Radical Change

It's still dry out here. Sure, we've occasionally had storms drop some rain on us. However, we're still operating on a serious precipitation deficit.

And it's not over yet. Far from it, Nevada will likely endure another year of drought. This drought has caused a world of trouble for Nevada and the entire West. And it now looks like we must prepare for another year of Lake Mead & Lake Tahoe shrinking while wildfires burn across the state.

It's become increasingly undeniable that climate change is taking its toll on Nevada along with the rest of the world. So why aren't more people making noise?

But wait, there actually were about 400,000 people making noise in New York City on Sunday. And that was just one of the People's Climate March events happening in over 150 nations this week. And yet, you may not have even heard about it until now.



So why did the Sunday talk shows only barely mention this? After all, it was happening in their own back yard.

Even though many media pundits continue to ignore the perils of climate change, a number of captains of industry are now speaking up and making change happen. This isn't some "fringe movement". This is a very real statement on a very real threat to all of us.



As they always do, the usual G-O-TEA suspects were trashing last weekend's march while decrying "the radical left" for demanding "radical change". But you know what? If we want to survive, we must embrace radical change and do so soon. Hell, most American voters are now realizing this. So why shouldn't we start implementing the radical changes we need to save ourselves and our children's future on this planet?



This week, the United Nations is holding another climate summit. This time, it's in New York. And this is why we're seeing so much direct action in New York this week.



It's amazing that roughly 400,000 people took to the streets of Manhattan on Sunday demanding climate action. And it's amazing to think a number of those people are staying for further actions. However, this is not enough. They can't be the only ones to act.

Ultimately, we must all act. And yes, we must all begin making radical changes soon. We can't afford to delay any longer. If we need any further reason to act, all we must do is open the door.

Think Before You Act

Today, we're all remembering what happened 13 years ago. And we're facing tough questions that harken back to the decisions made in the aftermath of September 11.

Not even a year after 9/11 and the start of the Afghanistan War, then President George W. Bush wanted to go to war in Iraq. We were initially told Saddam Hussein was personally responsible for 9/11. Then, we were told Saddam Hussein was providing safe harbor to al-Qaeda terrorists. Then, we were told Iraq was somehow part of the "Axis of Evil". Then, we were told of "smoking guns" and "mushroom clouds".

Ultimately, then President Bush got the war he wanted. Thanks to neoconservative allies in Congress like Senator
John McCain (R-Arizona), approval for the Iraq invasion was a snap. And Bush never had to worry about obtaining more funding for what later became a war of "liberation" and "spreading democracy".



Senator John McCain, along with so many of the other regular cable "news" talking heads and Sunday show pundits, have regularly been proven wrong on their constant assertions that all we need is another war in order for Americans to "feel safe".



But what if we don't need another war in order to "feel safe"? What if we don't need to repeat the mistakes from our last war in the region? What if we actually think before we act?

We can't afford to make the same mistakes we made in Iraq last decade. While Isis indeed poses a threat to regional stability in the Middle East, it's not the some rapidly approaching apocalypse for America. Yet if we make the wrong move there, we risk further destabilization of the region (and ironically, a stronger Isis).



Contrary to what certain "TEA" flavored media pundits like to say, sports analogies won't help. Neither will bombastic rhetoric. And probably neither will yet another full scale Middle East war.

Perhaps we should think some more before we act. We have no obligation to repeat the mistakes of the previous Iraq War. And we have no obligation to commit thousands more American troops to a geopolitical Pandora's Box that only promises more brutal & bloody mayhem if opened. However, there are 535 people on Capitol Hill who do have an obligation to hold a vote. We'd like for them to think and act on it.

My Own 9/11 (& Deja Vu, Fog of War)

(Especially in light of President Obama's big announcement on Isis last night, I figured now's a good time to rerun this piece from September 11, 2011. I'll have more on the President's plan to take on Isis later today.)



September 11, 2001, is a day I can't forget... Even though it was a day that seemed to start like so many others had. While I was getting ready for school, America's beating economic heart and central political nervous system were under attack. And as I was starting what I just thought would be my second day of high school, my entire outlook on life would forever change.

That morning, I woke up as just another Orange County kid attending just another conservative Christian fundamentalist private school. In the following weeks, I would be relegated as "extreme" as that crazy "anti-American" extremist, Barbara Lee. Why? Well, I agree(d) with her.



It was my first experience of expressing dissent, and of paying the price for holding an unpopular point of view. In the immediate days following 9/11, there was a sense of national unity. And while it was helpful in many ways, on the other hand it allowed for the Bush Administration to embark on policy prescriptions that we would later learn to be quite harmful to our country. It was easy to go with the masses and cheer on "retaliation" against the "evildoers". It most definitely wasn't easy to point out what would happen once Congress gave George Bush a blank check to engage in endless war.

I was just trying to make sense of everything that was happening all around me... And it just wasn't making sense. Even as everyone else around me kept beating the drums for war more loudly, I kept wondering why we were doing this. My teachers and my own mother were asking why I sympathized with "terrorists". Other students just saw me as "the liberal weirdo". Nothing seemed to make sense then...

