Daily Briefing - 12/12/06

So it looks like we will have a brand new "northern passage" by the year 2040, many thinks to greenhouse gas emissions. I am sure the Competitive Enterprise Institute could give us a litany of reasons for why this is an economically viable choice to limiting emissions now. It would be a grand study... paid for by (insert oil/gas company name here). Along with our soon-to-be northern passage to look forward to, it seems the greenhouse effect is not just affecting what is inside the greenhouse but also immediately outside. Space debris in the thermosphere lingers for a longer time thanks to the cooler and subsequently less dense section of our outer atmosphere. Fantastic.

In Washington, just like hoards of many other important bills, a measure on flood insurance has stalled. I am sure the people in the Gulf region are proud of their public servants. Along the approval front, seven out of ten disapprove of the handling of the Iraq War and President Bush is still clinging on the 30s in his general approval ratings. Double ouch. Today should wrap up the 2006 election season (welll the FL-13 debacle will drag on, but I'm going to ignore that) with the runoff election between Rep. Henry Bonilla (R-TX) and his opponent Ciro Rodriguez for the Texas 23rd. Democrats have an outside shot of making it a clean 30 seat gain if Rodriguez prevails.

In 2008 news, there is a lot of banter about Clinton-Obama, Obama-Clinton, Clinton... Obama. Who else is running? Oh right, there's a whole 'nother party. Hizzoner (Giuliani) took a couple swipes at the frontrunner (McCain), and Hizzoner's successor (Bloomberg) was compared to Ross Perot (in a good way... umm, ok).

In other news, the New York Times has a great piece on turtles' fight to ward off extinction. We also have a couple of editorials on oil and gas royalties, politicizing science, and food safety. In good news, a judge threw out an injunction against Borat basically saying (I'm just paraphrasing per se...) that if you are dumb enough to get drunk with people filming a movie and sign a waiver then enjoy the repercussions. Finally, Jon Stewart says goodbye to some of his favorite GOP Members and we all say goodbye to the oldest person in the world who died at 116 years old! Wow. All that and more in the briefing.

MW

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Daily Briefing – 12/12/06
692 days until the NEXT election… and global warming is an integral part of our nation’s agenda!

Key Issues in the News
Global Warming
- The cost of an overheated planet
- By 2040, greenhouse gases could lead to an open Arctic Sea in the summers
- Global warming prolongs the life of space debris
o A space problem, the Washington Post calls it
- Planting trees is not enough
- The market to clear the air
- Grist: Wanting to know where that palm oil comes from
Washington/Legislation/Politics/People/etc.
- Flood insurance reform stalls
- 7 out of 10 Americans disapprove of handling of Iraq War
o Meanwhile, people are calling for bipartisanship
- Texas 23rd runoff is today. Rep. Bonilla holds a slim lead in a final poll
- A promise to protect pages
- Earmarks are frozen… for now
- Al Franken for Senate? Becoming more likely…
Potential ‘08ers…
- Clinton (should relish Obama), Obama (media’s new rock star), Clinton v. Obama (anti-establishment establishment v. anti-establishment establishment), Kerry (Teddy ain’t gonna wait forever), Clinton again (wining and dining NH’ans), Romney (spending indicative of a run), Bloomberg (nothing like getting compared to Ross Perot), Huckabee (staffing up), Kucinich (he’s running again), Giuliani (jabbing at McCain), Gore (is running… for an Oscar)
Other News from the Media
- Reckless with food safety
- Getting ripped off by oil and gas companies is nothing new
- Turtles face their biggest threat: Humans
- EPA revises formula to calculate auto mileage, doing it correctly this time
- Does hospitality have to be so wasteful?
- LA Times: More politicized science at the EPA
- Utility company agrees to make big cuts in pollution in Illinois
…and the Blogosphere
- RedState: Tony Blair doesn’t like hyphens
- MYDD looks at the Brownback possibility
- The Fix on the TX-23rd race today
- From Grist:
o Running your car on grease
o An interview with an ANWR activist
o The six percent solution
Miscellaneous… or just plain weird
- Gossiping is our lifeblood… or at least a form of quotidian hermeneutics
- In Texas, they’re fighting to help blind people hunt… please refrain from any better-shot-than-Dick-Cheney jokes, thank you
- No injunction for Borat
- Jon Stewart says goodbye to his favorite GOP Members
- World’s oldest person dies at 116
- Goodness gracious, making money isn’t their (the heads of Craigslist) prime goal!?
- A Loch Ness monster look-alike?! Awesome.
Quotes O’ the Day
“I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and dog-one it, people like me.” ~Stuart Smalley (aka Al Franken)