Today is Earth Day which was first celebrated on April 22, 1970. Have we made progress protecting the earth? That question is certainly debatable. What do our contributors think? Is the earth better off than it was 40 years ago?
100 Thoughts to “Open Thread ……..Passover…..Good Friday…….Earth Day…..Friday, April 22”
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We are all preparing for re-birth and resurrection of some sort. Blessed day to all!
Hmmmm–is the earth better off than it was 40 years ago? Maybe, maybe not. Floods, fires, monster storms, earthquakes, unbelieveable tsunamis, oil well blowouts, “clean coal” pollution, mining disasters, a second Chernobyl level nuclear disaster, contaminated chicken, eggs and ground beef, questionable seafood from the Gulf of Mexico and Japan along with debt that is slowly turning us into a thrid world country. And we are slowly screwing ourselves into a standing room only world–India is expected to bypass China in population by 2030–together they make up almost half the world’s population and India continues to grow by about 45,000 A DAY!
We’re still here, but I sometimes wonder how long it will be before the cockroaches inherit the earth.
In the meantime–I wish all a wonderful Easter/Passover/Earth Day.
Sometimes I think my glass is half-empty rather than half-full. Maybe that comes with the aging process, I am not certain. I apologize for the gloomy outlook, but recent news about friends and their diagnoses of what appear to be terminal cancers, my world and theirs has suddenly been altered beyond anything I would have imagined.
I am so sorry to hear about your friends, George. And as for being gloomy, you have every right to be. Sometimes I think we have reached the age of Armageddon.
Secretary of Defense Gates, in a speech on Thursday, said 2011 is a “critical year” in the War in Afghanistan and by year’s end “we’ll have turned a corner.” Here’s a link to an article by Joshua Foust where he recounts what has become an annual tradition over the past decade of declaring each year the pivotal point in the war. Hopefully at some point in some year one of these predictions will prove true. http://bit.ly/e9Cq4e
On a lighter Afghan War note, here’s a link to a video of the troops having some fun lip-synching to Britney Spears’ “Hold It Against Me.” http://bit.ly/idiXdS
And something that ticks me off,
Political correctness during holiday seasons.
I heard a Safeway ad this morning pushing specials for favorites for the holiday season – hams. There are only two holidays going on at the moment, the Easter and Passover seasons. Ham is not a Passover favorite.
Why can’t these businesses just say what they mean and stop worrying that one or two boneheads might be offended. Promote the hams as an Easter favorite (they are), promote something else that is in fact a Passover favorite, and name both holidays.
@NTK
What are they calling the ham? A holiday ham?
I don’t care if stores wish me Merry Christmas. IN fact I would rather they didn’t. Same for Easter.
The NYT published the results of a survey of 1,224 people. http://nyti.ms/f4hXfQ
President Obama’s approval-disapproval numbers are 46-45. Speaker Boehner’s numbers are 32-41 and on whether the Republican Congress is doing a good job addressing the deficit the approve-disapprove score is 27-63.
Asked who is responsible for the budget deficit the number are Bush (41%), Congress (18%), and Obama (14%).
Asked which of the big 3 (Medicare, Social Security, Defense) they would cut in order to reduce spending, 45% chose Defense, 21% Medicare, and 17% Social Security.
To reduce the deficit, 72% approve raising taxes on those earnings over $250k. On the other hand, 63% oppose raising the debt limit – 51% said they wouldn’t raise the limit even if it meant driving up interest rates.
@Morris Davis
Thanks for those results. I think those who oppose raising the debt limit are nuts. Driving up interest rates on that scale is disasterous and actually weakens our national security.
Earth Day founder murdered his girlfriend. from examiner.com
Maybe long-time Earth Day advocate Ira Einhorn took the whole “recycling” thing a little too far when he “composted” his girlfriend’s remains in a trunk in his closet…
Back in 1970, Earth Day was a grassroots hippie event. The organizers chose April 22 – which just “happens” to be the birthday of their Soviet Communist hero, Lenin.
One of the self-identified “founders” of Earth Day, Bay Area activist John McConnell, has written that in 1969 he proposed to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors a new holiday to be called Earth Day on the first day of spring, the Equinox, around March 21. But, he writes, in 1970 local anti-Vietnam War and Environmental Teach-in activists ‘who were planning a one-time event for April 22, also decided to call their event Earth Day.’
