The Left CoasterAn outside-the-Beltway perspective on current events, politics, media, and the arts. We are proud to be part of the Reality-Based Community.The First To Die- June 17, 2008 Kiribati is dying. A tiny Equatorial Pacific paradise with a population of less than a hundred thousand, Kiribati is destined to become a casualty of global warming. As ice caps melt and sea levels rise, Kiribati will be completely submerged in the ocean. In the next fifty to a hundred years. This is not speculation. This is not a mere possibility. This will happen. This cannot be stopped. As reported by Katharine Sanderson in the June 6 edition of Nature: Rising sea levels caused by...http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/012716.php The Maverick: Protect Alaska, Exploit California- June 17, 2008 Jedi blogger Digby of Hullabaloo noted yesterday the American Presidential race is still in its formative media narrative stage, an excruciating period when charlatans who are held in the lowest esteem in the land (journalists are held in lower regard even than lawyers) make up some complete bullshit and proclaim it as the narrative, a broad absurd generalization of the candidate that has no bearing to reality but that conveniently manages to screw Democrats. Al Gore is a liar is their claim...http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/012715.php The New Iraq Doesn't Include Us- June 17, 2008 Its more than ironic that foreign firms are now rushing into Iraq to invest and forge long-term business partnerships, while American firms remain on the sidelines waiting for security to improve further. After the United States spent over 4,000 of its blood treasure and trillions from its treasury in this misguided venture to liberate Iraq into a future without basic services like electricity, we now see other countries and their firms benefit from our sacrifice. This should not be...http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/012714.php Open Thread- June 17, 2008 Big news this cycle is the endorsement of Obama by Al Gore. Your turn now.http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/012713.php McCain Is The Third Term- June 17, 2008 The NYTs Lis Bumiller, who spent the early part of the Bush presidency as the NYTs White House correspondent, now tells us that McCain is more similar to Bush on the issues than McCain wants to admit. On Iraq, judges, tax cuts, health care, and abortion, McCain supports Bushs retrograde agenda and policies, and in some cases is worse than Bush (on immigration). On the environment, McCain likes to point out that he supports emission limits and a (meaningless) purely voluntary cap-and-trade...http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/012712.php Putting The "Free" Back In The Free Market- June 16, 2008 I'm not into reading between the lines of Barack Obama's speeches, because I think they're so carefully crafted as to be deliberately open to interpretation. I do think he's inclined to be liberal on most issues, but I also think he's inclined to be more moderate and more of an incrementalist than genuine liberals like myself will like. I thought the same of Hillary Clinton, and because I didn't see many substantive differences between Clinton and Obama on the issues, I don't see how Clinton...http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/012711.php They Love to Make Others Lose- June 16, 2008 Over the last eight weeks as the Presidential journalism coverage increased Ive watched with growing dismay a corresponding ineptness and base incompetence in the political reporting. A New York Times reporter absurdly states Jewish voters have been drifting to the right while there zero evidence of it, while a few days later another New York Times reporter cites harm from polling margin of error, but without citing the margin or even the base result if the poll. A USA Today reporter cannot...http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/012710.php Still Going Up- June 16, 2008 The Bush Administration has steadfastly told us that the drastically increasing cost of oil is largely the result of a lack of supply, and not the result of speculative futures trading or the weak dollar. The administration has been fine with the weakening dollar because they feel it will lead to an export-driven recovery, and they have been AWOL in dealing with commodities trading activities plaguing the markets and oil prices now. So if the problem really is all about supply, as the...http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/012708.php Realistically Changing The Map- June 16, 2008 Over the weekend, the Obama campaign was putting out the word that it can win the presidency without Ohio and Florida, if it wins Virginia, Georgia, and a couple of Rocky Mountain states. I see nothing wrong with this, if the Obama campaign uses its cash advantage to stretch the Democratic map while pushing McCain to spend precious resources in red states that are trending purple. But this strategy only works if it isn't grounded on false hope, and doesnt signal an actual surrender in Ohio,...http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/012707.php Open Thread- June 16, 2008 Something we would not find too surprising: increasing numbers of people are using the internet as a vehicle to follow and be involved in politics. The internet provides a real forum for people to talk back and get involved, instead of just being the consumers of one-way messages. It is changing our politics for the better. Your turn now.http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/012706.php |