Another call to action! (and it won't cost you a dime)

Feeling a post election letdown? Looking for another dragon to slay? Buddy, have I got a mean, scaly, ugly one for you.
Coal River Mountain in West Virginia is a beautiful forested area surrounded by communities with long experience with coal mining as been practiced for decades. How long have these folks been settled around the mountain? Many are descendants of those who moved to the area on land grants given soldiers in the Revolutionary War. Now the mountain itself is threatened by coal mining as it's been practiced under the Bush administration -- mountaintop removal.
Just yesterday, a permit to start blasting the top off the mountain was awarded to Massey Energy, headed by Don Blankenship. Who is Don Blankenship? He's the guy who spent millions putting his own man on the West Virginia Supreme Court so he could get out of a lawsuit. Then, when he was caught vacationing in Monaco with that judge, he bought himself another. And another. He spent millions on smear campaigns so he could get his own brand of justice. He's the guy who was named the scariest person in America when it comes to the environment. This is the guy behind the death of miners in the Aracoma mine after hundreds of safety violations.
This is a guy who makes $15 million a year, and spends as much as $9 million of it reshaping West Virginia into a deep red state that supports his strong arm tactics. You think West Virginia has an "Appalachian problem?" No. It has a Don Blankenship problem.
Now Blankenship has Coal River Mountain in his grip, and if he has his way, it will soon join more than a million acres of ancient mountains, towering forests, and free-flowing streams that are turned into the acidic rubble left behind after mountaintop removal mining. And perhaps worst of all, Coal River Mountain has already been studied as a site for a wind farm. This wind farm would produce more energy than the coal that Blankenship will get from blasting down the mountain. It will employ more people. And it will do it cleanly, preserving both the mountain and the surrounding communities.

Please help us take a stand and sign this petition. It will only take a second of your time and isn't that worth the potential of bringing about change? I've already gone and signed it, isn't it time you do the same?

P.S. - I totally lifted this from this Daily Kos posting because I felt this was an important issue that we should all be taking a stand on.

More Damning evidence against the Big 3 Bailout

Looks like things just aren't looking good for Ford, GM, and Chrysler. The more we look into this mess, the more it appears it was just poor business management on their side. Unwilling to keep up with the competition because their cars are "Amerkan" slowly brought them to the crossroads we're at today. CNN wrote a great article about the locals of Anna, Ohio and their take on the bailout. Turns out there a Honda manufacturing plant just down the way. Here's a little snippet:

"Honda's really helped this area as far as housing, retail sales, the restaurant business," said Tim Rogers, who has owned the Inn Between Tavern in Botkins, just up the road from Anna, for 33 years.

"People who are in here at night are also Honda employees. They have more money to spend. My business has been good since Honda came into the area."

So who knows, maybe we should let them fall flat on their faces...the only sad thing is that because of the greed stubbornness of the Execs of the Big 3, many average Americans would take the fall...losing their jobs and retirement. Meanwhile the suits over at the Big 3 will most likely find jobs elsewhere, or just retire off the millions they've already banked from their careers thus far. Unfortunately, this is a very complex issue which really is a lose-lose no matter which way you go.


You can read the article in its entirety here.

The Big 3 Auto Companies

So I've had a real hard time determining where I stand on this issue. A large part of me has continued to feel that the Big 3 has brought the financial issues upon themselves by making shitty cars. After reading this article, I feel that Michael Moore puts some things in perspective about the difference between the decision makers and the average American factory workers and where we need to draw the line. He also provides a great potential solution that he parallels with Roosevelt's decision at the beginning of World War II. Its a good, fairly short, read. Check it out here.

So its been a while...

And honestly I'm enjoying the slower pace of the post-election news.  It was a tough battle that was hard fought, so I'm enjoying a bit of a break.  I did have 2 points that I wanted to comment on though, for all those who may stumble across this blog.

First is where the new Administration stands on our energy crisis and climate change.  While I'm very glad to see an Administration who has energy and climate change on their minds, I must say this could potentially be my first issue with the coming administration.  So far I've seen no clear committal to follow through with a 10 year timetable that Al Gore suggested.  Al Gore is a Nobel Peace Prize winner, for God sakes, for his work on education the masses on climate change.  I think the guy knows what he's talking about and if he says that the U.S. can, and should, stick to a 10 year timetable for energy independence and that we should create a national power grid in order to do that, then we should be doing that!  My main concern is that Obama hasn't definitively said anything about a national power grid...which I guess is to be expected.  He always has a way of making statements that leave him plenty of "wiggle room".  However I personally feel this issue alone can solve so many other issues, including generating new jobs, and pulling us out of this recession.

