From The Planet

News and comment from 8/14/06


Nation Page

Gas Pump Politics- With the country‘s gas prices averaging $3 a gallon, congressional and gubernatorial candidates nationwide are trying to turn pain at the pump into smart politics. …Democrats try to pin the blame on Republicans who control the White House and Congress. Republicans counter that Democrats oppose increased oil exploration and don‘t have a good plan to rein in gas prices.
In Maryland, GOP Senate candidate Michael Steele held a news conference at a filling station in Annapolis to urge Bush and Congress to suspend the federal gasoline tax for four months. ….Only a quarter of Americans approve of the way Bush is handling gasoline prices, according the AP-Ipsos poll.
"If they (prices) go down, maybe they go down to $2.80," said Richard Curtain, director of consumer surveys at the University of Michigan. "Is that enough to change consumers‘ views? I don‘t think so."
Things need to happen here and fast. I have been pushing alternative energy for sometime now. The people in charge are obviously beholden to the oil industry. We need a Manhattan style project to get this done. Believe me the naysayer’s are going to regret it. I have seen people from both parties, thankfully, note how we ignore this at our peril, how our money from oil supports terror and how far we are behind other countries in doing this. It is a waste of time or money to drill. Forget about oil completely. That is the only way to move America in the right direction. Candidates that are willing to point this stuff out to people and vow to get’er done will get serious consideration for my vote.

Recent Polling- Many adults in the United States believe their country will be unable to prevent sectarian violence in Iraq, according to a poll by Opinion Dynamics released by Fox News. 67 per cent of respondents think the U.S. will not stop the situation from becoming a civil war.
That’s ok, the neocons are ready to move on to war with somebody else now. We’ll just borrow and spend another 350 billion from China.

Adults in the United States would vote differently in a rerun of the last two presidential elections, according to a poll by Scripps Howard News Service released by Ohio University. 46 per cent of respondents would support Democrat John Kerry in a repeat of the 2004 ballot, while 40 per cent would vote for Republican George W. Bush.
No they wouldn’t. The right would say boo! Be scared, gay marriage, librls bad, Bushco good and all progress in educating the American public would be lost.

But the scare was fun while it lasted wasn’t it? -CARO, Mich. — The FBI said Monday it had no information to indicate that the three Texas men arrested with about 1,000 cell phones in their van had any direct connection to known terrorist groups.
Also, a prosecutor in a separate Ohio case said he can't prove a terrorism link between two men arrested after buying large numbers of cell phones and won't proceed for now with terrorism charges against them.
The idea that the rightwingosphere considered this as a terrorist threat first instead of waaay down the list is proof that they are in the business of fear mongering and finding anything any Arab American does as suspicious.

Oops, We harm our own-More evidence that war is hell

Proof, the inmates are running the asylum- In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, the intelligence official who crafted President George W. Bush's domestic spying program also said international phone calls targeted by warrantless surveillance are the most valuable to protecting national security.
"Why should our laws make it more difficult to target al Qaeda communications that are most important to us -- those entering or leaving this country," said Hayden, an Air Force general who set up the administration's eavesdropping program in 2001 as director of the National Security Agency.
MMMMMM, maybe because this is suppose to be AMERICA! Maybe because it is unconstitutional? There are rules for a reason and if I have to point out the reason these laws are in place you have already lost your country. Anything and everything would be easier with no rules. It would be easier if I could steal my food from the store with no consequences rather than buy it. An ability to look at the big picture tells us why this is not allowed. Some people are incapable of that basic skill though.


World Page

Ceasefire holds(maybe)- Hezbollah fighters hugged each other and celebratory gunfire erupted in Beirut when the Islamic militant group's leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah claimed a "strategic, historic victory."
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also claimed success, saying the offensive eliminated the "state within a state" run by Hezbollah group and restored Lebanon's sovereignty in the south.
Ya, Ya, you’re both big “winners”…sure.

Fear mongers reap the harvest

Australia proves they care about foreign oil dependence-Car-loving Australians on Monday were offered cash rebates to convert their vehicles to run on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) rather than petrol in a government move to reduce the country's dependence on Middle East oil.Australia's 20.6 million people own about 10.7 million passenger cars. The country produces 4,600 megalitres (1,200 million U.S. gallons) of LPG a year and exports about 2,800 million litres a year. Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane said 25,000 to 30,000 cars currently used LPG, but about 3 million more could easily be converted. "Australia is exporting LPG. We have ample supplies of it. What we wanted to
do is increase consumption of LPG and increase Australia's self-sufficiency," he told Australian television. Spokesman Alan Evans said motorists who drive 15,000 km (9,300 miles) to 20,000 km a year would save A$30 to A$40 a week on their fuel bill. But he said Australia had shortages of people qualified to install LPG units in cars.
"This is something you cannot have your backyard mechanic do," he told reporters.
Howard said the government would also do more to encourage ethanol blends in fuel, with payments of up to A$20,000 to petrol retailers to help them install new pumps capable of selling ethanol blends.
When do our nonleaders step up to the plate?

Rumsfeld wants out of Iraq.-A report buried deeply in an April edition of the New Yorker--which claims it is an "open secret" in Washington that Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld wants to exit Iraq--is being featured today as front page news in the Middle East Times.
I would hope he would find more productive roles for our military but…



Goofball Page

Not a lasting piece..peace-Kate Hudson and Chris Robinson are splitting up after nearly six years of marriage, said her publicist, Brad Cafarelli. Hudson, 27, is the daughter of Goldie Hawn. She was nominated for a supporting actress Oscar for her role as rock groupie Penny Lane in 2000's "Almost Famous." Robinson, 39, is the lead singer of The Black Crowes.

I guess it is more important to their lives- Three quarters of Americans can correctly identify two of Show White's seven dwarfs while only a quarter can name two Supreme Court Justices, according to a poll on pop culture released on Monday. Twice as many people (23 percent) were able to identify the most recent winner of the television talent show "American Idol," Taylor Hicks, as were able to name the Supreme Court Justice confirmed in January 2006, Samuel Alito (11 percent).

Sports Page

Seauless NFL-Junior Seau retired from the NFL on Monday after 13 seasons as the live-wire leader of his hometown San Diego Chargers and three less-productive years with the Miami Dolphins.

Jets Sugg-The New York Jets, preparing for the possibility of life without Curtis Martin, acquired running back Lee Suggs from the Cleveland Browns on Monday for defensive back Derrick Strait. The 33-year-old Martin, the NFL's fourth leading career rusher is on the physically-unable-to-perform list because of a lingering knee injury. Suggs hasn't been able to stay on the field for the Browns. At various times, Suggs has been sidelined by injuries to a shoulder, neck, toe, ankle and thumb. Ok ,get a prone to injuries guy to replace an injured guy. That’s my Jets!