But it all comes together now.

Fast forward ten years, and now Rep. Barbara Lee's words ring more prescient and true than ever before. We're mired in multiple wars abroad, yet we supposedly can't afford to create jobs for the unemployed here at home. Nearly ten years after the USA (Un)PATRIOT(ic) Act passed, Americans are now asking where their freedom went. And now that memories of a nation so proudly patriotic seem so distant, Congress has reached a new low in unpopularity as seemingly anything and everything is being questioned.

In many ways, it feels like the tables have turned. Back then, I felt so alone in opposing what seemed so American as apple pie. But now, I'm trying to explain how things work to the very same people who are now losing faith in the entire American experiment. It can be sad to watch, but I can't lose hope that our people will recognize what needs to be done to restore our democracy.

Where to Start on Isis

This is something we touched upon last month. And this is something we must talk about today. Iraq is pretty much on a razor's edge right now. And now that Isis is killing journalists along with soldiers as it expands into Syria, alarm bells are ringing.

Even here in Nevada, Members of Congress are demanding some sort of strategy to take down Isis. But what should we do?



The usual "TEA" fueled suspects actually seem to be advocating exactly what Isis wants: a 21st century "crusade". And for a number of Republican politicians, neoconservative belligere nce is suddenly en vogue again. We guess all it takes is a foreign crisis for "libertarian populism" to be thrown out the window.

President Obama has already ordered air strikes against Isis in Iraq. Now, the President is considering rallying allies to expand the air campaign into Syria. This is now on top of the agenda at the NATO summit in Estonia (alongside the ongoing conflict in Ukraine).

Already, we're hearing plenty of opinions on what to do in Syria & Iraq. And that's all fine & dandy. We just need to see this debate move into Congress.

That's where it needs to be. That's where military action must be authorized before it proceeds. And no matter how much they want to avoid going on record with a floor vote, that's what must happen.

There are no easy answers here. There are plenty of good reasons to doubt the utility of yet another large scale US military intervention in the Middle East... But can we afford to do nothing? Some sort of action may be needed to curb Isis, but that action probably shouldn't involve useless bluster.

So what should we do? What we know for sure is that it needs to start with Congress stepping up to the plate.

Ay Yay Yay, Perry

He may be indicted... But that's still not stopping him from running for President. Outgoing Texas Governor Rick Perry (R) has been indicted on two felony abuse of power charges related to his veto of a bill funding the state office in charge of investigating corruption.

Yet despite this (not so) little setback, #Perry2016 rages on. Earlier today, he addressed the Heritage Foundation. During his speech, Perry attempted to give a serious speech on Iraq. And surprise, surprise, he agrees with neoconservatives on sending American troops back to essentially restart the Iraq War.

Oh, and that's not all. Rick Perry also had something to say about Isis coming to America. He actually claimed "it's a very real possibility" that Isis terrorists have crossed the US-Mexico Border.



We know Republican "leaders" have been desperate to spin away their horrific EPIC FAIL on comprehensive immigration reform (CIR), but this is truly beyond the pale. Does Rick Perry truly expect us to believe that refugee children who have come here fleeing epic violence in Central America are actually Isis terrorists from the Middle East? Who does he think he's kidding?

If anything, the children being deported are in grave danger. Yes, G-O-TEA politicians like Rick Perry want to deport refugee children back into an active war zone. And they like to call themselves the "pro-life, pro-family party"?



So Rick Perry wants to talk terrorism? He really wants to talk terrorism? Perhaps before he speaks of any more visions of "Isis on the Rio Grande", he needs to have a heart-to-heart with his own base. Oh, and perhaps he should focus on his own pending criminal trial.

The Iraq Question

At one point, it seemed like it was beginning to fade from our memory. It was becoming "ancient history". And with so much to worry about at home, why must we think about it again?

But now, Iraq is back in the news. Isis (or "Islamic State") is on the move in Northern Iraq, and it may now have sights on Syria and Turkey as well. And now, fears are growing of a possible genocide in the region.

The US is moving back towards military engagement in Iraq. But before we debate what we should do there next, we must remember how we fell into this hot mess in the first place.

In October 2002, Congress voted to authorize the use of force in Iraq to combat the alleged stockpiling of "weapons of mass destruction" by then Iraqi Prime Minister Saddam Hussein. Before the vote, the Bush Administration made claims that Saddam Hussein was somehow involved in the September 11, 2001, (9/11) terrorist attack. There was never a formal declaration of war when the US led invasion began in March 2003. And after the invasion, it became painfully clear that there were no "weapons of mass destruction" prepared to be used against us... And that Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with 9/11.

After the invasion began, the Iraq War transformed from an allegedly "anti-terrorist operation" into some "armed humanitarian liberation of the Iraqi people". All of a sudden, our armed forces were in Iraq to initiate "regime change" and essentially force "democracy" at gunpoint. The neoconservatives who were advising then President George W. Bush on foreign policy were praising "freedom fighters" like Ahmad Chalabi and urging the US to expand our military presence into Iran, Syria, and elsewhere so we can spread "democracy" all over the Middle East. What was supposed to be a fast & easy "shock & awe" war to disarm terrorists was suddenly becoming a grandiose attempt to set up an American Empire halfway across the world.

