What happens, though, when the coal industry and Fox News decide that energy reform will require child sacrifices and human cannibalism?

My whip count indicates we can expect to pass a compromise bill that requires only the cannibalism...

Energy reform will mean having a government bureaucrat live in your home and monitor every time you turn on a light or an appliance. You'll have to also fill out a 50 page form every time you want to turn on the A/C. If you are a White Republican, you won't be allowed to use any energy at all.

"Most Americans approve of the way President Obama is handling energy issues"

-and then the rest of the story follows. . .

Only yesterday a dude from some anti global warming corporation was on C-SPAN, fulminating against Greenpeace.

Also, apparently the "Bill" is tilted towards coal, rather than natural gas. Too bad; here in Pennsylvania-and New York- we're sitting on top of the new Spindletop. . .

the battle aint really healthcare, and it aint energy reform either.

it occurs to me that americans are really slow: unlike europe, we have to wait until the last stages of capitalism (due to the scarcity and depletion of 'resources') before we come up against the growing power of the corporations and their gigantic dominance over our democracy, and, ergo, our lives.

for 2 generations they've done a good job blaming the government for everything that has been hard in this country -- thru gas pipes like ronnie rayguns, and now, the entire repugnant party and most of the dems. all of them traitors, my friends -- traitors.

we are growing closer to the battle that will determine our fate: whether the corporations continue to dictate our lives, or we spring the trap and escape with our freedom from undemocratic corporate dominance.

a few thousand woody guthries would be nice... but i spoze the 'entertainment' industry wouldn't ...

What does public support have to do with anything? Congress could care less what the public wants.

What's for lunch? What lobbyists will kiss my ass and enrich my coffers today? How can we make the liberals shut up? That's Congress.

The coward does it with a kiss,
The brave man with a sword!

What happens, though, when the coal industry and Fox News decide that energy reform will require child sacrifices and human cannibalism? What happens when the Council on American Goodness runs ads saying that President Obama's energy policies will make it illegal for families to use the bathroom?

By then Obama's approval rating should be down to 45%.
The Birthers will be a force running reruns round the clock...
A federal building or two will have been blown up.
Health care reform will be firmly in a mud ugly ditch...

The country is moribund.
It can solve nothing. Do nothing. Become nothing.
Put a wooden stake in it.

This is the part I've never really understood about Obama's approach to both health care and climate legislation.

It was clear that both of these would need public support to keep the pressure on Congress to act responsibly, but so far, Obama's treated climate change as almost entirely an inside-the-Beltway game, as he did with health care until a couple of months ago.

And the result? ACES was greatly weakened in the last stages before passing the House, and chances that the Senate will act on it in this Congress are somewhere between slim and none. And the opposition hijacked the debate about health care with all sorts of crap about death panels, illegal immigrants, socialism, enemies' lists, and concern trolling about the deficit.

So now, Congresscritters are having to pass health care reform despite the noise they're hearing from their districts, rather than being afraid not to pass a good bill because that's what their constituents want.

Coming into this Administration, I figured that I could at least count on Obama to make effective use of the bully pulpit to pass the legislation he considered important. On this score, I've been tremendously disappointed.

If I remember correctly, the DOD has determined that the looming fallout from global warming is a national security issue. Therefore, I propose that the DOJ wiretap and record all conversations of those in positions to undermine legislation to deflect this threat to include elected officials, lobbyists and corporate PR hacks and prosecute accordingly. It's what Cheney and Shrub would do.

I hope the Democrats bargain hard, before they give up child sacrifice and cannibalism.

I figured that I could at least count on Obama to make effective use of the bully pulpit to pass the legislation he considered important. On this score, I've been tremendously disappointed.

I feel your frustration, and perhaps your right. I do, however, remember a few points along Obama's campaign when his supporters got really angry because he wasn't hitting back hard enough against attacks from Hillary and later from McCain. With the Hillary campaign attacks, he rose to the challenge. With the McCain campaign, his tactic seemed to be let them self-destruct on their own.

So far his "presidential" demeanor seems mild, bordering on comatose. Perhaps he views the office as being above holding campaign style rallies. I don't know how this will all work out, only time will tell....but his approach of lying in the weeds leaves his options more open than we may think.

. . . support for ambitious changes in energy policy has been steady.

What "ambitious" changes?

All I see is nibbling around the edges of a problem that gets worse every year. The Democrats' proposals would have been a good start 20 years ago. Today it's merely tapping the brakes as we hurtle towards the edge of the cliff.

Yes, I understand political reality. I know we can't get what needs to be done through today's Congress. But we can lay out a comprehensive program that could actually solve our energy problems, instead of wasting time tweaking the status quo.

Instead of aiming for slowing the increase of greenhouse gases, the Democrats, stated goal should be to end the use of fossil fuels. Instead of focusing on natural gas and the chimera of "clean coal", the goal should be solar panels on every home and building in the United States (where solar power is viable).

Here is a simple, three step plan:

1. Subsidy grants of 50 - 75 percent of the cost of installing solar-electric panels on private homes. Subsidy grants of 30 - 60 percent of the cost of installing panels on commercial structures. Subsidy grants of 25 - 50 percent for adding geothermal heating to existing or new homes. And a plan to put solar panels on every government building within a decade.

2. New federal rules that allow wind turbines anywhere where there is already a visible human footprint. Sorry Cape Cod, if you want to keep windmills out, you'll have to raze all those expensive estates and let the shoreline go back to nature.

3. Renewable energy will only become viable with a breakthrough in battery technology. We need to begin a new emphasis on federal grants for pure scientific research. Patents from the research would be licensed, and American corporations that uses the patents to manufacture the new batteries here in the U.S. would get partial tax rebates (their tax dollars already helped fund the research). To ensure competition, any corporation that exceeds 10 percent of its market would loose its license.

It won't be impossible to sell the plan. Ask Americans how many more wars in the Middle East they're willing to fight to maintain our current lifestyle.

I think the Nazis tried to hatch some energy scheme as well.

Obama promised to fix EVERYTHING, if we elected him.

Well, we did, and I'm still waiting. . .

I know! I'll hold my breath until I turn blue. Oh, wait; I'm already Blue. . .

Enjoy your short lived optimism! Once the right spin meisters get down on cap and trade, it'll be hcr part 2!
They're too busy tackling and lying about hcr to focus on energy.

I heard on FoxNews that the Democrats want to force people to burn their own children as a substitute for heating oil. Obviously, any sensible American would oppose this bill.

Ask Americans how many more wars in the Middle East they're willing to fight to maintain our current lifestyle.

The short answer -- "As many as it takes, at least so long as there's no draft. Now please move, you're standing between me and the gas pump."

Unless the Democrats grow a pair and learn how to stop cringing before screaming ignoramuses, support for anything they want to do will evaporate.

What happens, though, when the coal industry and Fox News decide that energy reform will require child sacrifices and human cannibalism? What happens when the Council on American Goodness runs ads saying that President Obama's energy policies will make it illegal for families to use the bathroom?

The claims will be that US reductions in CO2 are offset by China increases in CO2, so W-M is totally ineffectual; and that coal-powered manufacturing will move from the US to China. In other words, W-M accomplishes nothing but makes the US poorer. In fact, those claims have already been substantiated by a GAO (or some other bipartisan Congressional agency) review of W-M.

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