Random Politics & Religion #00

I'm very proud of my state. I believe it is one of the best states in the US, and I also think that it's one of the states that's supporting most other states on a federal level. California and New York being the only other states that gives more in federal tax dollars than receives. I guess it could be as bad as considering it to be a fanatic, but you know what, I'm ok with it.

Maybe it's just some sort of post-modern identity crisis (What the *** does that even mean? But I'm using it correctly as far as I can tell.) but I guess that's the thing. I am very proud of my state and love it in many ways, but I also see so many of its flaws.

Texas has a lot to be proud of, but overall it seems (true or not) that most Texans lack humility; they're not dignified about things, they're smug.

No one likes smug.

President Barack Obama ordered the federal government on Thursday to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by nearly half over the next decade, driving his climate change agenda forward despite percolating challenges from Republican-led states.

By curtailing pollution within the U.S. government, Obama sought to increase political pressure on other nations to deal seriously with climate change. The U.S. and other nations will soon announce how much they're willing to cut their national emissions as part of a global climate treaty to be finalized in December; scientists warn that if those pledges are too lax, the treaty could be too weak to stop the worst effects of global warming.

"We thought it was important for us to lead by example," Obama said at the Energy Department headquarters, where he toured a sprawling installation of solar panels on the building's roof. "These are ambitious goals, but we know they're achievable goals."

Under an executive order signed by Obama, the government must cut its emissions of the heat-trapping gases blamed for global warming by 40 percent, compared to 2008 levels — a move the White House said could save taxpayers up to $18 billion in electricity costs. Obama also directed agencies to ramp up use of renewable energy so that within a decade, roughly one-third of the government's power consumption will come from sources like solar, wind and hydropower.

Yet it was unclear how the government would meet those targets. The White House said it was providing agencies with new tools to track their progress and "sustainability plans," but offered no specifics.

Already, Obama's administration has gone after most of the major sources of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, including cars and trucks, power plants, methane from natural gas production and refrigerants. The administration was also expected to release new rules for "fracking" — hydraulic fracturing for gas or oil — on public lands as early as Friday.

Most of those regulations have faced intense opposition from the energy industry and from Republicans — including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who wrote the nation's 50 governors on Thursday urging them to defy Obama's power plant rules by refusing to submit compliance plans to Washington. In contrast, Obama's order cutting emissions within the government elicited no immediate criticism.

Although the government is the largest U.S. energy consumer, it's responsible for less than 1 percent of annual U.S. emissions — and a far smaller chunk of emissions worldwide. Still, the Obama administration was betting that aggressive federal cuts would spur private industry and other nations to follow suit.

"The truth is the U.S. has only a few additional levers they can pull to reduce emissions," said Paul Bledsoe, a climate adviser in the Clinton White House. "One of those is the federal government's own emission profile."

Major companies that sell to the federal government like GE, HP, Northrop Grumman and Honeywell also announced voluntary commitments to cut their own emissions of the heat-trapping gases blamed for global warming. IBM, for example, said it will cut its energy consumption 35 percent by 2020 and buy at least 20 percent of its power from renewably sources by that year.

All told, the government pollution cuts along with industry contributions will have the effect of keeping 26 million metric tons of greenhouse gases out of the air by 2025, or the equivalent of what about 5.5 million cars would pump out through their tailpipes in an average year, the White House said.

The global climate treaty, in the works for years, is supposed to be concluded in December in Paris, but most countries will miss the end-of-March deadline to announce their national contributions. One prominent exception: the European Union, which earlier in March vowed to cut emissions at least 40 percent by 2030, compared to 1990.

The U.S. has yet to announce its contribution to the treaty. But in a bid to build momentum, last year Obama set a U.S. goal to cut emissions up to 28 percent by 2025 — compared to 2005 levels — in a joint announcement with China that boosted hopes for an aggressive global pact.

"Certainly our hope is that we are laying forth template that other countries could also learn from and look at as well," said Brian Deese, a senior adviser to Obama.

The president of Turkey appears to be taking partial credit for Obamacare, saying he counseled U.S. President Barack Obama on health care reform at the request of American tourists.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan revealed his professed role in shaping Obamacare at the opening ceremony of a health complex in the Turkish capital, Ankara, on Wednesday, the Hurriyet Daily News reported.

“Once I attended the Friday prayer at the Sultanahmet Mosque. There were tourists. Some of them knew that I would be visiting the United States the following week. They asked me how we could be so successful in health care and wanted me to tell about it to Obama,” he said.

Erdogan shared the anecdote in an attempt to illustrate how other countries, he said, wish to emulate Turkey’s health care model.

“Indeed, I then talked about the issue with Mr. Obama,” he said.

He commiserated with the roadblocks Obama has faced in pushing through health care reform, saying the American leader “could only solve the problem partly.”

“Of course, the negative reflex there [in the U.S.] made it really hard for Mr. Obama,” Erdogan said, according to the Turkish broadsheet.

Erdogan added that European officials also come to his nation to study its health care system.

“They try to take us as a model and build similar systems in their country,” he said. “Don’t we have any deficiencies? We do, but now we are on the right path to success.”

Read the article, I'll be back, needs smokes and food, lol.

Why countries that recognize Palestinian statehood turn their backs on Kosovo

You are right, most people didn't vote for Obama only because he was black. Some did however.

It was enough to get him elected, and it would be enough to get her elected if people vote based by "feels" and not by their brains.

That's actually a very good article. Basically calls out the entirety of the world's governments as hypocrites, really. And correctly so.

Oh ***a W reference is it 2003 again ?

Channeling your inner Lordgrim today?

sing the Star-Spangled Banner in such a beautiful way that it drives bald eagles to tears.

Listening to the SSB at sporting events almost always drives me to tears.

Because it's one of the foulest-sounding songs out there and it's constantly sung by men and women alike who use far too much vibrato, don't have the range to hit the notes they're trying to hit, and drag it out like it's there one god damn shot at fame and they're not going to go away a second sooner than they have to.

Syria

Read the article, I'll be back, needs smokes and food, lol.

lol

Nevermind. I completely brain farted.

America the Beautiful is a superior song.

So is "This Land is Your Land."