Standing in Michigan, the falls are in Wisconsin. I say we take 'em back.
All this happened before Hagel quit.
One Man Should Not Dictate Immigration Policy
The Imperial Speaker is the real problem here.
Still, his expansion of that authority makes me uneasy. After all, this is a case where poll after poll shows that large majorities of the country favor comprehensive immigration reform. The Senate passed a bipartisan bill over a year ago by a wide margin. And there's little question that the Senate bill has majority support in the House too. So not only is the will of Congress clear, but the president has also made it clear that he'd sign the bill if Congress passed it. The only thing stopping it is one man.
That should make us all a bit troubled. John Boehner may be acting legally. But is he acting properly?
With immigration action, Obama calls his opponents’ bluff
They are screwed, and they know it. That's why they scream so loudly. And that's why both McConnell and Boehner have seen double digit increases in their R unfavorables in one week.
Many of them claim they agree with the substance of what Obama did and also that Congress should pass a broader immigration bill. If this is true, then why should they spend all their energy trying to undo the constructive steps he has just taken? If they punt and simply join the rancid attacks on Obama as an “emperor” and a “monarch,” they will demonstrate for all to see that the GOP really is dominated by its right wing and that those of more measured views are simply too timid to take on their internal adversaries.
Blow: Bigger Than Immigration
Breaking! The President is a black guy. Therefore, GOP will tie him to "lawlessness" every chance they get. Because dog whistle.
This hostility and animosity toward this president is, in fact, larger than this president. This is about systems of power and the power of symbols. Particularly, it is about preserving traditional power and destroying emerging symbols that threaten that power. This president is simply the embodiment of the threat, as far as his detractors are concerned, whether they are willing or able to articulate it as such.
Immigration tests GOP governors considering 2016 bids
Two Words: Pete Wilson. You've been warned. California is not the whole world, but there is no path to 270 without big states that have growing Latino populations.
That decision presents potential GOP contenders with a complicated situation, in which they have to balance their outrage at Obama without diminishing their ability to preach to voters that they are above the Washington dysfunction. They also face the conundrum of trying to court the party's most conservative voters, while looking forward to the general election. Whoever is the GOP nominee will need to make huge strides with Latino voters for the Republican Party to win the White House.
The AP has another weasel roundup here.
A Deep 2016 Republican Presidential Field Reflects Party Divisions
The NYT takes a look at the fact that the Clown Car is nowhere big enough to hold all the clowns.
But the eventual choice for the nomination will not merely speak to philosophical direction. Republicans also confront a generational decision: They have several energetic governors and senators in their 40s and early 50s lining up to run. Yet there is also an older group of potential candidates, such as Mr. Bush and Mitt Romney, who could arrest the ambitions of the next generation of Republicans but whose experience could be appealing.
World locked into 'alarming' global warming: World Bank
Another study that backs up all the other studies, and history will not be kind to this generation when they realize that we knew it was happening and didn't do enough to mitigate it.
The report, which called on a large body of scientific evidence, found that global warming of close to 1.5°C above pre-industrial times – up from 0.8°C today – is already locked into Earth's atmospheric system by past and predicted greenhouse gas emissions. Such an increase could have potentially catastrophic consequences for mankind, causing the global sea level to rise more than 30 centimeters by 2100, droughts to become more severe and placing almost 90 percent of coral reefs at risk of extinction.
The Koch Brothers' Next Frontier
So far the attempts to roll back renewable energy standards in the states hasn't worked: Repubs are reluctant to pull the plug on local businesses that have created jobs in their districts. But, the Kochs' didn't get where they are by giving up. Look for more well-funded primary challenges to state legislators that support green energy. Michigan is one to watch next year as our energy bill from '08 is up for revision/renewal.
The coalition's only major success so far this year was in Ohio, where—with just a minimal advocacy push—a bill to freeze the state's mandate won passage. Koch-backed groups gave their blessing to the measure before it was signed into law in June. But AFP was absent from the lobbying effort that secured the legislation's passage, largely because the organization had chosen to focus its attention on Kansas and North Carolina, where it looked as if repeal had a better chance. Then, this spring, to the surprise of political onlookers in the state, Ohio-based utility FirstEnergy muscled a freeze bill through the Legislature.
Solar and Wind Energy Start to Win on Price vs. Conventional Fuels
Creates jobs, saves environment, cheaper than fossil. This is very important to note, don't you think?
The cost of providing electricity from wind and solar power plants has plummeted over the last five years, so much so that in some markets renewable generation is now cheaper than coal or natural gas. Utility executives say the trend has accelerated this year, with several companies signing contracts, known as power purchase agreements, for solar or wind at prices below that of natural gas, especially in the Great Plains and Southwest, where wind and sunlight are abundant. Those prices were made possible by generous subsidies that could soon diminish or expire, but recent analyses show that even without those subsidies, alternative energies can often compete with traditional sources.