The only form of bigotry tolerated at Daily Kos

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Tuesday December 23, 2008 · 4:53 AM PST

2008/12/23 · 04:53

Those of us on this site who are part of and supporters of the gay and lesbian community have suffered a lot recently. First there was Proposition 8, which affects many directly but is also powerful symbolism, given that it passed in (supposedly) liberal California. Next there is the selection of Rick Warren to give the opening invocation at the inaugural -- an inaugural which many in that community had been looking forward to, but no more.

So the first thing I want to do in this diary is to express my solidarity with them. They have a right to be sad and angry. I hope things get better soon, starting with the court's striking down of what I believe to be an unconstitutional law.

But sometimes, expressions of grief and anger have been accompanied by expressions of bigotry against a large group of people, of which I am a member. I'd like to propose that we reject all bigotry, that directed against gays and lesbians, and that directed against religious believers of all stripes. More below the fold.

ravedave

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Wednesday December 10, 2008 · 5:28 AM PST

2008/12/10 · 05:28

Since Al Gore's ad on the topic came out recently, there has been a lively discussion regarding "clean coal," what that really means and whether it actually exists. Most people posting on this site have answered the latter negatively, although the opinions are certainly not uniform. I, for one, have been imploring many of you to distinguish between carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) and integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) in your arguments. I think IGCC is a promising technology that could help us bridge the gap between our current situation and a renewable energy economy. This diary is an explanation of my position, and I hope you will read it with an open mind.

Follow me below the jump for what I hope is an easy-to-follow technical explanation of the benefits of IGCC (for those of you not already familiar with it) and a brief discussion of the economics and politics.

ravedave

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Thursday November 06, 2008 · 2:31 PM PST

2008/11/06 · 14:31

After staying up until 5AM Central European Time to get word that Ohio had gone Obama (after which I could finally sleep) I had a rough -- but happy -- day yesterday. Lots of people came by my office -- not all Germans, but all foreigners -- just to congratulate me. Then later another one of the Americans brought in bottles of champagne, and my entire department was toasting the new president.

But through the elation, I had a feeling of resolve. Of renewed purpose. And I think I can articulate where this feeling comes from. We have work to do.

ravedave

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Thursday October 09, 2008 · 8:49 PM PDT

2008/10/09 · 20:49

I just watched this documentary on HBO. I am newly horrified.

I knew most of the details already, but the new information makes this execration even harder to bear. U.S. Army records show that, of the c. 100,000 people detained by the U.S. military since 2001, only 5% were directly apprehended, and only 8% have been accused of membership in Al Quaeda. The rest were handed over by local militias, usually in return for bounties.

So we always knew there were innocents in the mix, but now I learn that almost everyone in Guantanamo, Bagram and Abu Ghraib was innocent.

ravedave

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

Thursday October 02, 2008 · 5:15 AM PDT

2008/10/02 · 05:15

I am fairly new here (as an active member, anyway), but any of you who know me, your impression is probably that I'm some infuriating closet conservative, or at least an annoying DLC centrist, since all I've been doing comment-wise is generally arguing in favor of the bailout.

Despite appearances, though, I consider myself a solid progressive on war, energy and socio-economic issues, and my anger at the Bush administration probably equals most of yours' on any given day.

But I am afraid that we have to do this bailout. I wanted to write a diary summarizing my arguments, but when I woke up this morning, behold, Nicolas Kristof, my favorite reporter, had already done most of it for me. On the other side of the jump thingy is a summary and a link.

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The only form of bigotry tolerated at Daily Kos

Coal gasification: a technical explanation, and defense

now the work begins

Taxi to the Dark Side

Kristof's case for the bailout