Special Report | 4th of July
Thu, 07/02/2009 - 10:06 — Dave Culver"I struggle with some aspects of the celebration of the 4th of July, yet today as I prayed at a gathering of friends, I was reminded of so much for which I am thankful." -- Jacquelyn
David Culver, ed., Evergreene Digest
Mark Twain, "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court"
You see my kind of loyalty was loyalty to one's country, not to its institutions, or its office holders. The country is the real thing, the substantial thing, the eternal thing; it is the thing to watch over, and care for, and be loyal to; institutions are extraneous, they are its mere clothing, and clothing can wear out, become ragged, cease to be comfortable, cease to protect the body from winter, disease, and death. To be loyal to rags, to shout for rags, to worship rags, to die for rags--this is loyalty to unreason, it is pure animal; it belongs to monarchy, was invented by monarchy; let monarchy keep it.
Prayer for the 4th of July, Jacquelyn, FaithStones
I struggle with some aspects of the celebration of the 4th of July, yet today as I prayed at a gathering of friends, I was reminded of so much for which I am thankful. Rabbi Michael Lerner wrote and shared a prayer for this 4th of July and a wonderful colleague Maureen Fiedler sent along Rabbi Lerner’s prayer with some of her own adaptation. I share it with you:
A Thanksgiving Prayer for the 4th of July
At this celebration, let’s give thanks for the ordinary and extraordinary Americans whose struggles brought about the best of the United States…
The Waxman-Markey Bill: A Good Start Or A Non-Starter?
Thu, 07/02/2009 - 07:50 — Dave Culver
As carbon cap-and-trade legislation works it way through Congress, the environmental community is intensely debating whether the Waxman-Markey bill is the best possible compromise or a fatally flawed initiative. Yale Environment 360 asked 11 prominent people in the environmental and energy fields for their views on this controversial legislation.
The bill is officially entitled “The American Clean Energy and Security Act,” but most people who follow this issue simply call it Waxman-Markey. Named for its sponsors — Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Ed Markey (D-MA) — the legislation has been roundly criticized for doing too little or too much, but one thing is clear: No matter what form it finally takes, the bill is historic. For the first time, the U.S. government would cap and regulate emissions of carbon dioxide.
Given that CO2 is a byproduct of the process that drives the American economy — combusting fossil fuels — it is no wonder that the bill is controversial. Many opponents, particularly Republicans, say it is a grave error to place a ceiling and a price on carbon emissions, particularly at a time of economic crisis.
Related:
Energy Bill Scrapes by House -- Will it Survive the Senate? Faiz Shakir, The Progress Report
The focus is now on trying to make sure the bill clears the Senate and is not weakened by special interests.
Minnesota's Road to Recovery: An Analysis of Transportation Recovery Projects
Wed, 07/01/2009 - 10:12 — Dave CulverGreater emphasis must be put on transit and fast intercity passenger trains, which are gaining popularity despite fare increases, service cuts and funding shortfalls.
Conrad deFiebre, Minnesota 2020
Creaky old timber bridges are being replaced. Rough roads are getting new pavement. Deteriorating regional airport runways are being rehabbed. Twin Cities transit riders will hop on new diesel-sipping hybrid buses. Suburban drivers will ply new interchanges and a freeway extension. And a rusting Minnesota icon, Duluth's Aerial Lift Bridge, is receiving the final phase of a once-in-a-lifetime paint job.
It's all thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the $787 billion federal economic stimulus package enacted to counter a recession that has obliterated 5.4 million U.S. jobs in past year, 99,7000 of them in Minnesota.
While the plan will support worthwhile efforts from education, health care and unemployment benefits to clean water, housing and senior nutrition, the earliest and most visible impacts in Minnesota are on the roads, bridges, transit services and other transportation assets that put our economy on the move.
Related:
Click here to read the full report (PDF).
Click here for a searchable database of Minnesota's federal recovery projects.
Census Bureau: We’re Working With Bachmann To ‘Explain The Rules Of The Census’
Mon, 06/29/2009 - 16:16 — Dave CulverYesterday (June 26), Census Bureau spokesman Steve Buckner spoke to Minnesota Public Radio and said that many of Bachmann’s concerns were misguided. First, filling out the entire Census is required under federal law.
Amanda Terkel, Think Progress
Submitted by Evergreene Digest Contributing Editor Thomas Sklarski
Steve Sack
In the past couple weeks, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) has used her public appearances to fear-monger about the 2010 Census. In a radio interview with the Washington Times, Bachmann said that she and her family would ignore most of the survey’s questions and answer only “how many people are in our home. We won’t be answering any information beyond that, because the Constitution doesn’t require any information beyond that.”
In an interview with Fox News, Bachmann suggested that the Obama administration could use the Census data for nefarious purposes — including the imprisonment of Americans in concentration camps:
BACHMANN: If we look at American history, between 1942 and 1947, the data that was collected by the census bureau was handed over to the FBI and other organizations, at the request of President Roosevelt, and that’s how the Japanese were rounded up and put into the internment camps. I’m not saying that’s what the Administration is planning to do. But I am saying that private, personal information that was given to the census bureau in the 1940s was used against Americans to round them up.
