He may have a new "intellectual" look, but don't let appearances deceive you. Rick Perry may look a little different these days. But behind the "cool glasses", he still has that mouth... And that foot that always finds its way into that mouth.
When the soon-to-be-ex-Governor of Texas (and a "good friend" Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval would rather forget he still has?) appeared on ABC News' "This Week" to talk about the Central American immigrant children, host Martha Raddatz had to correct Perry when he tried to blame President Obama for their arrival.
Already, President Obama has announced his administration's plans to deport many of these children. Border Patrol has already begun an ad campaign urging Central American families not to send their children to the US Border. And President Obama has asked Congress to amend the laws passed by Congress and signed by then President George W. Bush that codified current procedure for dealing with migrant children from nations that don't touch the US Border.
Yet, we must keep this in mind. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has already declared this a humanitarian crisis and stated that about 60% of these children qualify for some sort of humanitarian aid. And the Vera Institute of Justice suggested that at least 40% of these immigrant children qualify for legal protection... Back in 2012, using 2010 data. This was before the recent surge in Central American refugees...
In a move reminiscent of Cliven Bundy's "Range War", anti-immigrant extremists rushed to Murrieta to turn away buses with migrant children. And it comes as no surprise to us that many of the same "Patriot Movement" figures who rushed to aid Cliven Bundy in his "Range War" are now celebrating the Murrieta bus blockade and the flagrant disregard for federal law. It also comes as no surprise to us that these same "(anti-)Patriots" are now cheering House Speaker John Boehner's (R-Courvoisier) plan to impeach sue President Obama.
It really comes as no surprise to us that G-O-TEA politicians are now scraping the bottom of the barrel like this. We're wondering if Speaker Boehner and other G-O-TEA "leaders" were ever actually serious about passing comprehensive immigration reform (CIR). Every chance they've had to simply do what the Senate already did, House Republican "leaders" instead devised some cockamamey excuse and tried to deflect blame onto President Obama.
Rep. Joe Heck (R-Baloney) had pulled this stunt numerous times... Until he decided to just call the police on immigrant rights activists last month and rudely ignore activists in Boulder City last Friday. In reality, he's just following G-O-TEA marching orders. They feigned interest in CIR when they considered that politically expedient. But now that their G-O-TEA Culture Warrior base have made it clear they want no CIR ever, they're pandering to the lowest common denominator simply following Rick Perry's lead.
Not too long ago, Republican Party "leaders" boasted of their "successful Republican rebranding campaign". Perhaps they've been trying new looks. But just as Rick Perry can't hide the idiocy behind those "cool glasses", the G-O-TEA can't hide unbridled hatred and bigotry behind lofty rhetoric. Sadly, it comes as no surprise to us that the reality behind the "rebranding" has finally surfaced in such a brutally ugly way.
This weekend will be Boulder City's Spring Jamboree. Typically, it's an event tailored for the whole family with an art fair, a car show, an antique show, plenty of kid friendly games, and more. And all of that will happen next weekend. And on top of all that, the Spring Jamboree will also feature the first annual Rocky Mountain Gun Show.
Wait, what?! No really, a gun show will be part of the Spring Jamboree. And thanks to Senator Dean Heller's (R-46%) recent move to block even a vote on gun safety legislation centered around closing "The Gun Show Loophole" for background checks, who knows who will show up in Boulder City for this?
On Saturday, local Boulder City activists were joined by Organizing for Action volunteers to protest both Senator Heller's capitulation to the gun lobby and Boulder City's shocking decision to include the Rocky Mountain Gun Show in the Spring Jamboree. After walking from the recreation center (where the gun show will be) to a nearby Episcopal Church, Barbara Polk explained why local residents are concerned about this.
And then, Esther Sass arose to speak of her brother-in-law's untimely death in front of the Empire State Building (in New York). He never had a chance, and that's only because his assailant had a gun. WARNING: The video below has a graphic image. Viewer discretion is advised.
