join a Group.

When you are one of more than 300 million people clamoring for a voice in government and the direction of your society, you have to feel you have no voice. But that feeling stems from a lack of awareness or acceptance of the concept of big country democracy. In a large population, democracy moves on the choral voice of groups. If you want your voice heard, you must become a joiner, or become enormously wealthy. Groups and money are heard in a large democracy: usually, only groups and money. What groups have you joined or supported with dollars?

Credit Cards: No relief for the abused.

If you have been abused by your credit card companies, don't look to the government for redress of abuses. The legislation which has passed both houses of Congress and making its way to Pres. Obama for signing, offers nothing to those consumers who have already been raped by their credit card banks and companies. The bill offers prophylactic measures only, going forward. Nothing retroactive for the millions hit by usurious rates and fees.

Looking at the Numbers

While there has been a lot of talk recently about fiscal policy, the death of capitalism, deficit spending vs bailouts, and more, the problem is that many people really haven't done the research into where the problems lie and what our current actions or inactions will do, relying instead upon partisan hackery to guide us. But there is someone who has, someone who has been around a long time who almost never gives interviews. Until recently..

Constitutional Rubbish

Americans need a civics lesson. And so do politicians. Of all the wrong and delusional thinking about the US Constitution the one that is most thoroughly incorrect and routinely used for political propaganda purposes is that there are three coequal branches of the federal government.

The dangers of "Disorderly Pig Rearing"

No person can contract the H1N1 virus (nee Swine Flu) directly from a pig…not even a politician. Yet, the government of Egypt recently sent 400,000 piggly-wigglies to that Big Sty in the Sky.

Obama Agenda: Failure to finish

The only failure in anything that is attempted is the failure to finish what you start. For Obama to gain credit, at this moment, he will have to make the economy his priority. If he cannot get the economy back on it’s feet, get people back to work, and turn a backward spiral around, he will not be able to make any other project a success, or gain support for it. Health Care Reform, for millions of people out of work, is like tossing daisies at a coffin; it’s a nice sentiment, but it serves no purpose.

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Destroying America

Literally. The Obama administration wants to bulldoze entire swaths of American cities in order to re-engineer them. The next logical step is forced re-locations.

Dozens of US cities may have entire neighbourhoods bulldozed as part of drastic "shrink to survive" proposals being considered by the Obama administration to tackle economic decline. ~telegraph.co.uk

Obama’s Decision: Right or wrong

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sided with Ahmadenajad and declared the election of last Friday a “definite victory.” He further stated, “If the difference is 100,000 or 200,000 or 1 million, one may say fraud could happen. But how can one rig 11 million votes?” Eleven millions votes might be hard to rig in a country where web sites were not shut down, where people could use their cell phones with ease, or where foreign press was allowed to observe the countries reaction to the election, but all of these, according to widespread reports through the American media, have been taken away from the Iranian people. These are excerpts from Newsmax.com, but multiple media outlets have reported the same information.

History Doesn’t Repeat, but it May Rhyme

I love my American heritage of freedom and I believe, maybe naively, that liberty is the natural state of humankind, even if most humans still do not enjoy it and we face real world constraints on our actions worldwide.

In the 1980s, the communist empires were cracking. President Reagan needed to negotiate with the regimes withholding freedom from the people of Eastern Europe, but he also never forgot whose side we were on. We negotiated with the rulers, but stood with the people. Many people in the U.S. questioned this stand. They said it was empty rhetoric at best, or maybe even dangerous.

Voter Fraud: Widespread in 2009 elections

Time magazine reported the reasons that might make the Iranian elections of this past weekend seem suspicious. Among them were unusual amounts of voter turn out, voters being barred from voting stations, support across the country seemed strangely consistent given the differences in elections of the past. Any of this starting to sound familiar to those who voted this past November in American voting stations?

Three letter word

What's a three letter word meaning, "Created or saved?" Why, *J - O - B - S*, of course. Quite simply, the dishonesty and doubletalk from Obama and his administration are epidemic and incurable. Obama is a compulsive liar. Everything he says is a lie, a purposeful deception, meant to disguise a radical leftist agenda to 'transform' America.

Health Care: Crisis unhealthy for Americans

In order to avoid more job losses, the senate was instructed at the urging of Obama to pass a $787 billion stimulus package. The threat that loomed was answered with money that has not been dispersed, as yet, and probably will not make it’s way into the economy until the race for senate seats heats up in the fall. The unemployment rate has topped 9 percent and continues to rise, and the president seemingly ignores this statistic while he makes his grand push to put the American taxpayer into further debt with a package for health care that no one has been able to appropriately calculate the cost of, or find ways to help curve the cost if or when it is implemented.

Obama in Cairo: Dictating Policy or Furthering Political Agendas

The distrust of the Palestinian nation has its most recent origins in a terrorist organization known as the Black September Movement. Their claims to fame, vengeance, what have you, were the murder of the Prime Minister of Jordan, and 11 Israeli athletes during the 1972 Olympic games in Munich. The push by the Obama administration for peace is a misguided one, at best, and disregards many factors that have and probably will exist for many centuries to come between the Israeli and Palestinian people. This is not a small conflict between two countries that developed overnight or within the time frame of the Obama administration; this war has existed for many decades and throughout several U S presidential administrations.

Economic decisions

Il Duce would be proud. The government, that is, Our Great Leader, has decreed that the car market will change and it shall be so.

Obama's new rules will transform US auto fleet
DETROIT (AP) - Some soccer moms will have to give up hulking SUVs. Carpenters will still haul materials around in pickup trucks, but they will cost more. Nearly everybody else will drive smaller cars, and more of them will run on electricity. ~news.moneycentral.msn.com

Petty dictators

Power corrupts. Even the power of citizen democracy corrupts: Home Owners Association demands ex-marine scrape semper-fi sticker off his car or else...

NK has nukes. So what?

So what if North Korea has nukes? (We're safe, we have Obama.) Even so, folks at the UN are acting as if this were an unwelcome surprise. A commie-cult controlled nation has nuclear weapons-- What's the worst that could happen? And what, if anything, is anyone going to do about it?

Socialism is slavery

What's key to understanding Obama's presidiency? He ran as a centrist, promising to unite America with promises like cutting taxes for 95% of Americans. (What do you call a 'tax cut' when you don't pay any taxes?) Once elected, The-One Party government has proposed zero tax cuts and quite a few tax increases and proceeded to balloon the deficit beyond any previous government.

Tortured Denials

First of all the term torture is used by liberals entirely too liberally. Loud music, sleep deprivation, and even waterboarding are not torture in the classic and visceral sense the word is meant to convey. But Pelosi and the democrats, in their utter dishonesty, have painted themselves into a wonderfully torturous corner.

A Middle Road for Health Care Reform

Medicare is on track to be broke by 2016. To skirt this progress, the President wants to institute vast reforms with front loaded costs in the billions or trillions (depending who you talk to), and to commit the government even deeper to entitlements to conjure universal health care. Republicans offer nothing but an ideological call for a free market health care system… We’re in trouble. But former HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt offers a middle road that makes a lot of sense.