Ironically, this war that was supposed to "disarm terrorists" actually succeeded... In arming terrorists. al-Qaeda never had a presence in Iraq before March 20, 2003. But after the US led "coalition of the willing" toppled Saddam Hussein's regime from power, an enormous power vacuum emerged. And by mid 2004, "al-Qaeda in Iraq" was wreaking havoc in the "Triangle of Death" around Baghdad.

US forces only succeeded in wresting control of the Baghdad exurbs from "al-Qaeda in Iraq" by arming Sunni militias who had grown uncomfortable with their continued presence in the region while providing "The Surge" of additional US soldiers into Iraq. But even then, "al-Qaeda in Iraq" was never fully eradicated. It only went dormant (until the inevitable "rebranding" that we'll get to in a moment).

What was supposed to be a "liberation of the Iraqi people" quickly devolved into a complete organizational clusterfuck as the US occupation of Iraq dragged on. Alleged "Iraqi Messiah" Ahmad Chalabi ran to Iran whenever they had money for him and became a nagging destabilizing force in the region. The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) that took over after the end of Saddam's reign quickly emerged as a Keystone Kops style money laundering scheme. And the Shia led political bloc that ultimately took the keys from the CPA never seemed to unite the nation behind its government.

By 2011, what had previously been known as "al-Qaeda in Iraq" "rebranded" itself as Isis. And when Isis decided to disobey al-Qaeda Central's orders to limit civilian deaths when it jumped into Syria's civil war, the 2 terrorist networks divorced this past February. But now that Iraq's government is as unstable as ever, President Obama faces tough choices on how to prevent a horrid genecidal bloodbath in the region.

Oh, and so does Congress. But already, many of the same neoconservatives who misled the nation into the Iraq War in 2002 want to criticize just about anything & everything President Obama decides to do now. Some of the current G-O-TEA hotheads on Capitol Hill even want to return US ground troops to Iraq and revive the US occupation. And to make matters even more bizarre, some Democrats (who happen to be the same ones who voted for military force authorization in 2002) are harping about the Obama Administration's caution in arming rebels, even as many of the rebels the neoconservatives have wanted to support actually have ties to Isis.

As we ponder what to do next about Iraq, it's critical for us to remember the history of this war. It's crucial for us to remember the many painful errors and brutal blunders made in the 12 years so that we don't repeat them. And as Members of Congress decide what parameters to set on this latest mission into Iraq, they must remember their Constitutional duty and their precedecessors' big mistake.

Gnawing Suspicion

We just had this gnawing suspicion. We just had this premonition that wouldn't go away. We always expected this would come.

And now, it's coming. Congressional G-O-TEA rabble routers crave it. And their spiritual leader with a unique penchant for grifting & quitting, Sarah Palin, demands it.

The G-O-TEA base demands the impeachment of President Obama. And now that they've effectively killed comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) for the duration of the 113th Congress, Congressional Republican "leaders" are now threatening to impeach President Obama for trying to do anything on immigration reform. And Sarah Palin is cheering them on as they make their threats.



Since House Republicans' $3.3 million #Benghazi shopping spree has netted them everything but "the smoking gun", they're taking our their Black Card out for another fishing expedition. And they actually now believe they've found what they're looking for in the Central American migrant children.

No really, #Murrieta has become their new rallying cry. While the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees is asking President Obama to grant asylum for as many of these refugee children as possible, the 21st Century Know Nothings want to impeach President Obama for even trying to abide by the law. Oh, and they want to impeach President Obama for not invading Mexico (??!!).

We just had this gnawing suspicion. We just had this premonition that wouldn't go away. We had a terrible feeling that the usual G-O-TEA suspects would take these migrant children and make them into Excuse #1001 for failing to pass CIR and Reason #101 for pursuing impeachment. So far, it looks like we were right to suspect all this.

Ugly Numbers Game

Last week, it was soccer. No really, it was soocer. The 21st Century Know Nothings declared their opposition to soccer because the World Cup is actually something the entire world participates in (and more Americans are just discovering "the beautiful game").

Now, it's children. No really, it's children. The 21st Century Know Nothings are so enraged by Central American immigrant children that they want to deport them all. And even though President Obama is planning to move ahead with deportation for at least most of these children, Congressional G-O-TEA Culture Warriors still plan to impeach President Obama for something he did not do.

On Saturday, Rep. Steven Horsford (D-North Las Vegas) joined House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-California) and Rep. Filemon Vela (D-Texas) to tour a detention facility in Vela's Brownsville district that's housing many of these immigrant children. And there, they made the case for strong action... For these children, and eventually for comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) as well.



But now, these children have become the latest excuse for House Republican "leaders" to kill CIR. They've tried #Benghazi. They've tried #IRS. They've tried #VA07. And yes, they've even tried #Bergdahl. And all of that was before they turned to children and soccer.

