The Environment and Other Issues

We need to talk more about the environment.  Mark Stein and certain congressmen are saying now how horrible it would be to have to go “back” to 2005 pollution levels, and the cut subsequent carbon emissions in electric plants by thirty percent.  Let me put it this way.  Would you rather have a violent inferno with acrid sulphury air and temperatures of ninety or hundred degrees all the time, and ungodly out of control weather and inundating oceans, and crop production out the window as a lost cause- - but there are big stacks of hundred dollars bills for you to fondle, even if there is nothing to spend it on because there are riots in any of the stores still selling food - - or you can have pristine lakes and streams and pleasant “normal” summers, and thirty percent less cash to spend?  To me this one is a no brainer.  Not for Mark Stein.  He carried on about polar bears this morning mocking the idea of them being trapped on isolated patches of vanishing ice surrounded by water.  But then admits that “Actually there have been no records kept on polar bears”.  I had gotten the idea from his mockery- - that he was going to whip out some major study saying there were more polar bears now than ever or something.  And then there was some southern senator who says “Actually when I was a kid it was hard to find wild deer to hunt, but now they are plentiful”.  And went on to talk about “bumper crops” of this or that in the south.  This I highly doubt being the extended torid periods of over one hundred degrees for virtually weeks on end, and no rain.  It’s either that or violent tornadoes, hail storms, and rampant flooding.   But remember as far as going “back” to 2005, in that year, pollution levels were higher than today, and this law won’t even come into effect for some two years.  But it’s funny as with so many Obama laws, they complain of the averse effects of the law years before it even goes into effect.  Or say things like “If we had approved the Canadian pipeline last year we could be exporting oil to Germany and Ukraine now” as though things worked that quickly.  These Republicans live in a well insilated fantasy world.  Part of their problem is that liberals look at the way things ARE and investigate it, and deal with it, and try to figure out how to solve a problem.  Republicans- - it’s like the economy.  Economists aren’t people involved in the nuts and bolts of business.  Most of what Milton Friedman says is “economic theory”.  It’s kind of like their “theory” of creationism.   Yeah.  You never thought about Creationism as a “theory” but that is exactly what it is.  It’s another one of these sweeping statements Republicans on the right make- as though it came down from God Himself.  But it didn’t.  Liberals actually look at a particular specimine.  They document, for instance, - - evolution in dog species, or changing colors in moths, or resistant strains of bacteria and they conclude “Evolution is taking place because we can see it happening”.   Dr Levy will read some article and quote it (probably out of context) by some economic “theorist”.  And these “theorists” dominate the Republican party- - and make assumptions like “The more regulations we have about anything- - the worse the pocket book issues for the Average American because no profits means the “Job Creators’ will unable to “create” the jobs American’s need. 

Today it was “general senate discussion”, which was a site with hours of playing time to skip around in.  Chuck Schumer of New York, and Harry Reid spoke on the immigration bill.  They say the problem in the house is that Stephen King is blocking the thing.  King said “If I had the gavel I would never allow this to come up for a vote”, which is what John Boehner has accomplished for him anyhow.  One conservative analyst stated that “If there isn’t a bill passed before the August break of this year, it will never pass till both congress and the Presidency are in democratic hands, and those democrats will be in a position to dictate all the terms of whatever bill comes out.  Chuck Schumer said “The Republicans are free to come out with any bill they want- and we’ll deal with it in conference committee, but they have put nothing to a vote.   There are only from fifty to seventy hardened house members who would not vote for ANY immigration bill.   Steven King said that at least twenty right now would vote for the Senate bill as is, and as many as another one hundred republican house members could be persuaded to vote for some house bill on immigration.  Both Chuck and Harry Reid stated that “This bill will do more to stimulate the economy than any other bill we’ve passed and it will tack on another three percent annual growth to the GNP.   Chuck was so brazen as to suggest “Don’t use the President’s lack of border enforcement as an excuse.  In fact I personally would be perfectly open to the bill’s not going into effect till January of 2017 when there is no President Obama to deal with.   But then there was Jeff Sessions of Alabama- -who pointed out that in high tech jobs there are two and a half times as many college graduates with a major in this field (four letter acronym) as there are available job positions.  But of course business says “There are a lot of positions going begging” but Sessions believes these businessmen are lying.  Besides he fears, and so do I, that these jobs will just be turned over to foreigners to fill like from China and India, which totally sucks.  There was another senator who had poster charts talking about “The financial side effects of Obama Care”.   It would seem that in the four states of Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, and last but not least, Oregon, the state exchanges are closing down because they were economically mismanaged with US tax subsedies and as a “favor to the taxpayers”  (laughter) ” this guy wants to ADD a tax burden to these four unfortunate states in the form of higher taxes in those states which will be levied to pay for it.

The issue of the freeing of this lone POW isn’t going away.  The more you examine the facts the worse they look.  It seems not only had Bowe himself made anti US remarks, but the POW’s father has made some strange pro Pakistani remarks, and even spoke in Arabec or some native language, which enrages the “Patriot radio” station people.  Something strange is sure going on.  It’s repeated that they sent out an expedition to look for him and six servicemen were killed in that endeavor.  If you’re a friend or relative or one of those six, this isn’t an easy pill to swallow.  Basically lives were endangered by this guy.  And now that the “Dream team of the Talliban” or also known as the “Fab Five” were released, to again do their terrorism thing, the President’s action of the other day could well be putting more American lives at risk.  When you think how long and hard the tea party must have been searching for some shred of evidence that Barock Obama was somehow a stealth Moslem or something, and would inevitably be influenced by Jeremiah Wright’s “God damn America!” sermon, and now they have it!  It’s kind of like I knew that I was “spiritual toast” with Calvary Anaheim, now that Pastor Mark, who had been seeking something on me for a long time, now in 2001 had it on me with alcoholism.  But of course the House is off this entire week.  Last week they worked two and a half days, and that took so much out of them they had to take the entire week off this week, to recover.  But when they get back it’s hard to imagine Impeachment not being on the table, knowing how hysterical they are about the presidents other military peckadillos such as Bengazi.

 Gabriel confessed everything to Marlena today in a police session that puzzled me, because the minute it’s over Hope asks Marlena for a psychiatric evaluation.  No matter what Marlena said it would be tantamount to lying because she obviously couldn’t tell her the overwhelming factor that influenced her decision.  Gabriel is very sane and determined, and working with a plan.  She would be a textbook case in the minds of a lot of judges for a long sentence.   But when you think about it, how many second degree murderers are gifted with a “second chance” with an opportunity to “undo the deed”.  But Gabriel apparently liked the guilt she felt the first time so much, that she wanted to do it all over again.  Now of course Samantha knows that Marlena knows what she did by way of being an accomplice.  Samantha started to say “I need to explain myself” but then stopped herself and tried to pretend she didn’t know.  Now Samantha has this decision on whether to tell Kate and the others that Marlena now knows what they did.  Eric said something really cute to Nicole today.  Nicole was going on and on about “being tormented with the knowledge of this secret and not being able to tell anyone”.  And Eric said, right as he was leaving her (for the last time) well, now you should praise God because now for the first time in months, you are no longer tormented with keeping that secret”.   (Selah)  We had cheeseburgers for lunch and I got extra onion rings from Owen.  We had corn chowder with watermelon for desert.