The Senator visits Fairfield University, and embarrasses Connecticut again. WTF?$@!??
To separate religious faith from American public life is unnatural, U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, an Orthodox Jew, told a largely Roman Catholic student audience Friday at Fairfield University.
"Faith is part of our strength," he said. Lieberman also told students he is thrilled about having an audience with the pope and defended the continued American role in Iraq after nearly five years of bloodshed.
This Joe Lieberman?
THIS one??? The one who said of John Hagee, the man who believes Katrina was God's revenge?
Fortunately, you here tonight know that evil will not prevail if good people act. And I know you will not allow Iran and Al Qaeda to triumph over America and Israel.
What religion is he talking about?
The Honorary Co-Chair of the Committee on the Present Danger??
The hawkish "advocacy organization" first founded in 1950 and re-formed in 1976 to push for larger defense budgets and arms buildups?
Glenn Greenwald finds some snark in Joe's desire to ground Iran into the dust:
But we nonetheless must be very clear at all times that Sen. Lieberman's desire that the U.S. "recognize" that the war has already "expanded" to include Iran has nothing whatsoever to do with the strategy by right-wing Israelis to convince the U.S. that Iran poses a threat not only to Israel but to the U.S., so that the U.S. will act against Israel's most formidable and threatening enemy.
When asked about faith and the environment;
The senator described himself as active in environmental protection issues, pointing out that he co-sponsored a global warming bill before Congress.
"Environmental pollution is essentially a sin," he said.
But, the
Lieberman-Warner Coal-Subsidy Act
- Fails to meet scientific standards to give even a 50% chance of avoiding catastrophic climate change, calling for 65% reductions in emissions by 2050 when 80% is, truly, an absolute base level.
- Polluters only partially pay, as 40% of emission permits through 2032 are given away principally to serial polluters.
- A cap is in place in 2012, four years out (there are reasons), with nothing mandated in terms of actions to reduce emissions before then.
- The giving away of pollution permits will lead to windfall profits, profits that will come from the pockets of "average" Americans. This will hurt, not help, social equity.
- Economic impact, at best, uneven in terms of the overall economy. Does not give enough focus to "green" technologies, with a strong emphasis on technologies to keep the coal industry afloat (especially development resources of $100s billions for Carbon Capture & Sequestration). Thus, not providing for new industry leadership by the US.
Senator Chris Dodd sees reality -
"I’d love to see a democratic Middle East," he said. "But you’ve got to be a coherent society before you can be a democracy." In the absence of weapons of mass destruction, "If you came to the country and said, ‘This guy’s a bad guy, we want to invade his country,’ I could not justify the loss of three thousand Americans for this, as much as I disliked Saddam."
Really, Joe - even the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish self-defense agency, has begged you to keep the religious card out of political discourse.
"To even suggest that one cannot be a moral person without being a religious person is an affront to many highly ethical citizens.... [N]one of our citizens, including atheistic Americans, should be made to feel outside of the electoral or political process." The letter concluded by urging the senator to "keep in mind that public profession of religious beliefs should not be an elemental part of this or any other political campaign."
To show some support for the Connecticut residents who stand against the Senator's histrionics, please check out the new Connecticut for Lieberman Party website.