Now, as always, Congressional G-O-TEA "leaders" are blaming President Obama for their own shortcomings. And even though President Obama has overseen the deportation of about 2 million immigrants during his time in office, and even as his administration is about to order even more deportations, they're now attacking the President for "not enforcing the law"... Even when he has.

And of course, they're now attacking the President just as he's about to announce further executive action to curb the record pace of deportations. Millions of American families and numerous American communities risk being ripped apart and decimated if this record high pace of deportations continues. Yet because the lower House of Congress refuses to finish what the upper house (aka the Senate) started, President Obama must now figure out how many more to deport and how much more executive action to take to limit future deportations. It's an ugly numbers game. And it's actually an unnecessary numbers game...

That we wouldn't have to consider if supposedly pro-reform House Republicans (cough- Joe Heck- cough) had simply allowed a floor vote for HR 15. They know recent consideration of CIR has had nothing to do with the arrival of the immigrant children from Central America. They know the other "#ObamaScandal" excuses carry no weight. And they know they'll find their "principles for reform" in HR 15, especially since a few of them crossed over to cosponsor it!

So now, they expect us to play this ugly numbers game while they play politics with people's lives. And they expect us to cheer them when they threaten to impeach sue President Obama and invade Mexico. Apparently, they still haven't realized we're not interested in their petty political games.

Leave No Soldier Behind

As faithful readers here know, we try our best to avoid "Campaign Silly Season". But sometimes, the season becomes so silly that we can't avoid it any longer. Today happens to be that kind of day.

And we're not alone. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) couldn't hold back any longer. In fact, he tweeted this earlier today.

"We rescue our soldiers first and ask questions later. If action by justice system is needed, I prefer American justice over Taliban justice."

Whenever an American Prisoner of War has been taken, our armed forces always go all in to ensure the safe return of that POW. Always. Never before has this been "controversial"... Until now.



Rep. Mark Amodei (R-Carson City) tweeted, "Best news I've heard in a long time! #standwithbowe", soon after news broke of the Taliban's release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. That tweet was later deleted, and one of Amodei's staff then "blamed" the earlier tweet on another staff member who sent it "without knowing the terms of the release or consulting the congressman".

Believe it or not, Amodei isn't the only Republican who's flip-flopped on #standwithbowe. Senators John McCain (R-Arizona), Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), and Kelly Ayotte (R-New Hampshire) all called for the safe return of Sgt. Bergdahl... Until President Obama announced the prisoner exchange. And then, all of a sudden, a common wartime practice became some "ACT OF TREASON!!!!!111111!!!!!11".

Oh, yes. That's right. They're going there. Move over, #Benghazi. #Bergdahl is the G-O-TEA's newest & hottest haute faux scandal.

And just like their previous favorite haute faux scandals, they're not even bothering to check the facts on Bowe Bergdahl. Rather, they're just leaving it to Republican campaign consultants and hypocritical blowhard scumbags to attack Bergdahl without any actual facts. Because, of course, Obama.



Whatever happened to "leave no soldier behind"? Whatever happened to due process? And hell, whatever happened to "country first"?

We don't know exactly how and why Sgt. Bergdahl went missing. We just know President Obama made sure he was brought home safely. And ultimately, that's what matter. He made sure to leave no soldier behind. Why does anyone want to punish him for that? There's "Campaign Silly Season", but this goes way beyond that pail.

Conundrum

What's happening in Russia & Ukraine now is serious. And it's becoming dangerous for many there. It's the kind of foreign policy conundrum...

That the usual G-O-TEA suspects are politicizing. Once again, they're looking for a "SCANDAL!!!" to blame President Obama for. And once again...

They're celebrating the Russian government's brutality? Oh, yes. That's right. They're going there... Again.

This time, it's religious right icon Franklin Graham joining Focus on the Family and other extreme religious right groups in praising Russia's persecution of its own LGBTQ citizens. He thinks Russian President Vladimir Putin is "right on these issues" of quashing civil rights in his nation. And he agrees with other radical right crackpots media personalities on the "moral clarity" that great "lion of Christianity" Vladimir Putin offers the world.

And ironically, this is the same person running the same nation that many G-O-TEA media pundits falsely claim President Obama isn't doing enough to confront. And in another ironic twist, one of those leftover Bush era neocons will be coming to Las Vegas next week to raise money for Adam Laxalt, the G-O-TEA Attorney General candidate on a mission to destroy marriage equality regardless of what that pesky US Constitution has to say about equal protection under the law. We bet that Nevada G-O-TEA fundraiser will be interesting... Especially since Governor Brian Sandoval (R) was invited. And Adam Laxalt has made quite the point of running against Sandoval's decision to stop fighting against marriage equality in court.

Of course, Adam Laxalt is not the only Nevada Republican facing this kind of conundrum. NV-04 hopeful Cresent Hardy is still on the lookout for "segregation laws". And NV-03 incumbent Rep. Joe Heck (R) recently tried to spin his way out of his own confusing argument against marriage equality.