Second issue is the blogosphere seems to be blowing up since the Lieberman verdict today.  After reading a few different perspectives I must say that I think that the DailyKos is being a bit over-dramatic with this issue.  Yes, I really disdain Lieberman as much as the next guy given the things that he said and, yes, a part of me is pissed he's keeping his chairmanship.  But after reading a few articles, I read on CNN or MSNBC I believe that the way it went down is that Lieberman was not stripped of his chairmanship, but his committee is now filled with stronger Democratic senators, which in turn will dilute his power in that committee.  So while a part of me does wish that things had gone different, I definitely don't agree that this situation is as "life or death" at others seem to want to portray it.  It is what it is, and in the end, perhaps not pissing Joe off will result in him siding with Dems on important votes and blocking filibuster on issues that are important to us such as climate change and energy issues.  Afterall, he does have a record of voting with Dems on those issues.  Ultimately though, time will tell whether or not the decision was a good one.

Open Thread

I hate elitists.  We all have someone in our lives that fills these shoes to some degree.  There are few things about these people that I can actually deal with.  They always seem to think that they are not only better than you, but that they, for some reason, have the right to belittle you and continually talk down to you whenever they have the opportunity or just whenever they feel like it.  Seeing as how I'm a fairly passive person, especially in the work place, I never really get to fully realize my dreams of telling these people what assholes they really are, but maybe someday I'll find myself in a situation to where I just don't care anymore and I can just let loose on some unsuspecting victim.  Till then, I guess it will just have to remain a figment of my imagination.

Amazing/Inspiring

No matter how many times I see or hear this, it still moves me. Maybe you've heard it before, maybe you've even heard it 100 times, but just listen to it once more. If you're anything like me, it will be just as touching as the first time you heard it.

And the in-fighting begins...

I won't say its a beautiful sight, because it is kind of sad to watch. But a small part of me is loving every second of this and finding out just how crazy, and well...stupid Palin really is. Take the time to read the whole article here. But here's a few snippets for you...

Fox News reports that Palin didn't know Africa was a continent and did not know the member nations of the North American Free Trade Agreement -- the United States, Mexico and Canada -- when she was picked for vice president.

The New York Times reports that McCain aides were outraged when Palin staffers scheduled her to speak with French President Nicholas Sarkozy, a conversation that turned out to be a radio station prank.

Newsweek reports that Palin spent far more than the previously reported $150,000 on clothes for herself and her family.

Several publications say she irked the McCain campaign by asking to make her own concession speech on election night.

The tension is likely to continue or get worse. Lawyers for the Republican National Committee are heading to Alaska to try to account for all the money that was spent on clothing, jewelry and luggage, according to The New York Times.

Perhaps the most dangerous allegation for Palin are reports in The New York Times and Newsweek that when she was urged by McCain adviser Nicole Wallace to buy three suits for the Republican convention and three suits for the campaign trail, she went on the now-infamous shopping spree at swank stores like Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus.

A Republican donor who agreed to foot a majority of the expenses was stunned when he received the bill, Newsweek reported. Both the Times and Newsweek report that the budget for the clothing was expected to be between $20,000 and $25,000. Instead, the amount reported by the Republican National Committee was $150,000.

That wasn't the whole tab, however, according to Newsweek. The magazine claims that Palin leaned on some low-level staffers to put thousands of dollars of additional purchases on their credit cards. The national committee and McCain became aware of the extra expenditures, including clothes for husband Todd Palin, when the staffers sought reimbursement, Newsweek reported.

Wow! She's one crazy chick, that's for damn sure! Its kinda funny to see this all spill out now that the campaign is over and realize what could've been if they had won, and if McCain died. Imagine the havoc she would wreak as as Commander in Chief. Fortunately we, the American people, are smarter than that.

History has been made

It's finally over and we did it! We should all be so proud to say that we were a part of this historic movement. Many of us not only cast our vote, but contributed what little money or time we had to the campaign to help bring about the change necessary for this country. Some of us (my family included) are fortunate enough to say that we got to hear Obama in person...somethiing I personally will never forget, and I will remind my daughter she was there too. I know the road will be rocky, and it will be a long, tough road...but we at least are headed in the right direction with fresh leadership. I am profoundly proud of the American people's ability to begin to bring about the type of change we need so badly.

So thank you all for all that you have done, this wouldn't have been possible with each each and every one of your efforts and I, and my future generations are so thankful for everything you have all done. So once again, a very humble thank you to each and every one of you out there.

I love this...

It makes me laugh. Someone had a lot of spare time, and some very funny creativity.



There's a lot of other great ones you can check out here. The Baracky one is hilarious as well!

We can do this

As he says, I'm holding on to hope because tomorrow will be better.  We can do this, together, as Americans, as brothers and sisters.  Its been the longest, but most incredible and inspiring election cycle we will probably see in our lifetime.  I'm sure its the most historic election season we will see in our lifetime and possibly our children's lifetime as well.  We are so fortunate to have the opportunity to tell our children, and grandchildren that we were part of the movement that brought hope back to American people, when faith in the government was all but lost.  Thank you each and everyone for doing what you can, to help bring this campaign to a close and put our best foot forward.  I'm confident if everyone turns out and casts their ballots tomorrow, we will see the return on our investment of time and money.  Please view this for one last reminder of why we're all in this together

Your vote does count

So don't let them stop you! Get out and make your voice heard!