Tag: Energy

2012 Presidential Debate Schedule

people-politico-president-barack-obama-debatingThe Presidential Debates have been scheduled and their formats and topics have been chosen for the 2012 Presidential Election season.

I always look forward to these Presidential Debates because we get to see what the candidates are going to say and they are put on the spot, and face to face, with all of the political rhetoric that they have been firing at each other for months. Not only do they have to answer the questions that are presented by the debate moderator they often slip these other counter points into their responses. More often than not it seems to draw the presidential candidates into a more real and genuine response instead of those that are tailored by their publicist.

The Republicans have Mitt Romney as their candidate this year and I really do not feel that he is going to be up to the challenge of truly and honestly competing with President Obama at the podium. These Presidential Debates should be very interesting and unless Mitt Romney begins to truly solidify his platform beyond the catch phrases he is going to be in a world of trouble come these Presidential Debates.

I have discussed these Presidential Debates with many others and they seem to feel that though President Obama will likely dominate the Presidential Debates they are not going to be nearly as interesting as they might have been with Rick Perry or Herman Cain. Both of which have incredibly interesting personalities which may have been far more entertaining. What are your thoughts on these debates?

Regardless of who you are supporting in the upcoming elections it is important to watch these as they should help you forge your opinions come the general election. Mitt Romney is going to have to get studying and practicing for these debates because he is going up against a skilled and seasoned challenger who many agree is a master of debating.

2012 Presidential Debate Information

The Commission on Presidential Debates has announced the formats for the 2012 presidential and vice presidential debates, each of which will be 90-minutes long. Moderators will be selected in August.

  • First presidential debate: October 3, University of Denver, Colorado: Domestic issues, questions selected by moderator.
  • Vice presidential debate: October 11, Centre College, Danville, Kentucky: Domestic and foreign issues, questions selected by moderator.
  • Second presidential debate: October 16, Hofstra University, Hampstead, N.Y.: Town-hall meeting format with questions from undecided voters.
  • Third presidential debate: October 22, Lynn University, Boca Raton, Florida: Foreign issues, questions selected by moderator.

Make sure to tune and and watch these important debates Presidential Debates. We often get some real insight into what and who these presidential candidates are and what their platforms and plans are for the United States of America for the next four years. Even more importantly, we often see who is not going to be up to the challenge of being the President of the United States.

President Obama’s State of the Union Address 2012

people-politico-president-barack-obama-debatingThe President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, gave his 2012 State of the Union Address. Whether you love or hate President Obama, there is no denying that he knows how to give a great speech. President Obama is a very charismatic speaker using a great amount of intelligence and elegance when he speaks. Whether you agree or disagree with what he said last night does not change the fact that he is great at addressing America.

Watch the web enhanced video of the 2012 State of the Union Address


It’s always interesting to see how the fact checkers rate these addresses. Not just the State of the Union Address but the many other speeches, policies, rallies and other promises that are made by politicians. They are so easily lost in the tumult that is politics that no regular person, like you and I, can keep track of it all. So I like to wait at least a day for all of the fact checking places to do their due diligence. Then I peruse through them to see what was real and was smoke. I urge everyone to take a few extra minutes and check several different sources yourself, especially about the political issues you care most about.

It turns out that on the scale of what was true and what is reality President Obama’s State of the Union Address turns out to be mostly true! This is great news and a refreshing change of pace from the last administration. I always hate when we hear great promises or “facts” about what they have done or not done only to find out it was a thinly veiled attempt to earn favor, and far from the truth. Unfortunately, our first impressions are often the strongest. This means it is much harder for us to “unlearn” the lies we hear first instead of being able to believe the truth we learn later. Unfortunately this is widely known and is an often used tactic in politics. Know they use it, so you can guard yourself from it.

President Obama definitely covered the full gamut of issues that America is facing. There is a lot to talk about for sure and it will be interesting to see what, if any, action is actually taken. President Obama took a tougher stand last night during the State of the Union Address than we have seen before. We can only expect this “toughness” to increase over the course of the election year. I do appreciate that even though President Obama was talking tougher, he was still addressing everyone with respect and dignity. This is something that is unfortunately becoming more and more rare.

