There can be only eight!

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Wednesday July 27, 2005 · 8:16 PM PDT

2005/07/27 · 20:16

LoganFerree at FreedomDemocrats recently pondered this question, proposed as a hypothetical confirmation question for John Roberts:

You're on a lifeboat, but it can only hold 8 of the original 10 amendments without sinking, killing your whole family. Which ones go?

He suggests the 3rd as a fairly obvious first choice, and I tend to agree. It's a bit tougher to choose from the remaining nine. More below... Read More

Degrees of Insanity: Global Warming vs. US Energy Production

ColoRambler

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Monday July 11, 2005 · 11:37 AM PDT

2005/07/11 · 11:37

Every so often, people argue that global warming and other possible climate change can't be a big deal because it's "only 1 degree" or so, every few decades. After all, if you step outside and it's 1 degree warmer than yesterday, you can hardly feel it. And two nearby cities -- even two different neighborhoods in the same city -- can easily have average temperatures differing by just 1 degree. So obviously "only 1 degree" is pretty trivial, right?

Au contraire. One degree is a lot, especially under the right circumstances. How much is "a lot"? More below. Read More

The High Cost of Poverty: What Happens When Your Bank is Worse than a Pawn Shop?

ColoRambler

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Wednesday June 29, 2005 · 11:52 AM PDT

2005/06/29 · 11:52

(crossposted to Booman Tribune)

A few years ago, my wife and I got a nice big aquarium and filled it with fish. Not long ago -- probably because of a new PetSmart in the big-box zone -- the local fish store we visited went under. Last week I looked at the small building it used to occupy, and found it occupied by a payday loan service.

Shortly thereafter, I noticed yet another payday loan shop -- proudly announcing its grand opening -- along a generally nice, tree-lined section of Main Street near our library, police station, and main post office.

What are these businesses? The latest in a long line of businesses that make the cost of poverty outrageous. And to make things worse, some businesses in that line used to be more reputable -- like your neighborhood's banks. More below. Read More

My, it's getting hot in here (Bush, G8, and climate changes)

ColoRambler

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Thursday June 23, 2005 · 9:11 AM PDT

2005/06/23 · 09:11

Today, Bush announced that he is not going along with the rest of the G8 countries in fighting global warming:

"There is no indication that the Bush administration is willing to move in any significant way," he said of the Scotland summit, where climate change and aid to Africa are top themes.

In this article, three major themes appear:

We're doing a lot already!
The science isn't clear!
The costs are too high!

Three sales pitches, each one fatally flawed. More below... Read More

What Bush Could Learn From Loving an 8-Year Old

ColoRambler

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Tuesday May 31, 2005 · 2:52 PM PDT

2005/05/31 · 14:52

Recently, Bush has pulled a Cheney and bashed Amnesty International for saying less than glowing things about the U.S. He makes the usual complaints. For example:

...the allegations were made by prisoners "who hate America."

and

"It's an absurd allegation. The United States is a country that promotes freedom around the world."

Bush isn't listening to the substance of the Amnesty report, just to the idea that the United States isn't perfect, and some people in it have done horrible things. I'd like you to meet someone who also isn't perfect, and who could teach our President a few things as well: Read More

Enough, already!

ColoRambler

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Tuesday May 17, 2005 · 3:57 PM PDT

2005/05/17 · 15:57

(crossposted from Booman Tribune)

There was a recent diary at Booman Tribune that referred to the Republicans as the "Me" Party. Back in 2004, people observed that the wealthier you were, the more likely you were to vote for Bush. Even so, there are quite a few Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters who have high incomes and financial stability. For example, a recent study by the Pew Research Center suggests that equal numbers -- 41% -- of "Enterprisers" (conservative, free-market-oriented Republicans) and of "Liberals" have household incomes of $75K or higher.

Where do these differences among the relatively well-off come from? One big cause seems apparent. Too many Republicans don't seem to have a clear sense of "enough". Read More

Your Daily Share of ANWR: One Cup, One Mile

ColoRambler

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Sunday May 01, 2005 · 10:31 AM PDT

2005/05/01 · 10:31

In a recent diary about the recent energy bill, lots of people noted that oil from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would be little more than a drop in the bucket. Even if it all entered the U.S., rather than being sold overseas, it's a tiny amount compared to current U.S. consumption.

How tiny? Tiny enough to be completely lost in the noise of a more rational approach to gasoline usage. More below... Read More

Happy Earth Day To You: Antarctic Glaciers Retreating

ColoRambler

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Friday April 22, 2005 · 10:48 AM PDT

2005/04/22 · 10:48

I just saw this on Yahoo's news list:

Study Shows Antarctic Glaciers Shrinking

About the only good news here is that the glaciers in question represent a fairly small portion of the Antarctic ice sheet -- the Antarctic Peninsula in the northernmost part of the continent. Even there, the process is a little disturbing, because this is an area of Antarctica that is uniquely susceptible to ice melting as a result of local climate change. More below: Read More

GOP = Amway Party

ColoRambler

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Wednesday April 13, 2005 · 7:44 PM PDT

2005/04/13 · 19:44

Recently, there was a front page story about Ed Henry's remark that $50K / yr was "chump change". I was reminded of a similar remark made by a participant in everyone's favorite multi-level marketing organization, Amway.

In many ways, Amway is a microcosm of modern Republican ideas with the potential to go bad -- really bad. In many ways, it makes Wal-Mart look good. Amway has a frightening core inside it, one that's far more extreme than most rank-and-file Republicans, and represents a potentially dangerous direction the party (or country as a whole) might take.

So without further ado, a look into this organization and its relationship to current politics. More below.... Read More

Gonzales, PATRIOTs, and the Media

ColoRambler

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Tuesday April 05, 2005 · 1:33 PM PDT

2005/04/05 · 13:33

As you all probably know, Congress is debating whether to renew terms in the PATRIOT Act that are set to sunset in 2006. Atty. General Gonzales is not getting off to a good start here. From Yahoo's news service:

"Now is not the time for us to be engaging in unilateral disarmament" on the legal weapons now available for fighting terrorism, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said. He said that some of the most controversial provisions of the Patriot Act have proven invaluable in fighting terrorism and aiding other investigations.

The "legal weapons" here include the numerous provisions that extend the government's authority to search, intercept communications, and so on. The ones that, in theory at least, include the "library provision" and "sneak and peek" searches.

More below... Read More

Oh Beautiful For Corporate Skies: One Star in 100

ColoRambler

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Monday March 07, 2005 · 3:44 PM PST

2005/03/07 · 15:44

In my spare time, I'm an amateur astronomer. I spend a lot of time looking at the stars and other nighttime objects with my own telescopes, showing them to other people, and sharing various astro-geeky ideas. Because of this, I'm acutely aware of how our skies get affected by ever-growing cities, particularly city lights.

Light pollution is an aesthetic problem and an economic problem, and it's easily fixable, yet the best way to fix it is with -- you guessed it -- a few laws and regulations. Because of this, there are the usual opponents, from the Bush League / Cato school of business development.

More below. Read More

Showing Your True Colors, Colorado Style

ColoRambler

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Thursday February 17, 2005 · 12:46 PM PST

2005/02/17 · 12:46

As you know, Democrats have supported a number of pro-environmental legislation, like Colorado's renewable-energy amendment and a bill in the Senate mandating cleanup of electrical power plants.

By contrast, of course, Bush has proposed all these mis-named laws like "Clear Skies" and "Healthy Forests", which are almost Orwellian in their name and content.

As a result of all this, some of the stranger terms used in the 2004 elections make sense now! More below the fold... Read More

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