UPDATE:  Please take a look at Tom Friedman's column  "This Time is Different" in the Sunday New York Times.  He eloquently makes the point we addressed in a previous post --- See post on June 6, TIME TO GROW UP --- about energy in America, and just who's responsible for the current fix we're in.

UPDATE:  "Louisiana health and environmental officials are asking federal safety officials to make sure workers cleaning up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill are being protected.....daily reports of injuries and illness have them worried that workers don't get proper protection.  They asked the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on Friday to investigate." Huh? What happened to the ...

It is finally time to get "Beyond Petroleum" and we need to do it together as a nation.  The time for political gamesmanship is over, and leadership from both sides of the aisle on a national energy policy is essential.  Hey, Republicans --- are you Americans first, or partisans first?  If the partisans can't get-it-together (and SOON!) then the American people need to grow up and start DEMANDI ...

Perk up your ears and help us listen for examples of Republicans asserting that they “are speaking for the American people.”  They say it all the time.  Guess it’s one of those political strategies that calls for repeating --- over and over again --- any untruth, in hopes of fooling the American people. Here are a few examples.   Last week Representative Mike Spence (R-Indiana) stated on the flo ...

Here's the real scoop on off-shore oil drilling in our country.  Let's start with the fact that the U.S. uses 25% of the world’s supply of oil, way more than any other country uses.  And the world's supply of oil has already peaked and is now in decline.  The answer some have come up with is "Drill Baby Drill," by which they mean, the risky drilling for oil off the shores of America's coastlines. ...

Minnesota Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty said on CNN’s Sunday State of the Union show, “The Tea Party movement represents new energy, new ideas, passion around these themes of:  ‘we’ve had enough’; ‘government’s too big’; ‘the debt’s too big’; and to the extent that accrues to the Republican side of the ledger, we’ll take that energy.”   REALLY? Governor Pawlenty, you are wrong --- the Tea Par ...

We've gone round and round here at CLN over Miranda rights in the age of terrorism.  We're pleased to say that we found a wonderful opinion by Sol Wachtler in the New York Times that put it all into perspective.  Sol Wachtler is a professor of constitutional law, former chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals, and the author of "the emergency exception" (or "public safety" exception) to Miran ...

It seems odd to me that the American people, who are really mad and they're not going to take it anymore, are mad at the g-o-v-e-r-n-m-e-n-t rather than mad at corporate America and Wall Street (who actually caused the economic melt-down).  So many have bought-in to the idea that 'big government is to blame for the state of our country and our economy.'  When, in fact, it is the lack of government ...

CHECK-IT-OUT:  Great article by David Leonhart in New York Times that says while there are superficial similarities between Greece's budget woes and our deficits, that our economy is actually growing and Greece is close to default. According to the chief economist at the Treasury, “It’s not a matter of whether we have the resources to solve our  problems” ... "It’s a matter of political will.” CH ...

So the Republican-right’s story (and they’re sticking to it!) is that it is the Democrats and President Obama who are responsible for our country’s deficits.  Well, go ahead, just forget the facts:  Bill Clinton not only lowered deficits, but actually left a SURPLUS for George Bush’s administration.  The last time the fiscal picture looked really good was under Democrat Bill Clinton --- and that ...