Well it has been a year and a half since I posted ideas to save money on your electric bill such as unplugging unnecessary electronics and/or turning off powerstrips, but they seem to have caught on. In fact Yahoo Green is suggesting many of the same ideas.
President Obama still has one sure fire way to get all republicans to vote for health care reform even with a public option—he needs to oppose it!
Click on image to see a visual guide to see
“The not-so-governmental guide to the unemployment rate”:
From the IReport:
I have never been a big listener of presidential speeches, or any politicians for that matter. I tend to read the summary in the newspaper. Bush had little of value to say and spoke so poorly it was annoying and I never found him very presidential. While I liked Clinton, he was a little long winded for me. But it is different with Barack Obama. I’m compelled to listen whenever he speaks. First of all his intelligence and grasp of issues are impressive. I want to hear what he has to say. I’m eager to hear how he sees things and what he plans to do. In a crisis, which seems to be ongoing nowadays, his words are not only inspiring and hopeful, but I find reassurance when he speaks.
One thing that I notice when he speaks are the faces of the people in the crowd. I can’t remember when a speaker brought tears of hope down the faces of so many people…and I’m proud to say I’m one of them. Have your tissues ready on Tuesday!!!
Barack Obama was absolutely right! John McCain represented nothing more than 4 more years of George Bush. There is no doubt that McCain and his staff were misleading the American people. They were telling the American people that Sarah Palin was qualified to be a 72-year old heartbeat away from the presidency…but they knew that was not true. They campaign “Country First” but put themselves first and country last. Campbell Brown sums it up so eloquently…listen:
The current financial disaster is a perfect example of what happens when we wait for a crisis to hit before moving to act. Many Congressional and corporate financial leaders saw the dangers years ago. Some even attempted to head off the crisis with regulatory legislation, but their bills couldn’t even make it to the House or Senate floor. Now, the crisis is upon us and is Congress scrambling and spending trillions to keep the economy from falling off the cliff. The Calvary may have arrived in the nick of time, we shall see. Regardless, millions of people will be hurt by this financial crisis. But let’s keep in mind that this crisis was created by a partnership of Main Street and Wall Street. Millions of people choosing to live life on credit and banks giving it to them, although both know they will never be able to repay. The bailout really just keeps this system going–for a while.
Once we get through this Congress will need to shore up Social Security and Medicare or face a new financial crisis in the future. They will need to make tough decisions about how to keep the promise to millions of hard working Americans who paid into this system and count on it for their declining years. My fear is that this economic disaster was another conservative plan to bankrupt the Treasury, thereby creating a future argument for making drastic cuts in Medicare and Social Security
Other crises such as climate change and energy are on the horizon. The warning bells have been sounding for years. And they grow louder. Their consequences will be devastating and long lasting. Once they are upon us they may be irreversible.
Many of us remember gas lines and gasoline rationing, when OPEC cut imports in the 1970s. We all witnessed skyrocketing oil prices and inflationary consequences. Though they all have temporarily subsided, they will be an unavoidable part of our future unless we act now. But Congress sits on its hands with some singing, “Drill baby drill.” But the meager 1% increase in domestic production produced by this policy will do little for solve the growing energy crisis and nothing to free us from the grips of OPEC. Just as a side note I don’t understand how in one breath they talk about the need to break our addiction to oil and in the next breath say “Drill baby drill.”
Climate change is even more frightening. Unlike the economy and energy, climate change may reach a “tipping point” from where there is not return. The wait and see approach is unacceptable.
Those who opposed legislation to head off the current financial crises are the same people who sing “Drill, Baby, Drill” and oppose action to head off climate change. They are quick to create an imaginary economic burden that moving to renewable energy will create (for them). They forget the old adage, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Not to mention the millions of jobs created by a renewable energy industry.
This is why real and significant change in leadership is needed. And the choices we have are clear.
Just in case you have not seen this e-mail here is how the republicans have clarified the candidate’s differences:
OK, much clearer now?