Hillary Clinton's Burning Tire Problem

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday May 24, 2007 · 2:13 PM PDT

2007/05/24 · 14:13

The Politico ran my op-ed today, "Burning Tires and Liquid Coal: The Clinton-Obama Energy Plan" about how both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have, despite compiling generally pro-environment records, caved to polluters at key moments, "casting doubt on how much they will fight for the planet when special interests stand in the way."

Here are some key excerpts:

Clinton's moment of truth came in 2005, when executives at the International Paper mill in upstate Ticonderoga, N.Y., were pressing to cut costs by burning old tires to provide power for their operations. Tires are one of the most toxic fuels known to man, and people downwind from the plant (including Republican Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas) were organizing a campaign to stop IP from poisoning their air with mercury, benzene and other deadly chemicals.

DemocraticCourage

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday May 22, 2007 · 11:57 AM PDT

2007/05/22 · 11:57

By Glenn Hurowitz

It's almost six months since Democrats took Congress, and it's time to ask: are progressives getting ANYTHING from the Democrats?

It's pretty clear what we progressives want: an end to the Iraq war, a boost in the minimum wage, freedom to organize unions, and a living planet. To be sure, Democrats, especially in the House, have made some moves to deliver those items. They've passed some bills and resolutions - but here's the thing: almost none of them have become law.

DemocraticCourage

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday May 18, 2007 · 12:46 PM PDT

2007/05/18 · 12:46

By Glenn Hurowitz
Originally Published by TomPaine.com, May 18, 2007

In their rush to prove that they could pass significant legislation and conclude a deal with President Bush on trade, it seems that Democrats forgot to consider the crippling political consequences of their last bipartisan pursuit of a trade deal: the 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement.

DemocraticCourage

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday May 17, 2007 · 11:24 AM PDT

2007/05/17 · 11:24

By Glenn Hurowitz

Also posted on Democratic Courage blog.

Senate Democrats and Republicans have concluded an "immigration reform" deal that will be a disaster for the environment and workers. To placate extremist anti-immigrant activists, Democrats agreed to finance construction of 370 miles of fencing along the Mexican border (where Homeland Security Chief Chertoff has suspended all environmental protections). The concrete wall will cut off endangered wildlife like jaguars, Sonoran pronghorn antelope, and the ferruginous pygmy owl from their habitat and divide several wildlife refuges along the Rio Grande.

But the wall may be just one part of the environmental double whammy likely from any grand bargain on immigration. There's significant evidence that the influx of people from less developed countries like Mexico to developed countries like the United States is helping fuel the United States's rapid increase in global warming pollution

DemocraticCourage

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday May 16, 2007 · 9:52 AM PDT

2007/05/16 · 09:52

The New York Times's Jim Dwyer has a great (and tragicomic) story today about clothing giant Tommy Hilfiger cutting its janitors' wages from $19 an hour to $8 an hour - and firing its unionized cleaning contractor to replace it with a non-union one. All the while, Mr. Hilfiger himself is pulling down more than $14.5 million a year.

DemocraticCourage

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday May 14, 2007 · 7:01 AM PDT

2007/05/14 · 07:01

Top tier pundit Stuart Rothenberg ponders whether
or not John Edwards is running too far to the left to make him appealing
to mainstream Democrats and mainstream Americans in today's Roll Call.

I'll admit I'm scratching my head more often at Edwards'
seemingly insatiable desire to run to the left -- far to the left -- of
everyone in the Democratic race with the possible exception of Rep. Dennis
Kucinich (Ohio).

Increasingly, political observers are whispering that Edwards seems to be
running much as former Rep. Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.) Did in 2004, wooing
organized labor and recycling a class warfare message...While almost
everyone has nice things to say about the former Missouri lawmaker
personally, and Gephardt has his share of loyalists, he finished a
disappointing fourth in Iowa last time, something Edwards presumably hopes
to avoid.

DemocraticCourage

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday May 11, 2007 · 10:40 AM PDT

2007/05/11 · 10:40

Spanish-language television giant Univision has launched a wildly successful campaign urging its audience to become U.S. citizens - and it may pay huge dividends for Democrats. According to an articlein Thursday's Wall Street Journal, Univision's initial run of the campaign in Los Angeles caused citizenship applications to jump 123 percent in the first three months of the year compared to the first three months of last year (compared to a 59 percent increase in the rest of the United States). Now, Univision is sending its campaign national and similar results are expected nationwide - with major gains forecast for Democrats as a result.

DemocraticCourage

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday May 10, 2007 · 4:25 AM PDT

2007/05/10 · 04:25

Two species have gone extinct while waiting for protection under the Endangered Species Act from the Bush administration. The two are the Hawaiian haha plant and the summer run of the Lake Sammamish Kokonee salmon (click on links to see pics of the species).

Both went extinct because the Bush administration refused to act even after being urged to by scientists and citizens worried about their fates.

Bush has protected fewer species (57) under the Endangered Species Act than any other administration in history (Clinton protected 512 and the first Bush administration 234). Indeed, May 9 marks one year since they've protected any endangered species, the first time that's happened since the Interior Department was run by anti-environment extremist James Watt.

DemocraticCourage

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday May 09, 2007 · 7:29 PM PDT

2007/05/09 · 19:29

Headline of the Washington Hispanic newspaper on Queen Elizabeth's visit: "The Queen Honors the First Immigrants"

The Washington Hispanic otherwise ran a straightforward Spanish-language AFP article on the Queen's visit celebrating the 400th anniversary of English colonists founding Jamestown, but "Reina Honra Los Primeros Inmigrantes" has been the headline staring out at DC from the Washington Hispanic's ubiquitous boxes.

Obama's Auto Plan Neither New Nor Bold

DemocraticCourage

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday May 08, 2007 · 2:59 PM PDT

2007/05/08 · 14:59

Cross-posted at Democratic Courage blog.

Barack Obama got huge coverageyesterday for "standing up" to the auto industry by calling on them to accept tighter fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks - and doing it in their own backyard in Detroit. Although it’s encouraging anytime a candidate calls for increasing fuel economy, we have to ask: is Obama's proposal really anything to coo about?

DemocraticCourage

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday May 04, 2007 · 7:06 AM PDT

2007/05/04 · 07:06

Cross posted at Democratic Courage blog.

According to ex-liberal neo-con Bush administration buddy Christopher Hitchens, Karl Rove is an atheist. Here's an excerpt from his interview in this week's New York magazine with Boris Kachka:

Has anyone in the Bush administration confided in you about being an atheist?
Well, I don’t talk that much to them—maybe people think I do. I know something which is known to few but is not a secret. Karl Rove is not a believer, and he doesn’t shout it from the rooftops, but when asked, he answers quite honestly. I think the way he puts it is, "I’m not fortunate enough to be a person of faith."

RSS

Hillary Clinton's Burning Tire Problem

Are Progressives Getting ANYTHING from the Democrats?

Trade and Consequences: Dems Forget Political Impact of Nafta

Breaking: Immigration Deal Disaster for Environment, Labor

Tommy Hilfiger Slashes Janitor Wages, Ousts Union

Edwards Running Too Far Left?

Dems to Get Huge Boost from Univision Latino Citizenship Drive

Two Species Went Extinct Under Bush

Hilarious: A Latino Take on Queen Elizabeth's Visit

Obama's Auto Plan Neither New Nor Bold

Hitchens: Rove an Atheist