A retired teacher also spoke in Boulder City. She worked in the Los Angeles Unified School District, and one of her students was shot dead. That was a horrifying experience that she will never forget.
And finally, ProgressNow Nevada and OFA super-activist Teresa Crawford came ready. She listed frightening statistics of Nevada guns that end up at California crime scenes. As we discussed in February, criminal outfits often buy guns in states with lax standards (like Nevada) and send them all over the place, even to states with strict gun safety laws (like California). And since there's currently no federal baseline for gun safety, it's difficult to curb this kind of trafficking.
And sadly, this is coming to Boulder City this weekend. It doesn't have to happen, but the Boulder City Council and the Boulder City Chamber of Commerce have been digging in their heels. All residents can do now is hope things don't get out of hand this weekend... And then, demand action to ensure this doesn't happen again. Oh, and they can tell Congress to finally get their act together on expanding background checks to gun shows and other "private sales".
After enjoying a brief hiatus last year, I again did the Boulder City Damboree Parade this year. This time, Nevada Democrats were walking with Shelley Berkley and John Oceguera. As you can see below, the crowd was pretty friendly and the candidates were happy to work the crowd.
It's always a treat to stop by charming Boulder City. It's even better when the locals are happy to accept visitors. And from what I saw earlier today, Nevada Democratic volunteers received a warm reception.
Shelley Berkley had a float in the front of the parade, just behind Joe Heck and in front of Melissa Wordbury. It was an interesting placement. But all in all, Shelley got at least as many cheers as Heck. And the kids were taking the candy that was being passed out!
Further behind were the Boulder City Democrats and John Oceguera. The locals were also smiling as they were going by. Again, the crowd seemed quite polite this year. Everyone was just enjoying the show.
Unfortunately I couldn't stay for "the water works" this year, so I don't know how that went. But all in all, there's really no better way to celebrate America's birthday than do so with good friends in a true Nevada treasure.
During the 16-minute speech, the president, who ditched his suit jacket and rolled up his sleeves in the desert heat, touted his "all of the above" energy plan.
Obama chided "some politicians" for not supporting renewable energy in addition to expanding domestic oil and gas production.
"These politicians need to come to Boulder City and see what I'm seeing," he said.
The president also made reference to the nearby Hoover Dam, which he called a testament to "the notion that we can do anything."
Honestly, it was encouraging to hear President Obama defend something that should be a "no-brainer". It's just saddening that common sense has become "controversial" for many media pundits. Here's probably the key takeaway from Obama's speech in Boulder City today.
Some of these folks want to dismiss the promise of solar power and wind power and fuel-efficient cars. In fact, they make jokes about it. One member of Congress who shall remain unnamed called these jobs "phony" – called them phony jobs. I mean, think about that mindset, that attitude that says because something is new, it must not be real. If these guys were around when Columbus set sail, they’d be charter members of the Flat Earth Society. We were just talking about this – that a lack of imagination, a belief that you can’t do something in a new way – that’s not how we operate here in America. That’s not who we are. That’s not what we’re about.
These politicians need to come to Boulder City and see what I’m seeing. They should talk to the people who are involved in this industry, who have benefited from the jobs, who benefit from ancillary businesses that are related to what’s going on right here. [...]
And each successive generation recognizes that some technologies are going to work, some won’t; some companies will fail, some companies will succeed. Not every auto company succeeded in the early days of the auto industry. Not every airplane manufacturer succeeded in the early days of the aviation. But we understood as Americans that if we keep on this track, and we’re at the cutting edge, then that ultimately will make our economy stronger and it will make the United States stronger. It will create jobs. It will create businesses. It will create opportunities for middle-class Americans and folks who want to get into the middle class. That's who we are. That's what we’re about. [...]
