Glass Half Full: Big Disasters Can Spur Big Changes

On Thursday President Obama held a press conference in which he took full responsibility for the federal government's response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This was largely in response to widespread criticism that the White House has done little in the month since the disaster took place. Some have even gone so far as to call it "Obama's Katrina," in reference to the Bush Administration's monumental failure to provide support to the victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Cuomo Calls Al Sharpton To Apologize for Picking His Own Running Mate

We already know that the next governor of New York will be former governor Mario Cuomo's son Andrew, the current Attorney General of the state.  Now we also know that the next Lieutenant Governor will be current Rochester mayor Robert Duffy.  Also, inevitably, the state comptroller will remain Thomas DiNapoli.  So what's the common denominator between these candidates that Al Sharpton has issues with?  They're all white.

Palin Defends Paul Against the Media's Hunt for a "Gotcha Moment"

Rand Paul, son of frequent presidential candidate Ron Paul and now the GOP's nominee for the US Senate seat in Kentucky, has run up against some difficult questions and interviews in the week since his primary victory. A self-proclaimed Tea Partier and a die-hard libertarian, Paul has gained much of his political traction in recent months because he espouses the view that the federal government should stay out of nearly all private affairs, greatly reduce all taxes, and drastically cut spending. These are the issues he ran on, and no doubt why he trounced Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson in the primary.

Climate Bill Goes Nowhere; Murkowski Still Trying to Derail the Clean Air Act

Last week, Senators Kerry and Lieberman released a draft version of the American Power Act (APA), what was once commonly referred to as "Kerry-Graham-Lieberman" but lost the "Graham" over immigration issues that don't actually exist and an oil spill that should be prompting co-sponsorship on clean energy legislation, not impeding it.

Don't Call It a Comeback: Vito Fossella Gets Staten Island GOP Nod

Vito Fossella (NYMag)

Vito Fossella, the Staten Island rep who got caught drinking and driving in Virginia and then called his mistress to pick him up from the drunk tank, is back on the political scene. Last night the Staten Island Republican Party chose Fossella - over not one, but two other people - to run for his old seat against incumbent Democrat Michael McMahon. And it wasn't even close: the vote was 23-4. To top it off (as if the other two candidates were not insulted enough), SI GOP chairman John Friscia stated, "It is my firm belief that he is the strongest candidate we can field." Well, that's just sad.

I Have No Idea What's Going on With the BP Spill

While environmental issues are Nate's territory, I usually can get a sense of what's going on in the green scene by reading the articles and op-eds about it.  When it comes to the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico, however, I am very lost.  And the scary part is, I think that those in charge of getting this thing under control are just as lost as I am.

Why We Cannot Strip American Citizens of Their Rights

Joe Lieberman's proposal to strip American citizens of their rights as American citizens is incredibly misguided and, to put it simply, wrong.  The call emanates from the arrest of Faisel Shahzad, the Pakistan-born American citizen accused of unsuccessfully trying to detonate a homemade bomb in the middle of Times Square.  As much as I hate that an American citizen is capable of something like this, the fact remains that Shahzad is an American citizen; this cannot be glossed over.  Shahzad has all of the rights you and I do under the Constitution despite his actions and this should not be stripped from him or any other American citizen misguided enough to try to attempt something like this.

A Bill Without a Cap on Carbon is Almost Worthless

Yet another week has passed with Senator Graham, the supposed Republican hero on climate legislation, equivocating about his support for the bill that he co-wrote. His reasons for the need for a "pause" on introducing the legislation? First, the immigration legislation issue (which, by the way, Reid has backed off from and Obama has announced will take a second priority to energy and climate). Second, the Deepwater oil spill. This boggles my mind. Shouldn't this catastrophe propel our elected officials toward supporting a clean energy bill, not away from it? Is Graham so unconditionally beholden to oil interests that this disaster really makes him need to back away from support for legislation that he has been working on for the past seven months?

Senators Kerry and Lieberman have announced that they will go through with the unveiling of their once-"tri-partisan" bill tomorrow, now without Graham. This is certainly going to be an uphill climb. Graham was the bill's biggest chance of passing, and he has wavered and waffled his way to opposing it. There are still a few GOPers who have supported climate legislation in the past (and some who have co-sponsored their own legislation this year), but without the momentum that Graham had given the American Power Act, Republicans will certainly not be flocking to support the bill.

Oil Spills and Energy Bills

It's already been more than two weeks since a yet-unexplained explosion at BP's Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig started sending between 5,000 and 25,000 barrels of oil each day into the Gulf of Mexico. The spill is expected to completely trump the Exxon Valdez disaster, taking the title of worst oil catastrophe in history.

Each day more oil is washing up on the shores of gulf states, as over 2,500 square miles in the gulf are completely blanketed with petroleum. The fishing industry and tourism industry are suffering tremendously and will continue to suffer through the foreseeable future, to say nothing of the havoc that the spill is wreaking on the already fragile ecosystems in the gulf.

Terrorists Get Bail in Michigan; Double Standards Abound

In what seems to be a very disturbing double standard, a group of nine Christian extremist [alleged] terrorists have been released on bail in a case that should have reminded us that the realm of terrorism is not monopolized by those with darker skin and/or Islamic beliefs.  U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts overturned a lower court's denial of bail, saying that the nine would be no risk to the public while awaiting trial for charges of plotting to overthrow the government.