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Rudy Giuliani: Every Foreigner in U.S. Must Carry New Card

I know this is kinda old, but it didn’t get the attention it deserves: Rudy Giuliani wants every foreigner in America to carry around a ‘SAFE’ card, along with their passport.

Yes, it has been proposed before; but by a presidential candidate?

Rudy G is trying to cement his immigration position as hard line after Mitt Romney came out of the Ames Poll swinging hard.

And the worst news?

“If you don’t have that card, you get thrown out of the country,” Giuliani said.

Under what circumstance would a foreigner be asked to show their card? Would they be issued immediately? Is this even legal?

Those are the questions that have to be answered.


"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross." - Sinclair Lewis

Alberto Gonzales: In Memoriam

Alberto Gonzales: February, 2005 – September 2008

Alberto Gonzales, the 80th Attorney General of the United States, ushered the American Public through a new era of political scandals.

The primary cause of death seems to have been political pressure.

As a boy, he will be forever remembered by his neighbors as, “that kid who always looked through my window.”

As he grew older, Mr. Gonzales became interested in the Texan governor George W. Bush. Mr. Gonzales served Mr. Bush faithfully until September 2008 when Alberto met his tragic end.

He presided nobly over the Guantanamo Bay prison program, the NSA wiretapping program, and the dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy, even under pressure.

He will never be forgotten.

[POLL] Should the U.S. Call for New Elections in Iraq?

Should the U.S. call for new elections in Iraq?
	Yes
	No
	Under certain conditions
	Other
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Best Backhanded Compliment Ever

Jon Stewart: Would you take any Democrat in the field over a Republican? Is there one Republican in the field you admire?

Barack Obama: I think some of these folks are decent people. I mean, Mike Huckabee.

General Peter Pace is Right

UPDATE: Ummm, never mind....

Gen. Pace may urge U.S. troop cut in Iraq

I commend this Pace for trying, but he is still a bigot. But let’s not turn this into a gay-basher bashing party.

According to Reuters, he is “expected to contend that keeping significantly more than 100,000 troops in Iraq through next year would severely strain the military and compromise its ability to respond to other threats.”

I agree 100%. By mid-2008, we should have our forces drawn down to approximately 100,000 soldiers. And we should continue to reduce the number of troops.

By leaving more than 100,000 troops in Iraq past 2008 would be dangerous. The military would be horrible condition, and the ability of the U.S. to respond to other threats would be diminished.

Not that it matters. If any Democratic presidential candidate other than Joe Biden were elected, at least some troops would be pulled out.

It’s all good in the neighborhood, with Democrats

Rove Must Have Stopped Giving Bush Advice

So Bush has decided to turn conventional wisdom on its head by invoking Vietnam when talking about Iraq.

Karl Rove must’ve stopped giving him advice.

Comparing Iraq to Vietnam isn’t smart for many (bulleted) reasons:
     •Vietnam divided the U.S.
     •Vietnam was a failure/'quagmire'
     •The dominoes never fell
     •America won the Cold War anyway

I could expand on these but I think you get the point.

Top 10 Alberto Gonzales Quotes

The top 10 Alberto Gonzales quotes (enjoy!):

10. “I have searched my memory.”

9. “I don’t have any recollection about…”

8. “I have no recollection.”

7. “I have no memory of this.”

6. “I don’t remember.”

5. “I don’t know.”

4. “I don’t recall ever saying this.”

3. “I don’t recall ever doing that.”

2. “I can’t recall.”

1. “I don’t recall.”

Impeaching Bush is Pointless

The Cafferty File, part of The Situation Room on CNN, poses a question every hour The Situation Room is on. This is today's 7:00 question, and Thoughts on the World's response.
------------------------------------------------------------
Democratic presidential hopeful Chris Dodd says it would be a mistake for Democrats to impeach President Bush. Is he right?

Yes. There is less than a year and a half left in his term. It’s just not worth it.

There are two big reasons not to impeach Bush:
1. It would be time-consuming
2. Democrats don’t have enough votes.

As we saw during Clinton’s impeachment, Congress does very little during the impeachment process. In fact, during Clinton’s impeachment, his approval ratings rose. The Democratic-led Congress has so much to do already; how many bills have passed so far this session? Not many.

Democrats barely hold a slim majority in Congress. For impeachment to be introduced in the Senate, the House only requires a slim majority. But a conviction requires 2/3 majority in the Senate. That’s not likely.

What's So Special About Hydropower / Hydroelectricity?

