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People should feel too bad???
T Boone Pickens was on today's Meet the Press. NBC's focus is on going Green this week. It is nice to see how a major broadcast network will work to drive this so that all know that the need to get off the carbon addiction is so crucial. I have talked about it and will continue to talk about it as well.
As I listened and analyzed the comments, I took comfort in this fact, though: T.Boone Pickens wanted to have his plan financed with 70 percent debt. He said that he had to delay it because, "..I can't get any money...". So, it is not just the "ordinary folks" who are suffering. Everyone is. We must also not rest easy just because we have cheaper gas to deal with. We have to make sure that we solve the challenge now. We will need to act now.
I found the reflections during Today's Meet the Press quite enlightening:
I have been a Tom Friedman fan for years and today reinforced my faith. He told us that there has to be a way made out of the Tsunami we're faced with. Personally, I have a problem with the Auto Industry going down. I sense that no one knows what the answers are. If the Auto Industry goes, it will impact everything. I was shocked when I saw the local Cadillac/GMC dealer shutting down. Not only is there no conversation about Main Street, Tavis Smiley told us that there is no discussion about "side street" that many are living on now. What do we do now?
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This warning signs keep coming!!
The World Wild Life Fund and others have come out with the latest Living Planet Report. They are telling us that we can live beyond our means. We found that out to our horror about the state of our finances worldwide. It will be quite a feat if we wake up now and realize this before it is too late. The players are identifying the two major culprits in this Eco-Credit Crunch: The U.S. and China. Will the world wake up? I wonder. One thing is for sure: There is a call to action that we MUST act on now. There is no tomorrow.
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Let's not truly break out the champagne just yet....
The price of a barrel of oil has dropped substantially over the past few months. Part of it has to do with simple economics. People are driving less and the demand has dropped. My simple admonition is this: we can't stop our drive to rid ourself of this addiction to carbon. Just because the price has dropped, does not mean that we ought to begin driving again. We have to think about how to do things differently. Simply "Drill Baby Drill" is not going to cut it.
Of all the reasons, I think our future on this earth was what inspired me to launch this project to help foster the dialogue that is so crucial to help preserve our precious spaceship: Earth. We have a duty to ourselves and our children. We can't stop now!!!
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The Gloves Did Go Off!!
The Final U.S. Presidential Debate concluded earlier tonight. John McCain went out on the attack. I think it was quite a debate. I knew that Bob Schieffer would get it done. He got it done!!!
I found the debate to be substantive. In my view, both men presented their views in a spirited fashion. I saw John McCain the Fighter Pilot. He repeated went after Senator Obama. Between the speech Senator McCain made on Monday, his "whip his you know what" comment to his campaign staff and the energy he seems to be shown, he is going all out. Whether it is enough, it remains to be seen. But, Senator Obama kept his cool and reinforced the central themes of the message. The question is whether this was the knockout punch John McCain needed to have to emerge from the doldrums. I did not believe it to be so.
The pundits or (commentariats as Gordon Brown calls 'em) will be at it and are continuing as we speak. The BBC is right now continuing the analysis. Right now, they have a Republican Hack, Michael Duncan, talking to the BBC correspondence in the "spin room". It was simply sickening. All they want to talk about is Chicago. Yet, all the associations Senator McCain has had is off limits. It would have been interesting if Senator McCain's 70th Birthday Party in Montegero and Rick Davis' association with the Russian Oligrach would have been brought up. But, the focus was on the issues--thanks to Bob Schieffer. I think the difference were quite stark. I have had profound disagreements with Senator McCain on a number of fronts. For instance, I am especially questioning the viability of Senator McCain's healthcare plan and his plan to give families a $ 5,000 refundable tax credit. What he does not address is how the difference is to be paid. What he does not address is the issue of pre-existing condition and the portability of insurance. What he does not address is the exclusions that would ultimately result. There are many such inconsistencies that I view as central to how the future is going to hold.
Not withstanding the discussions, I wanted to address a specific matter Senator McCain brought regarding Iraq and went to attack Senator Biden. Senator McCain claimed that Iraq is coming together. The fact is that Iraq has in fact has been split in three and the government survives in name only. As for the vote against the first Iraq war, I regard Joe Biden's vote as a vote of consciousness. I was glad to see that both men understood that to secure America's future, they ought to focus on two key areas: education and energy independence. Senator McCain also spoke up for Governor Palin. Governor Palin has sure excited the base. Senator McCain did try and damp down the rhetoric. But, the nastiness which has been unleashed by Governor Palin's rhetoric was wrong. Senator McCain played the victim. I found that disappointing.
Senator Obama stayed cool and above the fray throughout the debate. That is I found to be consistent throughout the three debates. In my view, they both made their case. Not withstanding the diversion of Ayers, ACORN and Joe the Plumber, I see the final line as being drawn. The die is cast. I view the election as crucial. I am worried about our economic future. The Dow lost 7% today. Markets are falling all around the world as we speak. Recessionary fears are real. What will happen now? Whomever wins, they will have a profound challenge that I view as the biggest challenge since the founding of the American Republic over 230 years ago.
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The Stark Choices......
The U.S. Vice Presidential debate has just concluded. Before I talk about the debate itself,the role of the debate moderator must be mentioned. I think Gwen Ifill did an outstanding job. All this hype about her book and her apparent "tilt" towards Obama turned out to be crap!!! So far, the moderators have done a great job. With Tom Brokaw and Bob Schieffer moderating the next two debates, I think it will only get better.