One of the main reasons I ran for this office is I didn't think that our leaders were doing enough to tackle the big challenges, the hard challenges, to seize the big opportunities. And energy is one of the best examples. We have been talking about changing our energy policies for 30 years now. When I was the age of these guys right here, when I was 10, 11, right, in the ‘70s, and my grandparents were complaining about long gas lines, we were talking about how we were going to do things differently. Thirty, 40 years, and we keep on doing the same stuff. We keep on punting. We keep on putting it off. For decades, Washington kept kicking the can down the road.
I don't want to do that anymore. I want to make sure when these guys are grown up that they're seeing solar panels all across the country. They're seeing American-made energy and American-made power. They're benefiting from a cleaner environment. They're seeing jobs and opportunity – that’s what I want to see.
While I was a little disappointed that President Obama didn't just say it today, it seems like he wanted to drop a hint about the kind of dangerous extremism we see in the G-O-TEA today. Come on, Mitt Romney is now repeating Rush Limbaugh verbatim!
So this is the stark contrast that President Obama reminded us of yet again today, right here in Southern Nevada. Do we want to invest in our future? Or do we want to fall back to the dirty, inefficient ways of the past?
Boulder City’s Copper Mountain Solar 1 facility is the first of four energy backdrops Obama’s selected to highlight his administration’s multifaceted approach to energy development as he moves across the country. It is also the only solar facility on the short list, which includes tours of oil- and gas-drilling rigs in New Mexico, research and development facilities in Ohio, and a pipe storage yard in Oklahoma — where Obama plans to announce the construction of an oil pipeline to the Gulf of Mexico.
There are no similar project or policy announcements scheduled for the president’s turn through Boulder City; for Obama, the Nevada leg of the trip is about highlighting and defending a longstanding renewable energy policy he believes has been productive.
Copper Mountain Solar 1 is no ordinary photovoltaic power plant, even for Nevada, which ranks third in the nation for utility-scale solar projects. The nation’s biggest solar energy generator (the plant has a 58 MW production capacity), which was financed in part with $40 million worth of federal investment tax credits — “part of a set of tax incentives supported by the Obama administration that are helping move private investors off the sidelines,” the White House notes — was recognized by various industry rankings as the No. 1 plant in the nation following its completion in 2010.
The plant has also been roundly praised by Nevada political officials of all party stripes: Last year, Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval said Copper Mountain “exemplifies my goal of making Nevada the renewable energy capital of the country.”
This is a massive facility. It can generate up to 58 megawatts of clean power. It's already helping Boulder City in filling up city coffers. Oh, and this is largely thanks to investment in promoting renewable energy as a smart climate solution.
This all began next door, when California enacted AB 32, The Global Warming Solutions Act, in 2006. Because AB 32 requires power companies to receive more electric power from renewable sources, they've been investing more in renewable energy. In fact, San Diego based Sempra Energy and San Francisco based PG&E invested in the Copper Mountain facility to comply with AB 32, send more power to the Bay Area, and ultimately make money in doing that.
And we're supposed to believe that investing in green technology is bad?
The U.S. solar power industry is one of the great success stories of President Barack Obama and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu’s Recovery Act focus on the clean-energy economy. Following the kickstart of funding from the Department of Energy’s loan guarantee program, U.S. solar developers are now “luring cash at record rates from investors ranging from Warren Buffett to Google Inc. and KKR & Co. by offering returns on projects four times those available for Treasury securities,” Bloomberg reports. “Once so risky that only government backing could draw private capital, solar projects now are making returns of about 15 percent, according to Stanford University’s center for energy policy and finance”:
“After tax, you’re looking at returns in the 10 percent to 15 percent range” for solar projects, said Dan Reicher, executive director of Stanford University’s center for energy policy and finance in California. “The beauty of solar is once you make the capital investment, you’ve got free fuel and very low operating costs.”
“A solar power project with a long-term sales agreement could be viewed as a machine that generates revenue,” Marty Klepper, an attorney at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP, which helped arrange a solar deal for Buffett, told Bloomberg. “It’s an attractive investment for any firm, not just those in energy.”