We've talked about this before. But since it's back in the news, let's dig a little deeper into the Republican Party's tortured stance in LGBTQ civil rights. Even as it embarks on a slick new ad campaign meant to spread awareness of "Republican rebranding", its 21st Century Know Nothing base continues to remind us of what's actually behind all that "rebranding".

Think about that. Even as G-O-TEA media spinners take to the cable channels to proclaim its "TSUNAMI!!!" of new energy, we look past their spin to see them (still) beating their dead horse. And we still notice their conundrum of giving a new spin to their same old agenda of fighting against equality. Even as they're airing the slick new ads and trying to showcase their "new energy" in a softer light, they're nonetheless complaining about the "hidden agenda" behind beer, graham crackers, and tornados.

What's happening in the Republican Party right now is very real. It faces a real conundrum. Its electoral future depends on accepting the reality of 21st century America, but its base continues to resist even the progress of the 20th century. And as long as this continues, it will be difficult to take any cosmetic "rebranding" seriously.

History Repeating Itself

During this past weekend, Irish eyes were smiling. Plenty of folks picked out their best green to wear today. Shamrocks are suddenly en vogue again. And...

The Irish Prime Minister lobbied for US immigration reform in DC? No really, Enda Kenny, Ireland's Prime Minister, took to Capitol Hill to ask Congress to move on comprehensive immigration reform (CIR). He and Irish-American activists especially focused on House Republicans. And they reminded everyone on Capitol Hill that Irish immigrants & workers are counting on CIR just as much as immigrants from elsewhere.

But will "The Luck of the Irish " do the trick this time? Perhaps... Not. Once again, the G-O-TEA run lower house of Congress passed two anti-immigrant bills meant to shame President Obama on DACA. Yet ironically, they pulled this stunt just as pro-CIR activists were again urging the President to curb the incredibly high amount of deportations occurring under his watch (even since DACA was first announced).

This is why Rep. Steven Horsford (D-North Las Vegas) and other CIR advocates on The Hill cheered activists as they delivered another petition to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) last week. While Speaker Boehner and other House Republican "leaders" have touted their "principles for immigration reform", they've also abandoned their own "principles". And now that House Republican "leaders" have let the 21st Century Know Nothings dictate immigration policy there, they're claiming they'll perhaps consider reform... In 2015.

Really? Wasn't 2013 supposed to be the "prime opportunity for Republicans" to act on CIR? Wasn't the Senate's smooth passage of the bipartisan S 744 supposed to mean something in that other House of Congress? Was all the movement on CIR truly for naught? And since House Republicans have already broken their promise to act last year, why is anyone supposed to believe them now when they claim they'll act next year? And how are we supposed to know their action won't be like the action they took in 2005?

Perhaps this is all just history repeating itself. After all, this isn't the first time when immigrants coming to America faced legal challenges, economic hardship, and discrimination upon arriving here. Perhaps the visiting Irish Prime Minister had this history in mind when he visited Washington, DC, last week. It remains to be seen if G-O-TEA politicians there will decide to repeat history (again).

Super FAIL

Last night, millions of Americans collectively dropped their jaws. Some were outraged. Others were overjoyed. And nearly all were surprised.

The Seattle Seahawks' landslide Super Bowl win was genuinely shocking. The 21st Century Know Nothings' reaction to Coca-Cola's Super Bowl commercial, however, was anything but. Why? Exhibit A is below.



"ZOMG!!! This is 'MUR'KA! SPEEK INGLESH!!!111111!!!!" Of course, that's what the usual suspects were screaming all over social media with the #BoycottCoke hashtag once this commercial aired. And they wonder why even House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) calls their beloved (Steve) King an asshole?

Ironically enough, #BoycottCoke had previously been the hashtag of choice for human rights activists denouncing Coca-Cola's tacit endorsement of Russia's state sanctioned homophobia & transphobia on the eve of the Sochi Winter Olympics. So was last night's flashy ad a mea culpa of sorts for the multinational beverage conglomerate? Or was this just an oh so convenient way to "rainbow-wash" the gruesome reality of its quest for profit at the expense of millions of Russians under constant threat of state sanctioned persecution?



So why are we now talking about soda, sports, and TV ads? Don't worry. We're getting to the point of all this.

And here it is: Actions speak louder than words. Like Coca-Cola, the Republican Party has run into "rebranding" trouble as of late. Even as some Republicans in Nevada and elsewhere have embraced LGBTQ and immigrant civil rights, the bulk of the party from the top down has not. And since the party is still so strongly tied to its "TEA" powered base, it continues doubling down in its "Culture War", even as the rest of America long ago declared that war over.

Don't believe us? Then we dare you to watch President Obama's pre-Super Bowl Fox "News" interview. We also dare you to re-read the legal brief that Governor Brian Sandoval (R-Denial) doesn't want you to remember. And while you're at it, go ahead and review the House floor vote that Rep. Joe Heck (R-??!!) doesn't want you to remember.