And what was this unnamed ‘one-time event’ in 1970? It was the 100th birthday celebration for Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, known to history as Lenin.
(Amusingly, the Soviets marked Lenin’s 100th birthday with – a massive tree planting in Siberia. The trees spell out a congratulatory message to the late dictator when seen from above. How “green” of them! Alas, the Soviets normally weren’t so environmentally savvy; their factories typically expelled exponentially more pollution than those in the West, but few Leftists like to dwell on that inconvenient truth.)
That very first Earth Day in Philadelphia, Ira Einhorn — local leftwing activist and self-promoting gadfly, a would-be Abbie Hoffman — served as the event’s Master of Ceremonies.
Today, Earth Day has been embraced by governments and corporations. Amazon.com is offering Earth Day specials; school kids are compelled to celebrate it instead of Christmas.
But founding organizer Ira Einhorn’s name is strangely absent from all the official Earth Day literature these days. It’s no wonder: the one-time up and coming counterculture superstar later killed his girlfriend and fled abroad to escape justice.
After bludgeoning his girlfriend of five years to death, fracturing her skull in a dozen places, Ira stuffed her body into a trunk, which he packed into a closet where it remained until discovered by the police nearly two years later.
Incredibly, Ira Einhorn isn’t the only leftwing activist who founded a holiday and was convicted of committing an act of violence against a woman. The holiday Kwanzaa sprang from the fevered imagination of an African-American radical who’d served jail time for torturing one of his female comrades.
None of this should shock even the most casual student of the Left. As documented time and again, their vaunted idealism is just a thin, publically acceptable veneer, barely concealing their misogyny, racism, misanthropy and hostility to any facts that contradict their beloved theories or people who dare to disagree with their viewpoints.
Ira Einhorn just took his hypocrisy, sense of superiority and entitlement a little farther than the average Leftist. And he got caught.
@Moon-howler
It was a radio ad I heard while driving to my office this morning. I don’t recall all of the wording, but Safeway was promoting hams as favorites for the holiday season. No mention of Passover or Easter, just “the holiday.” Leads one to assume that they think hams are popular for Passover as well as Easter.
I agree with your point. I like when a Jewish friend wishes me a happy Hanukkah or Passover, and have never known a Jewish friend to be offended by happy Easter or Merry Christmas. Such greetings show mutual respect for each other’s traditions and beliefs. Devaluing such centuries-old traditions on the part of both faiths to “happy holidays” makes them meaningless.
In December, I wish we had Nativity scenes and menorahs all over everywhere instead of just seeing Santa being used to peddle a load of junk for people to buy on credit and dig themselves into a deeper financial hole. When you take the faith and tradition out of these holidays they become nothing more than promotional opportunities for marketers. It’s another of the forces that are pushing us toward being a homogenized consumer society that doesn’t believe in anything.
Stores peddling Passover hams is as good of evidence as we need that marketers are taking over our traditions, and that people are losing touch with their past.
I think the religious symbols can stay on private property. It doesn’t offend me to see menorrahs or mangers but then it opens up a can of worms like Leesburg Courthouse.
People do have hams at Easter. I don’t know why Safeway doesn’t just say so. They can go generic on lamb.
Funny you should bring this up. I just wisecracked last night with Elena on the phone about the passover not-ham. I forget the what brought it up.
@e
Why do you try to piss on every parade? Senator Gaylord Nelson was the founder of Earth Day and I beg to differ that it was for hippies. How do I know? I remember it.
People were concerned over their environment then. It also came along after huge disasters like an oil and chemical spill in different places.
As for Lenin’s birthday, I feel certain Gaylord Nelson wasn’t a communist. He was an environmentalist.
Let me ask you something? Do you want to live in a place whose air quality resembles Bejing? Do you want factories belching out smoke? Do you want to have to work in an environment with aesbestos exposure? How about DDT? There have been huge changes just because of earth day awareness. No one says you have to go nuts over it. If it teaches one person to shut the water off while brushing their teeth or that emptying old pill containers down the toilet eventually gets into your water system, it’s done a good thing.
How about a “re-birther” movement?!
@SlowpokeRodriguez
Well, the Easter celebration must be the original “re-birther” movement!
Of course, the egg has been considered a sign of birth/rebirth for nearly 3000 years.