Copper Mountain was partly financed by $40 million worth of federal tax credits offered to support development of renewable energy projects. And so far, it looks like even a number of REPUBLICANS, such as Governor Brian Sandoval and members of the Boulder City Council, are happy with the results of this investment. And Senator Harry Reid doesn't sound so "crazy", after all. He released this report last week detailing the economic benefits Nevada will reap from investing in renewable energy. And so far, the success at Copper Mountain is proving Harry Reid right.
That progress is evident in every corner of our state, from Primm to Tonopah and from Ely to Boulder City, where the construction of wind and solar projects are underway, and energy efficiency projects are saving consumers and taxpayer money. Taken together, these projects and others underway will contribute more than $1 billion in financial benefits and more than 2,200 jobs to Nevada.
These successes did not happen overnight and they did not happen by accident. If Nevada is serious about continuing to compete in the growing clean energy sector, then our state must play to win. This starts with having a coherent strategy to attract new industries, to forge regional and national alliances, to create markets for our products and renewable power, and to develop our human resources and capacity for innovation.
The opponents of renewable energy will continue trying to derail Nevada’s and the nation’s efforts to build a cleaner and safer energy future. Therefore, I encourage every Nevadan to visit www.reid.senate.gov/cleanenergy to examine how a number of important federal and state actions have helped Nevada start to realize its clean energy potential. You will also find ideas there on how to make sure that future actions to grow Nevada’s clean energy economy are as effective as possible and promote rapid investment in Nevada.
Despite the improving economy, the recent economic hardships should remind us that we must do more to broaden Nevada’s economy so that we are better positioned to grow and succeed in the coming decades. Nevada’s work to take advantage of its renewable energy resources does not come without risk, but we cannot turn away from clean energy and miss our opportunity to strengthen Nevada’s future with a victory in clean energy.
Sadly enough, that's what the G-O-TEA wants. Reality TV staple Donald Trump thinks "windmills are disgusting". "Tea Party" high priest of "austerity" Paul Ryan wants to slash investment in green jobs and the green economy while handing out more taxpayer funded bailouts to the fossil fuel industry. And Mitt Romney continues to flip-flop on climate change and green energy as he now wants us to "Drill, Baby, Drill!!!" to a dirty future of climate denial and increased economic hardship.
This is why I asked last Friday where Dean Heller really stands on climate change and renewable energy investment. Does he with President Obama and the strong majority of Nevadans across the political spectrum who want to see more investment, more projects like Copper Mountain Solar in Boulder City, and a sounder Nevada economy? Or will he stick with his G-O-TEA buddies in Washington who want to continue sticking their heads in the sand and deny the obvious?
Faced with global warming facts on the Rachel Maddow show last night, Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) countered, “It’s not true.” Maddow asked him to react to the 97 percent of scientists who agree that global warming is real. [...]
As a prominent climate denier and Big Oil favorite, Inhofe’s ignored the scientific evidence throughout the interview. But he’s not known for relying on scientific research — recently, he quoted the Bible as proof.
One of his points was that environmentalists aren’t “winning” despite outspending the energy industry 2-1. But environmentalists are the ones vastly outspent by dirty energy, 8 to 1 in lobbying and contributions during the climate bill debate. Inhofe’s evidence was a discredited Climate Shift report where even the leading expert on the report withdrew his name.
During the interview, Inhofe denied Big Oil’s mere existence, saying “because we hear things about big oil but what you hear is not all that big of oil.” Inhofe said the $4 billion in tax breaks to oil doesn’t count as a subsidy, even though he admitted the industry is “actually doing really well right now.” The top five oil companies alone made $137 billion in profits, while spending $146 million lobbying Congress to maintain those same tax breaks.
Is he serious? No wonder why Dean Heller is running away from James Inhofe and his fellow G-O-TEA extremists. He's now trying to recast himself in a "greener" light despite voting in a way that makes Inhofe proud.
