Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.  -Benjamin Franklin

    Sometimes it takes courage and moral conviction to do the right thing, even when it may be politically unpopular.  Russ Feingold understood this when he voted against the USA Patriot Act, the lone senator to do so at the time it was passed.  The flaws in that legislation were later recognized, and public opinion vindicated his lonely stance in defense of the United States Constitution.

Happy Earth Day!

         I thought it would be appropriate to continue my series of environmental diaries today by posting an essay I wrote about boreal forests in Quebec.

         As is the case with former diaries like A primer on electronic waste in China and Rain forest destruction and oil palm plantations: What you should know, this essay was written for a course that was part of the geography degree I am now completing.

       If you are looking for a non-candidate diary, this is for you.

       I am finishing up my degree in Geography this semester and have decided to share some of the research I have done over the past few years.  Today I will address the topic of rain forest destruction and the boom in oil palm production in Southeast Asia, a process that has serious ramifications for biodiversity, climate change, and the food shortages currently taking place in the developing world.

Hey all,

Well, it's Friday night and I thought I'd inject a little humor into the dialogue.  I encourage you to share your own limericks in the comments section. Here is one to get us started:

I truly enjoy DailyKos
Where Democrats come gather the most
Keep your eyes on the ball and your head standing tall
We all think that John McCain sucks.

OK.  False start.  More below the fold.

What follows is old school.

It is a paper I wrote this past semester about electronic waste in China, exploring an important environmental issue that most people never think about because it is so far removed from their daily experience.

I say "old school" because everything that follows is referenced in academic journals that aren't distributed on the web unless you pay for them.

It is followed by policy recommendations that you can disseminate freely as you like.  All of the writing that follows is my own, and you can distribute it as you wish, provided that you credit my sources as referenced.

Join me below the fold for a discussion about e-waste.

Here are the results from Hawaii, via hawaiidemocrats.org:

***
With 100% of all precincts reporting:

Congressional District One: total votes: 15,550

Barack Obama   11,536   74.19%
Hillary Clinton      3,925   25.24%

Congressional District Two: total votes: 21,876

Barack Obama    16,811   76.85%
Hillary Clinton       4,910   22.44%

***

Make the flip.