What is hydroelectricity? Hydroelectricity is electricity produced by hydropower. Hydropower is a very broad term; it can refer to using water for irrigation, milling, and even textiles. That is why hydroelectricity is the proper term when referring to the renewable energy resource, which we are.

Hydroelectricity is the world’s leading source of renewable energy, supplying 19% of the world’s electricity, and accounting for 63% of the total renewable energy electricity generated. Large hydroelectric and small hydroelectric are the common names for the two types of hydroelectric installations. As you probably could have guessed, small hydro is “the application of hydroelectric power on a commercial scale serving a small community or medium sized industry.” Meanwhile, large hydro is used on a large scale.

So what’s so special about hydroelectricity? The fact that it’s already being used. As mentioned previously, hydroelectricity provides 19% of the world’s energy. Commercial industry can already expand off of hydro; it’s low tech, it’s been in use for over a hundred years, and it works inexpensively.

Does hydroelectricity have any harmful side effects? Let’s see what Wikipedia says:

Hydroelectric projects can be disruptive to surrounding aquatic ecosystems. For instance, studies have shown that dams along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America have reduced salmon populations by preventing access to spawning grounds upstream, even though most dams in salmon habitat have fish ladders installed.

As important as salmon is, this small disadvantage should not be a reason to not use hydro.
If hydroelectricity is expanded upon and used with other technologies, hydroelectricity could become even greater than it already is.


More Alternative Energy Series:

Top 5 Reasons Geothermal Energy Works
What's So Special About Hydropower / Hydroelectricity?
Another Look at Nuclear Power: Nuclear Waste
The Wind Power and Solar Power Combination
5 Reasons Solar Power Works
Nuclear Power: Energy of the Future or As Bad As Fossil Fuels
The Temporary Solution: Coal
How Corn Ethanol is Bad

[POLL] Are You Happy With The Primary Schedule

Are you happy with the presidential primary schedule?
	Yes
	No
	Sort of
	Not sure
	Other
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"Look! He's Gone And Set The Sky On Fire"

Credit: Cagle Cartoons

Michigan to Move Its Primary Up

Whew. This presidential race is tiring. At least we finally got that whole primary calendar thing sorted out. NOT:

According to sources inside both parties, the two state parties in Michigan have agreed to move the state's primary -- legislatively -- to Jan. 15. This is a compromise date out of respect for Democratic Sen. Carl Levin, who really wanted to move the primary to Jan. 8. Others wanted the primary on Jan. 22 as a way to, essentially, play ball with the other early states. There was a nice window being created for a Jan. 22, 2008 event. But by moving to Jan. 15, this will put pressure on the other early states to either entertain a December event or lobby the two national parties to not sanction Michigan at all.

Here was the previous primary calendar:
January 14 – Iowa Caucus
January 19 – Democratic Nevada Caucus
January 22 – New Hampshire Primary
January 29 – Republican South Carolina Primary
(Michigan)

Here it is now:
January 14 – Iowa Caucus
January 15 – Michigan Primary
January 19 – Democratic Nevada Caucus
January 19 – Republican South Carolina Primary
January 22 – New Hampshire Primary

New Hampshire was always unhappy with the Nevada voting second. South Carolina moving up gave it enough of a reason to move up; Michigan skipping ahead of Nevada and South Carolina will transform things from top to bottom.

New Hampshire will move up, likely past Iowa. Consequently, Iowa will try to get an earlier vote, perhaps in early January or late December.


The primaries weren’t supposed to work this way. What if we fixed it this way?:

Move the primaries BACK 2 months from where they are right now.

What do people think of that?

First Rumsfeld, Then Rove, and Now: Gonzales?

First Rumsfeld, then Rove, and now Tony Snow. Who’s next? Alberto Gonzales?

In the past year, over 15 key administration officials have resigned. The original staff members of the Bush Administration is a rare species ("Can I pet it mommy? Please!").

Joshua Bolten, the President’s chief of staff, recently told senior aides that if they stayed past Labor Day, he would expect them to stay the rest of the term. This, according to Rove, forced him to leave.

Understandably, this could be the reason Tony Snow is planning to leave. Snow was interviewed by Hugh Hewitt:

HEWITT: Are there any other resignations upcoming, Tony Snow?

SNOW: I think that probably…as [Joshua Bolten] said the other day, he thinks there are probably a couple coming up in the next month or so.

Which makes sense based on Bolten’s Labor Day remark. So, will Gonzales go?


It’s true Gonzales might not be considered a ‘senior aide’; he is higher up in the chain of command than that. But he has become a liability for the Bush Administration bigger than Dick Cheney (and that’s saying something).

But it’s more likely than not Bush will stubbornly keep Gonzales, unless the Democrats launch a full investigation into, well, anything he has done.