Formation of Committee to Investigate Misconduct of Big Oil and Wall Street

I think this was one of the biggest, most important announcements from the State of the Union Address, the formation of a Committee to formally investigate big corporations. If this actually happens, and actually gets to a place that they can actually do their job, it has the possibility to illuminate the insanity that our financial system and its corporations that puts on the people of American and the rest of the world. This decision alone could reach deep into the workings of our government and economy to expose the massive issues and broken systems that have brought the world economy to its knees. It amazes me how fast people have already forgotten how close we were to a calamity of massive proportions. Hopefully this will help to expose these issues and help us move forward to a solution in the future.

I know these are high hopes, look at how crippled some of the others have been. Tied up in the bureaucracy but more importantly the lobbyists pushing their congressman to fight against these common sense steps to a better America.

Combine the Citizen’s United, political partisanship, election year politics and it will honestly be a miracle if anything gets done at all this year. However, I am still hopeful that something will be, or at least could be, accomplished. We have to keep on trying and keep on pushing forward. Contact your representative and urge them to action!

Presidential Candidates: We Are ALL Americans

sw_fake_ballot_sa03045If you’ve been reading this blog, you know that the contributors share a disdain for the current political climate, especially the lack of respect that politicians, pundits, and others have shown in their conversations.

What is really disturbing is the lack of respect and outright mockery that some of the men and women vying for the Republican Presidential nomination have been directing toward voters.

This behavior is perplexing to me…why alienate so many people in the country? Don’t you need their votes?

Herman Cain said stupid people are ruining the country, and “the objective of the liberals is to destroy this country”. I’m pretty sure the 72 million people who are registered Democrats in this country would find this insulting.

Newt Gingrich enjoyed his brief surge in the polls with comments about the Democrats’ agenda, comments which were out of step with his prior reputation as a bipartisan. His actions were often contradictory during the Clinton administration. In 1994 he put together a helpful list of words to use with Republicans: “Moral”, “Family”, “Freedom”. And an accompanying list to use with Democrats: “Failure”, “Traitor”, and “Waste”. Gingrich himself is often held to blame for the extreme partisanship evidenced in politics today, after bringing ethics complaints against Speaker of the House Jim Wright.

However, in the late 90’s, he worked with President Bill Clinton on big projects, including welfare reform and working toward a balanced budget. As recently as 2008, he expressed his support for action on climate change, in an ad in which he appeared with Nancy Pelosi, who was Speaker of the House at the time. However, when asked about the ad in November of this year, he said it had been a mistake.

For some reason, it’s now gauche for politicians to be seen working together for the common good, so Mitt Romney called the ad an example of Newt Gingrich being “an unreliable conservative and an unreliable leader”. Gingrich didn’t attempt to defend the ad, which to me is unfortunate, because I view the ad as a shining example of how it IS possible for Democrats and Republicans to work together on an urgent topic. It is constantly perplexing to me that the environment is a Democratic issue. After all, the consensus in the scientific community is that global warming is occurring and that human action is contributory. We all live on the same planet, so it seems like a global issue to me.

By now Rick Perry has enough bizarre YouTube videos to hopefully put him out of the running as an actual contender for the Republican nomination. His debate gaffes occurred after his comments about doubting the science behind climate change. In November, he signed a pledge to uphold the legal definition of marriage between one man and one woman, and appoint “faithful constitutionalists” to the federal bench. Michele Bachmann also signed this pledge. In December, he released what has been dubbed his “anti-gay” ad. This kind of stance doesn’t sit well with 53% of Americans, who according to a new poll, think the government should give legal recognition to marriages between couples of the same sex. A candidate who vows to deny anyone’s basic rights is shocking to me, as is a candidate who will not consider a potential judge’s merits if that nominee doesn’t fit neatly into a pre-specified category.

I hesitate to consider Michele Bachmann an actual candidate for the Republican nomination, but since she has been involved in the debates and is as much a candidate as Rick Perry, I can definitely include her comments. She has said that Barack Obama and the “people he associates with” are Anti-American. Most of her other noteworthy comments are not specifically aimed at Democrats, but she is very good at alienating very large chunks of America. She has stated that she is for eliminating minimum wage, being a submissive wife, and introducing legislation to ban same-sex marriage. She is apparently against a vaccine against cancer (!) and all 11 million illegal aliens living in the United States.