Perhaps because the actual Super Bowl game turned out to be such a wildly lopsided affair, we couldn't help but dig deeper into the messaging happening during the commercial breaks and on Fox's "news" channel. And we couldn't help but notice that the G-O-TEA "rebranding campaign" continues to ring as hollow as ever. And as long as party "leaders" continue their quest to "have it both ways" (by "softening their image" to the general public while simultaneously doubling down on extreme, xenophobic policy where it really matters), they'll only continue to reap the ultimate Super FAIL.

"Doing Something" v. (Actually) Doing Something

Remember this guy? He's still in Congress. And apparently, he now wants to be known for doing something there.

Last year, Rep. Joe Heck (R-Henderson) caught plenty of flack for failing to deliver on a number of important matters to Southern Nevada. Of course, one of those important matters has been comprehensive immigration reform (CIR). Despite repeated requests by his constituents to act on CIR, and despite Heck's occasional suggestions that he will, nothing has happened (other than his June 2013 vote for an anti-CIR amendment to deport DREAMers).

But now, Rep. Heck is finally in position to do something. So what does he want to do?

.@RepJoeHeck named chair of HouseArmedServices investigations panel, takes over one of the GOP probes of Benghazi. #lvrj

Oh, yes. That's right. We're back to Benghazi. And we're back to the usual G-O-TEA conspiracy theories.

At a Summerlin area town hall last August, Rep. Joe Heck promised swift action on investigating Benghazi...



Even though G-O-TEA anti-Obama/Clinton conspiracy theories swirling around that 2012 US Consulate attack continue to be debunked, G-O-TEA politicians just can't stop in their quest to find a new #ObamaScandal to use against The White House and Congressional Democrats in the coming midterms. Their appetite for haute faux scandals still looks to be as strong as their appetite for manufactured crises. And once again, Rep. Heck seems to be going along (with G-O-TEA Scandal-mania) to get along (with the G-O-TEA base who decides primaries).

At least he will be able to keep his promise to the G-O-TEA to investigate Benghazi (to death). Perhaps this will be enough for him to fend off any late-surging, TEA fueled primary challenges.

But what about the rest of us? What about the American families worrying about their family members being deported? What about the businesses looking for more certainty in America's immigration system? And what about all the workers who are already here and just want a chance to work legally for a decent wage?

And since we're talking about work, what about all those #4jobs promises? Remember when Rep. Heck and other House Republicans promised action to put Americans back to work? Yep, we know. It seems like an eternity ago.

Perhaps now, Rep. Heck can finally feel like a "playa" on Capitol Hill. However, he should keep in mind that voters here and across the nation are not looking forward to more time wasted on nonsensical conspiracy theories. If he wants to be credited with "doing something", then he needs to spend time doing something productive.

Crash Course (on #GreenMeansGreen)

So how's that "crash" coming along? Earlier this month, CBS' flagship "news magazine" "60 Minutes" unveiled a shocking report on the "60 Minutes". Unfortunately for the "60 Minutes" crew, their shocking report turned out to be shocking because it was so shockingly wrong.

Contrary to G-O-TEA wishes, the green economy is humming along just fine. Rather, it's the fossil fuel industry that's increasingly running into trouble. With both natural gas prices and fracking woes on the rise, the "natural gas boom" of the last few years may finally be starting to turn into a bust. And considering both the continued health risks (cough- West Virginia- cough) and declining private sector investment in coal, don't expect "King Coal" to reclaim its throne any time soon (or really, ever).

It's become painfully obvious that we must rethink energy going forward. We've given the fossil fuel industry so many institutional advantages over the years. Why not level the playing field... And do something meaningful about climate change... And create more jobs in the process?

This is what UN Climate Chief Christiana Figueres is talking about when she calls for global investment in renewable energy to triple. It must in order for us to come closer to the carbon emissions reduction we need in order to survive. In addition, it would be a response to already budding market forces pointing toward a greener future.



And think of all the jobs that all that investment can create. Or is that just too much actual jobs creation for the allegedly #4jobs G-O-TEA Congresscritters?

Do we really need to be convinced any further? Do we really need any more delays? And do we need any more counterproductive hyperventilating over nonexistent "crashes"?

Consider this today's green tinted food for thought.

The Scandal That Isn't There (vs. One That Is)

Scandal! Scandal! It's time for a new haute faux scandal. And this time, it's (again) coming from Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates. And this time, it's (again) targeting Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D).

So what happened? Long story short, Robert Gates decided to release a book that throws plenty of shade at the Obama Administration. Why? President Obama dared to question the wisdom of indefinite extension of the Afghanistan War and look for a full spectrum of options on Libya (in 2011). Apparently, Robert Gates didn't like President Obama asserting his constitutional authority as Commander-in-Chief.

And now, Gates is digging further back in time to try to read Senator Reid. No really, he's taking to the media to rehash comments the Senator made nearly 7 years ago on the Iraq War. Of course, he fails to mention that Senator Reid has been proven correct on Iraq.

We can't help but wonder why Republican politicians are chomping at the bit to see more of Robert Gates throwing political punches at President Obama, Senator Reid, and other top Democrats. Is it because they hope Gates' comments can revive their meme of #ObamaFAIL? Is it because they still refuse to acknowledge the Obama Administration's foreign policy successes? Is it because they want to use Gates' recent comments as ammo in their battle against President Obama & Senator Reid on Iran policy?