Senator Biden and Governor Palin went toe-to-toe. I think Senator Biden side-stepped Governor Palin in a rather deft way. He was quite restrained, but on top of his game. He was my candidate twenty years ago. He was not my candidate this time simply because I was duped by John Edwards. But, I think Senator Obama's decision to choose him was a master stroke. Senator Biden has spoken his mind. I was impressed when he made two key points: 1) He reminded the world that the idiot Ahmadinejad does not control the Iranian Security services. He was surprised that that Senator McCain was not aware of this fact and 2) He reminded the world of Senator McCain's record.
As for Governor Palin, she held her own. Apparently, the handlers allowed her to be herself. I expressed my frustruations with her and her lack of depth repeatedly throughout the last number of weeks. In my view, She stepped up tonight. However, her insistence on the success of the surge was a problem to me. Her views on the economic policy about tax cuts and less regulation was exactly the same recipe that got us where we are. I was particuarly concerned about the healthcare proposals and the $ 5000 tax cut which will not even come close to paying healthcare for families. I was also concerned that she did not name a single program that she would consider cutting because of the profound budgetary and financial constraints the country faces today. I am sure that Republicans and Conservatives are happy that Governor Palin did not fumble. I commend her for stepping up and proving the naysayers (including me) wrong.
What tonight showed the stark choices the United States faces as the election nears. As the country is gripped with the election, the world marches on. Medvedev, the Russian President, just reminded the world that the ascendency of the U.S. is no more. Putin was in Ukraine brandishing accusasions of Ukranian complicity in the Georgian War. Markets again lost over 300 points today. The House is due to vote on the bailout bill tomorrow. There is no guarantee that this is going to pass. So, we're not out of the woods yet and won't be out of the woods for a while yet.
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It is tough not to panic......
An Aide to Senator McCain claimed that Blackberry was a miracle that Senator McCain helped create. When I first read about this, I laughed. I guess the co-founders of Research In Motion had nothing to do with it. Senator McCain was ridiculed by Senator Obama for not being able to even write an e-mail. I found that a bit over the top. Therefore, it seems to me that his technological vision is not as "advanced" as one might lead to believe.
When I read about this statement, I was reminded of how Al Gore was ridiculed when he was "accused" of inventing the interent. The truth was that accoding to Vint Cerf, the father of the Interent, Al Gore played a leading role in creating the ground work for the eventual mass adoption of the interent while in Congress. I suppose Al Gore is used to that kind of ridicule. He is now the subject of ridicule by many for talking about what others simply ignored up to now. This is a testamony he made before the Congress in 2007
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Should we celebrate or wait???
The price of Brett Crude in London has fallen below $ 100. Although this is great news, it still does not address the undelying structural challenges we face in terms of a declning availability of supply and ever increasing demand. Demand has fallen because people are not using as much anymore. It is still good news and hope that such a short term decline will not cause us to lose sight of the big picture. We have to get off the carbon binge and get off it now!!!
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"We must Wake Up Now....."
As I continue to think about the U.S. Elections and the challenges we face, I view our biggest challenge to be Energy Security. If there is a national committment to creating long-term energy security, we can in turn work to build the future that we can be proud of and secure our long-term economic security.
I view the mantra of "Drill Baby Drill" that was one of the slogans coming out of the Republican Convention as not realistic at all. Tom Friedman, the man who reminded us that "The World is Flat", has come out with another challenge for us. We should take stock of his latest admonition
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I just saw an update that John McCain may be traveling to Missisipi to assess hurricane readiness. I hope it is not a political move. If it is, shame on John McCain and the Republicans. This is not the time to be playing politics. If it was the other way around, the Republicans and their Amen crowd in talk radio would be crying foul. The best thing for all candidates to do is to stay out of the way, let the authorities do what they need to do and be united in their after-action response.
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A Calamity is Before Us!!
Gustav is fast closing in on America's Gulf Coast. It has already battered Cuba. Bobby Jinhdal, The Louisiana Governor, seems to be on top of things. The Federal Government seems to have learnt its' lesson. I guess they're as ready as they're going to be. Senator McCain has also called for the possible delay in the Republican National Convention because of Gustav. I am glad that the nation has learnt. But, we have to learn the bigger lesson of Gustav. Our planet is sick and we have to step up to do something. We have to go beyond the partisan bickering and the political posturing as we formulate what to do about this emergency. What The Day After Tomorrow tells us is that this can happen if we don't wake up:
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A little humor will never hurt.....
Campaigns are serious business. Campaigns are a chance to debate and reflect upon the future. As I was reviewing my daily analysis, I thought some humor was in order. Senator McCain's visit to the oil rig prompted a response from the Democrats. I I have commented on the idiocy of this push by Senator McCain. I did get a kick out of the ad,though:
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Who is he trying to fool?
Senator McCain visited a Oil Rig Tuesday. I am sure he had a great time. During the visit, he criticized Senator Obama for not supporting offshore oil drilling. The argument is so idiotic, it is not even funny. Senator McCain did note that he wanted to after everything to transform energy. But, the relentless push for offshore oil drilling continues unabatted. The conservatives are continuing their push. Newt Gingrich just sent out a commentary (distributed through Human Events) blasting the stance of those who are opposed. The problem is that the idea that somehow offshore oil drilling is going to help solve our long-term energy need is simply foolish, idiotic and beyond reason. There may be oil out there or they may not. Do we want to take the risk to the environment for a potential short term gain? I wonder.
As I reflected upon today's Senator McCain Photo Op, I thought as to what exactly the oil companies are truly thinking. They are breaking all kinds of profit recrods. But, they have to figure out a way to transform their businesses to avoid the predicament of becoming irrelevant. If what is going on in Venezuela and Russia is any indication, they have to see the writing on the wall. They ought to simply go beyond slogans and truly working to transform their companies. The question is will they have the courage to do it? Will our political leaders have the courage to force them to do it
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Mike Pouraryan
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