Until recently, Mitt Romney seemed to be the only major Republican candidate whose aim wasn’t to alienate half his future constituents. Indeed, the main attacks from the right and left focus on how his comments on the issues tend to change. I’m not against a candidate changing his or her mind with a little more knowledge, but not being able to pin down the views of a possible future President make it difficult to decide if you want that person representing you. It’s nice of him not to call me anti-American, but I’m afraid his indecisiveness may be leading him down the road the way the other candidates came: He said recently he’d back a ban on same-sex marriage. In October he said the Supreme Court should reverse Roe v. Wade, a clear indication of his opposition to reproductive rights. However, he refused to sign the limiting pledge that Bachmann and Perry both signed.

Whomever the Republican nominee for President should turn out to be, I hope they understand the need for flexibility, bipartisanship, compromise, and that they will not only be governing the red states, but the entire United States of America.

 Political Information Sources

 

Black Friday and Cyber Monday Political Book Deals

government-buildingThe flurry of holiday shopping is underway and now is a great time to stock up on all those great political books you have seen through the year.

With the presidential election coming up here in 2012 it is time to make sure you are up to date on all of the hot topics of today.

With the horrible state of our politics, the misrepresentation in much of our news, and emotional tempers running hot, it is hard to have a clear, objective look at the political layout of today.

Along with reading the papers, surfing the online news sites and watching both network and cable news it can’t hurt to back up your political ideals through the wide variety of great political books as well. The more sources you gather your political information from the better. We as people are able to sort out the facts from fiction when we have enough information from enough sources. With this bounty of real and factual information we can make truly good choices when it comes to election time and our decisions on politics.

Our political systems works so hard to manipulate the voters instead of educating voters. That is why it is up to you to be sure that you remain truly educated on the political topics of the day.

Barnes and Nobel is having some great deals this Black Friday. They are also planning on some great blowout prices come Cyber Monday. Use the link below to get 50% off the books and other political media that suits your needs.

Barnes&Noble.com

Grab some great deals this holiday season!

Once you are done reading these make sure to pass them around your friends and family. Ask them to share what political books and media they have as it can only help everyone increase their understanding of our incredibly complex and dysfunctional politico environment.

What Does Our Government Do?

What does our government do?

What does our government do? I think lots of people do not realize all of the things government does. I fore on take for granted all of the things our government does.

How we love to hate our government. Have you really stopped to think about what our government actually does for us? Here is an incomplete list of 100 things of what our government does, or has done, for the American people.

What Does Our Government Do?

 

100 Things Government Does For Americans

 

Air Force

 

Army

 

Art Galleries

 

Automobile Licensing

 

Automobile Safety

 

Bill of Rights

 

Business Incorporation

 

Border Protection

 

Coal Energy & Subsidies

 

College

 

Computer Research and Development

 

Congress

 

Constitution

 

Countless Innovations for Everyday Life

 

Courthouses

 

Disaster Assistance

 

Disaster Recovery

 

Early Childhood Services

 

Elementary Schools

 

Environmental Protection

 

Export Trade

 

Fair Business Practices

 

Financial Aid

 

Fire Fighters

 

Fire Fighting

 

First Time Home Buyer

 

Flood Management

 

Food Safety

 

Food Stamps

 

Foreign Affairs

 

Foster Care

 

Free Media

 

Fresh Water

 

Gas Energy & Subsidies

 

Global Positioning System

 

Grants

 

Health Care

 

Health Standards

 

High Schools

 

Highways

 

Homeownership Assistance

 

Housing Assistance

 

Hydropower

 

Import Trade

 

Independent News

 

Internet

 

Jailhouses

 

Judicial System

 

Land Management

 

Law Creation

 

Law Enforcement

 

Librarians

 

Libraries

 

Living Standards

 

Marines

 

Medical Safety

 

Medicare

 

Memorials

 

Mental Health

 

Middle Schools

 

Museums

 

NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)

 

National Defense

 

National Guard

 

National Parks

 

National Security

 

Navy

 

NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

 

NPR (National Public Radio)