Or could the motivation behind the "Gates-gate" hype lie closer to home? Just as "Gates-gate 1.0" was starting to hit its stride in the media, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) screwed it all up with the emergence of his own (very real) Bridge-gate scandal. Might "Gates-gate 2.0" just be a clumsy G-O-TEA attempt at diverting media attention from the scandalicious slow motion implosion of Republicans' "Great White Hope for 2016"?

Whatever the motivation(s) behind "Gates-gate", it just seems like there's no there there. And we should keep this in mind in case someone decides to manufacture a new "Harry Reid SCANDAL!!!"

Long Walk to Freedom

Last week, the world lost a great civil rights and human rights leader. Former South African President Nelson Mandela passed away last Thursday. The memorial service was earlier today. And the world will probably still be discussing Mandela's legacy in the coming days.

President Obama delivered a speech at today's memorial service, along with current South African President Jacob Zuma and other world leaders. They remembered Nelson Mandela's journey from anti-apartheid activist to political prisoner to South Africa's first black President to perhaps the world's most cherished civil rights icon. And they celebrated Mandiba's contribution to the struggle for racial equality, women's rights, LGBTQ equality, and more.

We can't help but reflect on how far South Africa has come since Mandela began raising hell... And how far he's encouraged us to come as well. After years of struggles and occasional setbacks, we've come a long way in guaranteeing liberty & justice for all. Of course, we still have a long way to go before we arrive there. Nonetheless, we're closer now than we've ever been before.

While Nelson Mandela's long walk to freedom may be over, ours is still in progress. We still have further to walk. We still have more work to do to achieve full freedom.

Mandiba didn't always have it easy. After all, he spent 27 years incarcerated. Much of that time, he was locked in a remote prison cell. Most of us can't relate to that.

However, we can relate to his overall efforts to make a better South Africa and a better world. We can't forget his legacy. Instead, we should build on it.

Green Shoots

This week, Nevada is making history HERstory. And this time, it's in a good way. We now have a Rhodes Scholar!

Clarke Knight graduated from Green Valley High School in 2010. She's now a Senior at the prestigious Smith College. And soon, she plans to go to Oxford.

What's even more impressive is what Ms. Knight plans to do with her Rhodes Scholarship and Oxford education.

The 21-year-old chemistry major said she wants to deal with climate change as a scientist after attending Oxford University beginning next October. She would like to see "evidence-based" policy on climate change and the U.S. take the lead on addressing the issue, she said.

"I really hope I can continue as a hard scientist who's committed to policy, and I really hope we can rectify climate change and the problems we've caused with the environment," Knight told The Associated Press.

"I really want to be a bridge between the two cultures of science and policymakers. They need a translator and I want to be that person," she added.

In recent weeks, we've become accustomed to cutting through the manufactured crises and haute faux scandals to get to the real story. And frankly, the real story hasn't always looked encouraging.

That's why our eyebrows were raised (in a good way!) when we spotted this in the morning paper. There are many doors that have opened to Clarke Knight now that she's a Rhodes Scholar. And she wants to take the door involving climate change policy? Wow. She's brave.

And that's not all. New evidence suggests recent global climate compacts are having an impact on greenhouse gas emissions. And President Obama's executive actions promise further progress here in the US. Believe it or not, there's actually some good news to be thankful for this week.

Of course, we're still quite far from out of the woods. As we noted last week, America is one of several nations that has yet to implement robust climate action that's needed for future survival. And it doesn't help that far too many in Congress refuse to even acknowledge the reality of climate change (let alone take action).

Still, we figured these recent green shoots should be noticed. After all, it's Thanksgiving Week. And it's always nice to uncover reasons to be thankful.

The Signs All Around Us

As of late, we've been hearing about all sorts of "SCANDAL!!!" on Capitol Hill. Apparently, there's even an uproar over donuts. Yep, the desperate G-O-TEA search for anything to distract us from their failure to govern "SCANDAL!!!" continues.

Yet while many on Capitol Hill are fixated on the latest haute faux scandal(s), there's a very real scandal brewing dangerously close to home. Believe it or not, most states' disaster mitigation plans do not properly account for climate change. And sadly for us, Nevada is one of those states.

We should know better. After all, we've been experiencing epic drought and a frightening chain of major wildfires. It's become increasingly difficult to miss the signs of climate change emerging all around us.



Unfortunately, as many as 500,000 people in The Philippines are displaced as a result of Typhoon Haiyan. And at least 2,000 people have died. And the damage is not even over yet, as Haiyan is now hitting Vietnam and China.

The Philippines has endured a horrific wakeup call. And now, it's leaders want to wake us up.

"We cannot sit and stay helpless staring at this international climate stalemate. It is now time to take action. We need an emergency climate pathway," said Yeb Sano, head of the government's delegation to the UN climate talks, in an article for the Guardian, in which he challenged climate sceptics to "get off their ivory towers" to see the impacts of climate change firsthand.

