The end of Keystone Pipeline

Today saw a significant milestone in the fight against global warming.  President Obama has rejected the Keystone XL pipeline, a proposed 1,179 mile pipeline to bring tar sands petroleum from Canada to the Gulf Coast.  

This action has positive results.  It takes the pressure off the new Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau.  It solidifies the position of the U.S. as a leader in the fight against global warming.  It benefits the entire globe.

This week we also learned that Exxon deliberately withheld data or skewed data about the effects of emissions on global warming.  Exxon’s corporate lies have been compared to Big Tobacco’s lies about the effects of smoking.  

What Exxon did was so much worse.  Big Tobacco’s lies hurt individual smokers.  Exxon’s lies have affected the entire planet.

Spectre

It is funny how expectations work.  I read some rather critical reviews of “Burnt,” the movie starring Bradley Cooper as a chef, so I wasn’t expecting very much.  Nonetheless, I really enjoyed the movie.  I thought Cooper did a good job, I liked the cooking scenes, and I thought the supporting cast was excellent.

Tonight we saw “Spectre.”  James Bond movies are always fun, they are part of our heritage, and Daniel Craig is interesting.  Nevertheless, I thought the movie was way too long, and I found myself actually impatient at times.  I expected more, so I was disappointed.

Syrian refugees are coming!

Since the Civil War in Syria started four years ago, approximately four million refugees have fled from that country.  Many are living in countries that are less than prosperous–for example, Greece, Jordan, Turkey, Serbia, and Croatia. 

In the last four years the U.S. has taken in 1,854 of the refugees.  Out of four million, we have taken in 1,854.  This year we are doing better.  We are taking in approximately 10,000.  Germany is taking in approximately 500,000.

Many people in the U.S. don’t want us to take in any.  Most of the refugees are Muslim.  Might be terrorists.  Don’t celebrate Christmas.

Republican medical expertise

Dr. Ben Carson, a neurosurgeon (as he is fond of reminding us), and Dr. Rand Paul, an ophthalmologist, both said in the September candidate debate that there was no association between vaccines and autism.  Unfortunately, both of them then went on to say that doctors may be giving too many vaccines in too short a time.

There are reasons why the American Academy of Pediatrics has set up a schedule of vaccines.  The longer a vaccine is delayed, the longer the period of time a child is susceptible to diseases like measles and whooping cough.

On the other hand, at least Carson and Paul refuted the completely discredited idea that vaccines cause autism.  Trump, with his usual idiocy, claimed that vaccines do cause autism, thereby continuing to spread a false rumor that has the potential to kill children if parents believe his stupidity.

Working the polls at the Rod and Gun Club

I spent the day passing out Democratic slate cards at the Palmerton Rod and Gun Club.  There were fifteen minute stretches when no voters appeared, but I had a good novel by Jonathan Franzen to fill up my time.

It was enjoyable work, and most of the voters said thank you, even Republicans.  One guy, walking to his truck, stopped, turned around, and came back.  He said, “You represent Democrats; may I ask you some questions.?”  My first thought was uh oh.  This will get nasty.

His question was, “Why are you a Democrat?”  I told him I had a number of reasons.  First, I’m an environmentalist, and I thought the Democratic Party was much more likely to protect the environment.  Secondly, I believed that women had a right to have abortions if that was their choice.  Third, I thought the Republican Party catered to the top 1%.  And finally, the reason I had a pension and Social Security I owed to my union and to Democratic policies. 

He nodded and took that in.  Then I asked him his name and told him where I lived.  He told me he was retired military.

And then he started in.  It was obvious that he wanted to tell me why he was a Republican.  He explained how the Democrats gave money to people who were here illegally.  And why shouldn’t we ask for ID for voters?  And without ID, voter fraud was rampant.  And Obama was the worst president in our history.  

What struck me was his anger and his fear.  Fear that the country was being overrun.  Anger that the Democrats were complicit in this.  I have learned that people like that have a mindset that can’t be turned around.  There is no point in arguing.  What we must do is register people who are not afraid or angry and get them to the polls.

Tomorrow's judicial elections

After spending millions of dollars in campaign contributions on mailers and ads, including attack ads, three candidates will be elected to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court tomorrow.  The election may determine whether the Court will uphold partisan gerrymandering of legislative districts, which has resulted in Republican victories both at the federal and state level.

Now let me explain what is wrong with that first paragraph, and why Pennsylvania continues to be an embarrassment to anyone who believes in clean politics and an independent judiciary.

First, we shouldn’t even have partisan elections to the State Supreme Court.  Few states operate this way.  Most states select judges on a merit system.

Second, the present system of campaign finance in Pennsylvania is abysmal.  While every candidate will deny with a straight face that contributions influence elections, ask yourself why the contributors are giving the candidates money.  Are they doing this to ensure excellence in the courts?

Third, if the state had reasonable redistricting policies, gerrymandering would not occur.  A number of other states have adopted non-partisan redistricting, but we have representatives like Jerry Knowles and Doyle Heffley who would never support a fair system.

So tomorrow, I will go in and vote for all the Democratic candidates for judicial office.  From an objective standpoint, they are actually the best qualified of the candidates running.  Unfortunately, this is an off-year election and Democrats tend to vote in smaller numbers than Republicans.  

It’s been said that we get the government we deserve.  I don’t believe that.  I don’t believe I have ever done anything to deserve the system of government I am getting in this state.

The diminution of the 9/12 Project

Four years ago the Carbon County Tea Party, aka the “9/12 Project,” sponsored a “debate” at Penn’s Peak.  I remember it well, because I stood at the entrance of Penn’s Peak with a sign demanding to know where the “9/12 Project” received its funding, and was later yelled at by Fred Reinhart, whom I believe is a supporter of the “9-12 Project,” because I compared him to an octopus in one of my postings on this blog.

This year the “9-12 Project” sponsored another “debate” at Penn’s Peak.  Only two of the five candidates for Carbon County Commissioner agreed to show up, and one of those was a write-in.  The event was not televised.  I didn’t picket the event..Why bother, when hardly anyone will show up anyway.