 

Oil Energy & Subsidies

 

PBS (Public Broadcasting Station)

 

Personal Protection

 

Police Officers

 

Power Research and Development

 

Preschools

 

Prisons

 

Product Safety

 

Protecting Our Liberties

 

Public Schools

 

Railroads

 

Rescue Workers

 

Roads

 

School Teachers

 

Senate

 

Sewage Treatment

 

Smithsonian Institute

 

Social Security

 

Solar Power

 

Special Needs Assistance

 

State Parks

 

Student Aid

 

Student Loans

 

Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment

 

Unemployment Insurance

 

Unemployment Job Assistance

 

United States Postal Service

 

Weather Satellites

 

Wind Energy & Subsidies

 

Youth Development

 

Zoos

This is far from a complete list of what our government does. This was simply meant to get us to stop and think about “What does our government do?” It does a lot, nobody can argue that fact.

Feel free to post in the comments below. Did you think of any other important things about “What does our government do?” Please post your additions below.

Enviro Action on Earth Day

earth-day-earthHappy Earth day everyone! I hope that you are enjoying a gorgeous day as I am here today. I hope to see these continue throughout the season and years to come! It is up to each one of us to do our part to be responsible environmental stewards of planet earth. We each need to insure the future of our beautiful planet so that our children and our children’s children can enjoy the world we have today.

To do this we all must become environmentally aware and make changes in our own lives as well as help to facilitate environmental awareness in those around us. We all can take both small and large steps to insure our future and our own security in a greener, more secure world.

Make no mistake, this is incredibly important and is about both our quality of life and the security of our lives. We must find ways to become self-sustaining in our energy consumption. This total environmental solution is not going to be one miracle cure. Our only hope stems from everyone working harder to conserve, to become more efficient, and come together to find solutions to the massive and irrefutable crisis we now face.

Environmental Responsibility

The Climate Crisis

The Climate Crisis

Global warming and climate change are huge factors in our overall health of our planet. The rate at which the CO2 levels are climbing in our world is astonishing. The correlations between these rises in CO2 and worldwide temperature changes and the impact of these changes point to massive, but avoidable disasters, but only if we act now. We must act swiftly to insure we have the best chance of limiting these disasters. Should we take decisive and strong action it is possible for us to avoid the most dire and deadly of the environmental disasters that are predicted should we hold too our current course.

Climate Change Information

American Peoples Energy At Risk

Acting in Time on Energy Policy

Acting in Time on Energy Policy

Our energy consumption is America is huge and we struggle to keep up. We have an outdated and straining infrastructure. We depend entirely too much on energy sources that are not only finite they are quickly running low. We must upgrade and modernize our energy infrastructure to have any hope to sustain the growth rate that we all currently enjoy. We must strive for new, sustainable and low impact energy solutions. We must also up the cost of wasteful and carbon heavy forms of energy production. We have the technology to move forward but we will not see this motion until incentives are given to those to move in the right direction.

American Energy Crisis

Make Your Voice Count

Citizen's Handbook to Influencing Elected Officials

Citizen's Handbook to Influencing Elected Officials

The bottom line is that we have every reason to push ourselves and each other to do whatever we as a people can. We as a people need to band together and stop squabbling over the small things and get America on the right track to energy independence and an overall carbon reduction. The people know how to do this. The people can get this done. The problem is that the politico in this country is using our very future as bargaining chips for their petty squabbles. They are literally sacrificing your safety, security and future for their own personal immediate gains.

If any of this touched on a subject you care about I urge you to take action. Share this information with those around you. Discuss our environmental and energy political policies with those around you. Ignore the rhetoric. Dive into the facts for yourself and learn that we are in a dangerous place. We as a people can improve this. We have done it in the past and we can do it now if we want a future. Reach out to your peers, make sure to vote, sign petitions, and contact your legislators to let them know that they need to vote for green energies, they need to stand behind political progress in America towards a more secure, green, sustainable future so we as a people can have a bright and wonderful future.

Where Your Voice Can Be Heard

Happy Earth day people of the politico-verse, speak out today so those in Washington, and close to home, know that we demand a better, cleaner, safer future for ourselves and our children.

 

 

 

 

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