Sano, whose family comes from the devastated town of Tacloban where the typhoon Haiyan made landfall on Friday, said that countries such as the Philippines did not have time to wait for an international climate deal, which countries have agreed to reach in Paris in 2015.

"What my country is going through as a result of this extreme climate event is madness," he told delagates from 190 countries, as UN climate negotiations get underway for a fortnight today in Warsaw. "The climate crisis is madness. We can stop this madness. Right here in Warsaw. Typhoons such as Haiyan and its impacts represent a sobering reminder to the international community that we cannot afford to procrastinate on climate action.

"Science tells us that simply, climate change will mean more intense tropical storms. As the Earth warms up, that would include the oceans. The energy that is stored in the waters off the Philippines will increase the intensity of typhoons and the trend we now see is that more destructive storms will be the new norm."

Whether it's an extreme super typhoon in The Philippines or extreme wildfires in the exurban fringes of Nevada's major population centers, we can see the signs all around us. So what will we do now? Unless we take serious action very soon, this climate crisis will only continue to worsen.

We can no longer afford to fret over imaginary threats to donuts while real people are harmed by real disasters. We can no longer afford to ignore the signs all around us. And we can no longer treat climate change like some esoteric topic to be left for debate societies to postulate on.

The Real Crisis

Last week, the world witnessed an epic and shocking tragedy. Yes, the US Shutdown Sh*tfest hasn't been the only troubling event in the world. Less than a mile off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa, a boat containing about 500 African immigrants caught fire and sank. As of yesterday, the Italian Coast Guard has recovered 274 dead bodies.

So far, only 155 people have survived the boat wreck. A few of those who survived have tried explaining to the world why they would embark on such a perilous journey.



And they're not the only ones who have had explaining to do. The European Union has been forced to confront shortcomings in its foreign and immigration policies in the wake of the Lampedusa Tragedy. Why did all these people die? And why have so many risked their lives to crash onto such a tiny island?



Of course, immigration reform isn't just an issue Europe must tackle with. It's also a major issue here in America. But thanks to the G-O-TEA manufactured crisis turned Shutdown Sh*tfest, the issue of comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) has almost completely dropped off the radar in DC.

Yet even in the midst of all the latest and greatest unnecessary drama, some refuse to let CIR die because of insani-TEA run amok. Earlier this week, Reps. Steven Horsford (D-North Las Vegas) and Dina Titus (D-Paradise) joined with House
Democratic leaders to introduce HR 15, the long awaited House
comprehensive immigration reform bill. After waiting over three months for House Republican "leaders" to respond to the Senate's passage of S 744 (the Senate's bipartisan CIR bill), House Democrats are sick and tired of playing an unnecessary waiting game that's constantly been tainted by unnecessary drama.

While our borders haven't recently experienced a singular tragic event like the Lampedusa boat wreck, immigrants here worry about family breakups, loss of work, persecution, and even deadly force. Long story short: the lives of immigrants coming to America are not easy, far from it. Instead, immigrsnt families must overcome numerous hurdles, big and small, just to survive in America.



In the wake of Lampedusa, Europe must confront a host of economic issues at home and abroad. So must America as we witness the many casualties of our broken immigration system. And we will never fix that system until we address the plight of the 11.7 million undocumented immigrants and the reasons why they could not access the "legal way". We've already detailed the economic case for CIR, but there's also a basic humanitarian case to be made.

Why must these people suffer? Why must our immigration system remain broken? And why are so many politicians wasting time on manufactured crises while ignoring the real ones?

How Not to Do Business

Today is supposed to be a critical day in determining America's economic future. The APEC Summit is now underway in Bali, Indonesia, and leaders from all the major Pacific nations are there to discuss trade and commerce...

But wait, there's someone missing in Bali. Oh, yes. That's right. President Obama had to cancel his trip to APEC because he had to deal with the G-O-TEA temper tantrum that's hurting the American people and threatening the world economy. Because some G-O-TEA politicians still refuse to accept reality, President Obama could not make the case for America in front of Asia's political leaders and the world's business leaders.

If Congressional Republican "leaders" allow their "TEA" tinged troops to force America into default, Goldman Sachs estimates a 4.2% drop in the nation's GDP for the year. US and global business leaders are stressing that they're already beginning to feel the pain of the shutdown and fearing what lies ahead if default occurs. People around the world are asking why what's supposed to be the world's #1 superpower can't even open its government and pay its bills...

Yet House Republican "leaders" continue to threaten default and further shutdown. No one really knows how to interpret their mixed messages any more. And no one even knows what their strategy is any more (if they even have one).

Now, even Members of Congress are worried about what may happen in the next ten days. And even a few Republicans are admitting their party screwed up in shutting down the government and threatening default. We're in an awfully ugly situation now, yet it didn't have to be this way.

And not only is Capitol Hill looking ugly here in The States, but the rest of the world is trembling in fear and disgust over our broken Congress as well. The President couldn't even make a major global trade summit because of G-O-TEA intransigence. And if we go down in default, we risk taking the world down with us.

It really shouldn't be hard to understand: This is not how to do business.