@Moon-howler
Sic ’em Moon! I am almost possitive “e” would bitch if he was hanged with a new rope.
As for Einhorn–Einhorn Schminhorn–he was two bricks shy of a load, never having any credibility with anyone but himself.
@e
What’s with you, anyway?
You should hear Clint Eastwood sing:
“I talk to the trees, but they don’t listen to me”
HAPPY LENIN’S BIRTHDAY!!!
I recycled today. Couldn’t think of anything to post to honor the fearless leader so I recycled two posts from years past.
http://unitedconservatives.blogspot.com/2011/04/happy-earth-day-recycling-from-2010-and.html
It is also my grandson’s birthday. I prefer to celebrate that. Screw Lenin and he has nothing to do with Earth Day.
Just found out! I’m gonna go shoot some machine guns! Woohooo!
I’m gonna shoot some machine guns! La-di-da-di-da! I’m gonna shoot machine guns! Woohoo!
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
@Cargo
Run Peter Rabbit Run!!!!!! Run Easter Bunny Run!!!!
Did you all get your free cup of coffee at Starbucks for Earth Day? Bring in a non-disposable mug and get a free cup of Starbucks brewed coffee. There’s still time if you haven’t.
I did not know this. And I should have.
It was also 7 years ago today that Pat Tillman died in combat in Afghanistan. Some people talk about love of country and throw around the word patriot, others prove the best of what the terms mean. http://bit.ly/icGpQD
Thanks, Moe, for reminding us of something we too often forget.
Wolverine – Thanks. It was unfortunate that the Pentagon and the Administration tried to exploit Pat Tillman’s death and worse when it backfired and cast a cloud over what was a heroic story in it’s own right. Anyone who raises a hand and says “send me” is a Patriot in my book, perhaps more so when it means giving up fame and fortune to heed the call to serve. It’s the Pat Tillmans that give me optimism we’ll be okay.
Its definitely more when he gave up fame and fortune in my book. Thanks for highlighting a patriot. I am not one to throw that term around losely.
Moe, I have been meaning to ask you something about the Crimes of War Project. I have been reading through most of the material on the COWP website concerning Congo and also the case of Charles Taylor of Liberia. I have yet to find anything on Qaddafi. Are you guys working on sometjhing in that area? That guy ought to be nailed with a whole lot of charges and not just those coming out of the current civil war in Libya. I just read something on the internet (I’ll be darned if I can find it again, unfortunately) which indicated that Qaddafi and his people might been involved in the bloody messes in both Liberia and Sierra Leone. I wouldn’t doubt it. The guy had his bloody hands all over parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Just curious if your people have him as a focus.
Hawaii senator questions Obama’s true birth father
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=291041
We aren’t going to entertain birther discussions here. Find a tin foil hat blog for that por favor.
@Morris Davis
The other really sad part of this story is, yes it’s been seven years since Pat Tillman was killed (by friendly fire) and we are STILL there with some vague idea about when we are going to leave.
and since the evil bush and cheney are no longer in the white house, nobody in the media is interested
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/sc-dc-court-healthcare-20110425,0,7998978.story
Looks like the case will be heard around the time of the Presidential elections. This makes me warm inside.
@Moon-howler
But, it’s so much fun.
Besides, that article actually didn’t question WHERE Obama was born. He was just saying that there may be some embarrassing information on it. That, and mentioning all the OTHER things that Obama has kept secret.
You know….like his foreign relations policy and jobs building policy…..
I seriously don’t want the discussion here. I know what it said. I feel that way about birther, truther, and all the other tin hat people conspiracy theories.
Let’s put it this way, it attracts a crowd I don’t want to deal with…and we can leave it at that.
@Cato
FRG sold and bought by Newmont Mining. New company formed as subsidiary. PLGTF is sort of a replacement stock for FRG. hmmmmmmm……
I got 37 shares out of the deal. I had to buy a few more….the devil made me do it.
@Cato,
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/imf-bombshell-age-of-america-about-to-end-2011-04-25?link=MW_home_latest_news
Belly aching or small ring of truth?
@Moon-howler
Good show. It’s a cheap lottery ticket and mostly gold exposure. Be aware that they’re sensitive to crude prices but overall I like it.
@marinm
More like a violent torpedo of truth, Marin. If anything, the article understates the degree to which we’ve been outmaneuvered by the Chinese.
