Photo Credit: Hydrogen Community Lolland In Denmark, a test community is proving hydrogen power is not 10 years into the future, but that it started back in 2006. On the island of Lolland , located in the Baltic Sea, the Danes had a problem – they produced 50 percent more electricity from wind power than … Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania is leaving the US Senate after a long career there. He says the body is now largely concerned with self-preservation, with senators not willing to take tough votes that could be politically risky. (Dec. 23)
Continue reading …Righties are mad that so much got done during the lame-duck session. Cue the whining
December 23, 2010 No Comment
Click here to view this media As Ezra Klein observes, the lame-duck session of Congress was unusually productive. And one of the keys was that, for a change, there actually were a few Republicans who decided to be, you know, sane: The incumbent — and the outgoing — Republicans know that the fact that Republicans will have more power in 2011 doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll use that power to pass sensible legislation. So those of them who wanted to pass sensible legislation decided to get it all done now, even if that meant handing Reid and Obama a slew of apparent victories in the lame-duck session. Ooooooh! That wascawwy Obama! Laura Ingraham and Dick Morris were all worked up about it last night on The O’Reilly Factor, turning blue in the face Morris: But what is crucial to focus on, is they didn’t get any spending cuts in return! Had the Republicans simply said, ‘No dice. This is an illegitimate, lame-duck session of people who are not entitled to vote because they were defeated. And we’re not going to pass anything, and we’re going to do it on January 2, and then we’re going to demand spending cuts!’ Which now will have to be fought for in the debt limit ceiling or the new budget. And in the meantime the deficit keeps clicking. Morris then went on to list all the Republican Senators who were going to be facing primaries — from Tea Party challengers, no doubt — in the near future because of their various sins in the lame-duck session. Considering this is the guy who predicted a 100-seat gain for Republicans in the House, I’m sure they’re quaking. But I’m also struck by Morris’s proposal: Evidently he doesn’t care that the Constitution pretty explicitly lays out how this election stuff works. Congress keeps meeting after elections, and new members do not take office till they take their oaths. It’s all there in the 20th Amendment. Don’t these guys have great reverence for the Constitution? Except, as always, the parts they find inconvenient. Like every other Republican right now, Morris also seems to have conveniently forgotten about the 1998 lame-duck session when Republicans impeached President Clinton . Which is quite a remarkable case of amnesia.
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Continue reading the main story Related stories Man jailed in mystery ship case Probing the Arctic Sea conspiracies Six men have pleaded guilty to piracy in connection with the seizure of a Russian cargo ship last year. Prosecutors in a court in Arkhangelsk in north-west Russia have accused them of hijacking the Arctic Sea vessel, which went…
Continue reading …It seems that every year, American pop culture continues to push the envelope of what is acceptable in society, and 2010 was no different. From Cee-Lo Green’s hit “F**k You” to Enrique Iglesias’ new song set to release next year titled, “I’m F**king You” the “F” word is going mainstream. One has to wonder if the media will ask the question: Is there anything attention-seekers won’t include in a song? Iglesias is an internationally recognized artist famous for his fairly tame, catchy romantic pop tunes, such as the smashing single “Hero” which topped the UK charts in 2001. But just ten years later, Iglesias has decided to seek more fame with a raunchy new song, set to debut in 2011 called “Tonight (I’m F**king You).” The boundary-pushing lyrics include: read more
Continue reading …Mighty Car Mods details the rigors of zombie-proofing your auto (video)
December 23, 2010 No Comment
Sure, there are plenty of folks who will teach you how to mod your car for speed, power, or aesthetics — but what about the things that really matter? A recent episode of Mighty Car Mods detailed the re-tooling of a 1987 Nissan Pathfinder into a vehicle suitable for survival in the event of a zombie apocalypse (although we think it would help in case of a robot apocalypse as well). What are you waiting for? An ounce or prevention is worth a pound of cure, after all. Check it out the video — and get prepared — after the break. Continue reading Mighty Car Mods details the rigors of zombie-proofing your auto (video) Mighty Car Mods details the rigors of zombie-proofing your auto (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Dec 2010 14:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Photo credit: Marcellus Protest / Creative Commons The past month saw several significant developments on the natural gas reform front. From Texas to New York, to Arkansas, new studies have revealed how damaging fracking really is, sparking some governments to take steps to protect their citizens from contaminated drinking water and other threats…. Read the full story on TreeHugger
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In response to leaked cable in which former ambassador accuses Wellington of over-reacting to 2004 arrest of Israeli agents to gain greater access to Arab world, Labor party chief says, ‘He got the job because he’s a big contributor to Republicans
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Images credit Michael Chrisman/Torontoist For a number of weeks the walls, hoardings, abandoned windows and parking receipt machines of Toronto have been covered with enigmatic posters of a young man, labelled “Andrew.” It turns out they are a kind of transatlantic memorial to a dead bicyclist, Andrew Mackenzie Hull , architect and film-maker, killed in London in a bicycle ac… Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …If they change these rules, it should help — a lot. The fact that the president hasn’t even been able to get circuit judges confirmed without having to bargain for them shows how really destructive Senate rules have become. Looks like the Democratic senators are ready to fight: All Democratic senators returning next year have signed a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., urging him to consider action to change long-sacrosanct filibuster rules. The letter, delivered this week, expresses general frustration with what Democrats consider unprecedented obstruction and asks Reid to take steps to end those abuses. While it does not urge a specific solution, Democrats said it demonstrates increased backing in the majority for a proposal, championed by Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., and others, weaken the minority’s ability to tie the Senate calendar into parliamentary knots. Among the chief revisions that Democrats say will likely be offered: Senators could not initiate a filibuster of a bill before it reaches the floor unless they first muster 40 votes for it, and they would have to remain on the floor to sustain it. That is a change from current rules, which require the majority leader to file a cloture motion to overcome an anonymous objection to a motion to proceed, and then wait 30 hours for a vote on it. “There need to be changes to the rules to allow filibusters to be conducted by people who actually want to block legislation instead of people being able to quietly say ‘I object’ and go home,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. This year, McCaskill lined up backing from more than two-thirds of senators for elimination of secret holds, which allow a senator to block action on a bill or nomination anonymously. She said that Democrats will also push plans to force senators who place holds to do it publicly. After weeks of Democratic Caucus discussions during which newer members pushed various plans to limit filibusters, reformers are increasingly confident that they can defy predictions by Republicans and many pundits that rules changes will not happen in the near term. A Democratic leadership aide said that Democrats expect to “do something on timing” next month, specifically by seeking to prevent 30-hour waiting periods on motions to proceed. We’ve been reporting on this for awhile now. Here’s hoping it succeeds.
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