Gonzales is the only thing between Congress and some of the Bush Administration’s darkest secrets. He blocks (or attempts to block) any inquiry into the Administration’s dirtiest escapades.

Not only that: any new Attorney General would have to be to be approved by Congress. That means a new AG would most likely be bipartisan.

Will Gonzales go? Right now, it’s a big maybe.

Plastic Bags Statistics - And They're Not Looking So Good

Petroleum-based grocery bags hit the checkout aisle in 1977. Presented as a revolutionary idea, they are now recognized as an environmental hazard. Just like bottled water, plastic bags are made from crude oil, contributing to global warming.

The Numbers

Up to 1000 - Estimated years for a plastic bag to decompose.
1460 - Plastic bags used in a year by an average family of four in the U.S.
12 million - Barrels of oil used to make the plastic bags that the U.S. consumes annually.
Less than 1% - Percentage of all plastic bags that get recycled in the U.S.
88.5 billion – Plastic bags consumed in the U.S. last year.
500 billion – Estimated plastic bags sold worldwide each year.

The Countries

San Francisco has banned non-biodegradable plastic bags in large grocery stores.
Ireland has a $.20 tax per bag.
France is banning plastic bags starting 2010 and starting 2008 in Paris.
South Africa has banned thin plastic bags
Uganda has banned thin plastic bags and has taxes on thicker ones.
Kenya is banning plastic bags starting 2008.
Zanzibar Islands have banned all plastic bags.
Mumbai, New Delhi, and two states in India have banned all plastic bags.
Bangladesh has banned all plastic bags.
Taiwan has banned all plastic bags as well as disposable plastic plates, cups, and cutlery.

Open Discussion - Anything

Today we're going to have another open discussion to really test out these new comments.

If there's anything, anything at all you feel like talking about (as long as it's not Paris Hilton), please feel free to comment.

New Comments System - Intense Debate

Does everybody like the new comments system? They're the 'Intense Debate' comments system. Thanks to being a member of Political Grind, we are able to try them while they are still in the 'beta-ish' stage. To sign up to try after the beta, visit the website: IntenseDebate.com

You can either register and get an account to earn account based points, or you can post anonymously.

What's great about Intense Debate is that the system doesn't delete the old comments, so the old comments are still there if you would care to look.


Simmons.

[POLL] Would You Bomb Pakistan?

If you comment, your comment will be posted with a link back to your blog.

If you had credible evidence to where top Al-Qaeda leaders were hiding in Pakistan, would you bomb them without Pakistan's permission?
	Yes
	No
	It depends
	Other
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Post of the Month: July - And Some Other Stuff

Let me just say straight out: I don't like the Moderate Plan for Iraq anymore. I didn't plan it out fully, and the situation has changed. I now endorse the Iraq Study Group's plan. That's obviously a little outdated. So now Time Magazine has published a plan. And I really like it.

Other thing. Like arguing with a global warming denier? Then check out this forum. In this thread, we got into a heated argument over global warming.


Post of the Month for May is... 7 Facts You Never Knew About Bottled Water
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Part 1 in a 2-part miniseries.

7 facts you didn’t know about bottled water (you can draw your own conclusions):


• Tap water is just as safe as bottled water. In fact, the U.S. government requires more rigorous testing on tap water than on bottled water. [1] [2]

• Bottled water is thousands of times more expensive than water from your faucet. [1]

• Terephthalate (PET) is the most commonly used plastic for making water bottles. PET is derived from crude oil. [3]

• Just in the U.S., 1.5 MILLION barrels of oil are used each year for tasks such as (but not limited to) making PET, transporting bottles and powering water bottle factories. [3]

• 2.7 MILLION tons of plastic are used to bottle water bottles every year. [3]

• 86% of water bottles aren’t recycled. [4]

• About 40% of bottled water starts as tap water. [5]


Sources:
Food & Water Watch [1]
NPR [2]
Earth-policy.org [3]
Seattle Post-Intelligencer [4]
NRDC [5]

For More:
Wikipedia: Bottled water (Environmental impact)
Bottled Water Report
5 Reasons Not to Drink Bottled Water
Bad to the Last Drop? What Else? Bottled Water!
Bottled Water - Good For Business Bad For The Environment
Bottled Water, Bottled Hype (part 2, part 3)


Click here to pledge to reduce your use of bottled water.

Thoughts on the World would ask if you use this information (on a blog), that you link back to this post. Of course, you will get a link under 'For More'.

Guess Who's Back

First day back, so here's someting a little lighter than normal (click to see the whole thing):