@Cato the Elder
I guess when the economy goes to hell it’s always a safe bet to get in on gold, guns & ammo, and canned food.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-25/record-u-s-gun-checks-show-economic-doubts-chart-of-the-day.html
So….gold or silver now? Which is the better buy? I knew I should have cashed in that old 401k back when gold was 900 bucks.
Or, since hindsight is 20/20, bought gold when it was oh so expensive at 425 bucks/oz. back when I was deployed to Kuwait.
I like gold a lot more than silver right here. Silver has just come too far too fast for my risk profile. I’d buy it on a pullback into 41-42, but I’m not touching it here.
Thanks. Now, just to turn a 401k into an IRA.
shoulda just cashed it out.
Not saying silver can’t run higher, in fact a lot of traders I talked to today were initiating short positions (which is exactly why it might continue to run). If you look at the picture of both, silver has been on an amazing run and gold, not so much. Support levels are about 22% lower for silver and about 5% lower for gold. That’s generally how I define my risk on positions, and 22% is too much of a potential haircut for me.
Kitco.com forums have been expecting a pull back on silver too. Especially this week, when we find out about more “quantitative easing.”
@Cargo,
You are too young to cash in a 401k.
Why Wafa Sultan left Islam
http://richarddawkins.net/videos/607471-why-wafa-sultan-left-islam
Kudos. Those people have been known to overwhelm and take over sites like this one. Don’t let them in, seriously!
The courageous Progressive Caucus budget
Apr 22nd 2011, 13:48 by M.S.
Well, here’s a test case. Mr Miller’s column notes that “the Congressional Progressive Caucus plan wins the fiscal responsibility derby thus far; it reaches balance by 2021 largely through assorted tax hikes and defense cuts.” Which is pretty interesting. Have you ever heard of the Congressional Progressive Caucus budget plan? Neither had I. The caucus’s co-chairs, Raul Grijalva of Arizona and Keith Ellison of Minnesota, released it on April 6th. The budget savings come from defence cuts, including immediately withdrawing from Afghanistan and Iraq, which saves $1.6 trillion over the CBO baseline from 2012-2021. The tax hikes include restoring the estate tax, ending the Bush tax cuts, and adding new tax brackets for the extremely rich, running from 45% on income over a million a year to 49% on income over a billion a year.
Mr Ryan’s plan adds (by its own claims) $6 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, but promises to balance the budget by sometime in the 2030s by cutting programmes for the poor and the elderly. The Progressive Caucus’s plan would (by its own claims) balance the budget by 2021 by cutting defence spending and raising taxes, mainly on rich people. Mr Ryan has been fulsomely praised for his courage. The Progressive Caucus has not.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2011/04/debt_proposals
um, if birther conspiracy theories are not to be discussed, why the posting of “jan brewer: more blasting birthers” and her opinion on the matter? i’m just sayin
in regards to the courageous progressive caucus budget: how can anyone honestly believe in a budget that purportedly claims to balance the books by 2021? hell, why not 2050? there might not even be a united states in the year 2021, we’ll probably just be a wholly owned subsidiary of beijing long before that
2010 Federal Budget had the gov’t spending $3.552 trillion dollars. There are 8765 hours in a year:
$3.552 trillion / 8,765 hours = $405,210,571 per hour
In 2010, the United States accumulated over $3.5 billion in new debt each and every day. That’s more than $2 million per minute.
if you were borrowing (as the United States government does) 188 million dollars every hour, would your bank be reassured by a 10-year plan? -mark steyn
from rush limbaugh: So one day God’s watching Oprah Winfrey and He says, “You know what? Humanity has blown it, and I’ve had it — I can’t take it anymore — so I’m gonna end the world.” So He picks up the phone and makes some phone calls. He calls New York Times, He calls the Wall Street Journal, He calls USA Today, and He calls the Washington Post.
All the reporters beg for an exclusive. God says, “Nope, no exclusive. World ends tomorrow. I’ve had it. You’re hopeless.” So the New York Times headline is: “God Says World to End Tomorrow,” in Section B, page 8. USA Today headline says: “WE’RE GONE.” Wall Street Journal: “God Says World to End Tomorrow, Markets to Close Early.” Washington Post: “God Says World to End Tomorrow, Women and Minorities Hardest Hit.”
Um, actually, Republican Paul Ryan’s plan wouldn’t balance the budget until the 2030s.