So will Dean Heller be joining President Obama in Boulder City to tout Nevada's bright renewable energy future? Will he rebuke fellow Republican Mark Amodei's past misstatements of the costs of renewable energy (versus all our subsidizing of the fossil fuel industry)? Does he now realize the potential to put Nevada's economy on a healthier footing?
“There are more renewable energy projects under construction today than at any other time in Nevada’s history. That’s a major accomplishment,” said Reid. “The clean energy projects underway in Nevada did not happen by accident and they did not happen overnight and we must continue to ensure that Nevada realizes its clean energy potential. This means fostering more private-public partnerships and improving government and private sector coordination and not eliminating critical job-creating tax credits.”
“Federal and State policies are especially important in Nevada because unlike some states, Nevada has no coal or natural gas to develop,” said Lydia Ball, Executive Director of the Clean Energy Project. “And the federal incentives for those fuels, some of which have been around fro nearly a century, do little to help our state develop our resources and power our economy.”
The projects highlighted in the report are predicted to create more than 2,200 jobs and add more than $1 billion to Nevada’s economy. The case studies and timeline presented demonstrate the critical role that important federal actions and state policies have played in the development of Nevada’s clean energy economy, which helped make that economic growth possible.
The renewable energy sector averaged 5.8% annual growth from 2003 to 2010 and brought jobs into this state that pay $8,000 more in salary than the median wage for other jobs in Nevada. And there's potential for even more growth and more jobs if we just invest in our future. President Obama and Senator Reid are clearly interested in investing in our future. Is Dean Heller ready to ditch his G-O-TEA buddies, including Mitt Romney and his ridiculous, gassy promises that even the conservative Cato Institute and Wall Street Journal have stated are ineffective, and join all the rest of us in the 21st century?
We marched... And then many of us marched again in "the wet zone"... Yes, I got soaked! And so did Senator Woodhouse!
But then, I dried off and headed over to the Henderson Democratic Club's after party in Green Valley Ranch. And guess who I found? In addition to some friends & neighbors, Congresswoman Titus dropped by... And so did Rory Reid! He chatted with us for a few minutes about why he's running for Governor.
All in all, we had a great Third of July, and I think we threw some great celebrations for America's Birthday. Happy B-day, USA! :-D
About 40 people gathered on a dirt lot in downtown Boulder City Wednesday night to show support for health care reform.
The vigil was one of more than 300 planned as part of a nationwide effort by the liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org. A second vigil was held at the same time in front of University Medical Center in Las Vegas.
Those who had gathered in Boulder City carried candles and signs and told stories that illustrated the ways they see the current health care system failing.
And they had real stories to share.
Dina Wawers said she suffered a spinal injury two years ago in a fall and is no longer able to work. For the past two years, she has tried to get onto Social Security disability and has been denied. She is appealing but, in the meantime, she has no health insurance, she said. [...]
Speech and language pathologist Valerie McNay told the group she has good health insurance through the Clark County School District, but she thinks the money it costs could be better spent on educating children.
In addition, she said, her family is having difficulty getting a health insurer to pay on a long-term care policy her mother has had since 1994 now that her mother has dementia and needs in-home care.
In addition, McNay said, her mother has to continue to pay the $3,800 annual premiums on the policy.
“Something has to change,” she said. “We need health insurance reform now.” [...]
“Everyone is just one incident away from losing their livelihood or life,” said Cassie Rice, a Henderson business owner.
Ian Smith, who identified himself as a firefighter and emergency medical technician for eight years, said he recalled patients refusing care because they were afraid of the hospital bills or that insurance would not cover their care.
After being laid off from a previous job, he said, he cannot get health coverage because of a pre-existing condition. That has left him and his five children without coverage, he said.
Notice that there were no buses full of "teabagger superstars". There were no angry mobs brandishing rifles and starting brawls with other people. There were no corporate fat cats funding some massive media spectacle.
No, these were just real working people calling for real health care reform. That's all.
