Author Archives: LauraFore

Watch Hillary Clinton Tell an Undocumented 19-Year-Old Why She Supports Immigration Reform

by LauraFore Posted on April 17, 2014

Mother Jones

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A 19-year-old undocumented immigrant confronted Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state and not-quite-presidential candidate, about immigration reform at an event hosted by the Clinton Foundation Thursday.

An hour into the panel discussion, which featured Clinton and her daughter, Chelsea Clinton, the moderator, actress America Ferrera, called on a young woman at the front of the room to ask a question. “I have a very different glass ceiling than some of the girls here,” the 19-year-old woman explained, fighting back tears. “For the first time publicly I want to say that I am an undocumented immigrant.” She went on to explain that her family had illegally brought her to the US from Croatia when she was five-years-old. “It’s been very hard,” she continued, “because I don’t have the documentation to get a job, to vote—which is essential obviously to women representation—to buy an apartment, to take out a loan to go to college, so I couldn’t even go to my dream college because of that, to get no financial aid.”

Clinton immediately sympathized. “I believe strongly that we are missing a great opportunity by not welcoming people like you,” she said, “and 11 million others who have made contributions to our country, into a legal status.”

You can watch the exchange here, beginning at the hour and 20-minute mark.

Clinton continued, saying that she favors “immigration reform and a path to citizenship.” The former secretary of state shied away from offering an opinion on how exactly she thinks the government should offer citizenship to those residing in the country without documents, but she endorsed the reform bill that the Senate passed last year. Without naming the party, she called out the Republican leaders of the House of Representatives and said that they should allow a vote on the bill. “I think that’s a big missed opportunity for our country,” Clinton said, “because part of the reason we’re going to do really well in the 21st century is because we are a nation of immigrants. We keep attracting people like you and your family who want to make a contribution. It’s not only because we want to make life better for people like yourselves who is already here, it’s good for us.”

The Clintons were speaking at an event for the family foundation’s No Ceilings: The Full Participation Project, which focuses on advancing women’s rights worldwide. The younger Clinton made news herself at the event by announcing that she is pregnant.

Clinton supported the failed bipartisan efforts to reform the immigration system during George W Bush’s second term. The Senate’s latest stab at fixing the system is more modest than the Bush-era proposal.

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Watch Hillary Clinton Tell an Undocumented 19-Year-Old Why She Supports Immigration Reform

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Did American Taxpayers Help Push Through Uganda’s Anti-Gay Law?

by LauraFore Posted on February 27, 2014

Mother Jones

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This week, when Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni approved a harsh new bill making “aggravated homosexuality” a crime punishable by life in prison, he cited a recent report from the Ugandan Ministry of Health’s Committee on Homosexuality, which concluded that same-sex attraction is mostly a learned impulse. “Since nurture is the main cause of homosexuality, then society can do something about it to discourage the trends,” Museveni said. “That is why I have agreed to sign the bill.”

This pronouncement creates a quandary for the United States. American officials, including Secretary of State John Kerry, have vehemently condemned Museveni’s decision. Yet millions of US taxpayer dollars are flowing to the agency that the Ugandan leader used to justify the legislation, according to records from the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Gay rights activist argue that the Committee on Homosexuality report was engineered to ensure the bill’s passage, and at least one committee member—a physician named Eugene Kinyanda—refused to sign his name to it because the process had “taken a very political” direction. “I will not be used to justify the passing of a bill which as a doctor I do not fully understand,” he wrote in an email to a fellow committee member, which was reprinted on the blog Patheos.

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Did American Taxpayers Help Push Through Uganda’s Anti-Gay Law?

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The future of a big coal-export project will be decided by this small Washington community

by LauraFore Posted on October 31, 2013

The future of a big coal-export project will be decided by this small Washington community

By

Lou

What say you on coal exports, Whatcom County?

Less than a week remains before what could be the most momentous council election in the Washington county’s hitherto humble electoral history.

About 125,000 registered voters will have a say Tuesday on whether a $700 million shipping terminal will be built near Bellingham in the northwest corner of Washington state. The Gateway Pacific Terminal at Cherry Point would load 48 million tons of coal dug up in Montana and Wyoming every year onto ships bound for Asia. The county council will decide whether to issue critical permits for the proposed terminal, giving members enormous power that extends far beyond the county borders.

The large stakes are attracting a lot of attention to the rural community — and a lot of big campaign contributions. Mother Jones reports:

The money pouring into four council seat races dwarfs anything ever seen in this county of lumberjacks, farmers, and banana slugs. Compared to fundraising during the last county election in 2011, money raised by council candidates and their allies has increased more than seven-fold, to roughly $1 million. Much of it comes from fossil fuel interests such as Cloud Peak Energy and Global Coal Sales, and, on the other side, from A-list environmentalists such as California billionaire Tom Steyer.

If you were a Whatcom County voter, who would you vote for? Even if you had made up your mind about whether the coal terminal should be built (hint: it shouldn’t be), it would be hard to say for sure how to mark your ballot. The Seattle Times reminds us about one of the quirks of this election:

The proposal is believed to be favored by four, and maybe five, of the seven members of the nonpartisan council. So the environmentalists are trying to flip one or two seats, and the coal companies are trying to stop them.

Four incumbents are up for re-election; two are believed to support the proposal, and two are believed to oppose it.

The word “believed” is necessary because of [a] quirk in this unusual election: In largely rural Whatcom County, council members have quasi-judicial duties and are supposed to remain impartial about matters that might come before them in the future.

Still, the candidates are dropping hints to help voters figure out where they stand. “Proven environmental values” is code for “hell no” on the coal terminal proposal. “Committed to creating jobs” means “coal aboard!”


Source
Coal issue dominates Whatcom County election, but nobody’s talking about it, Seattle Times
The County Council Election That Could Make or Break Big Coal, Mother Jones

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.

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The future of a big coal-export project will be decided by this small Washington community

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The 5 Biggest Bros And 5 Biggest Hipsters in Congress

by LauraFore Posted on July 3, 2013

Mother Jones

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THE BRO CAUCUS

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.): The former high school prom king, Delta Tau Delta frat boy, Randian, bowhunter, and catfish noodler has led P90X workouts in Congress and sponsored (unsuccessful) tax breaks for brewers, distillers, and boozers.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.): While going stag at a South Beach foam party, Rubio realized his wife-to-be, an ex-Miami Dolphins cheerleader, was his soul mate. During a vodka shot competition on a 1996 Bob Dole campaign flight, he booted in front of future colleague Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.).

Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.): During his 1997 stint on MTV’s Real World, the future tea partier napped while attending a speech by President Bill Clinton and also danced and drank beer atop a pool table in his underwear.

Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.): The first member of Congress to ever bare his rock-hard six-pack on the cover of Men’s Health, Schock once complimented first lady Michelle Obama for her “buff” guns.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.): He’s buds with Van Halen lead singer Sammy Hagar, and his office is lined with surfboards, booze posters, and a bust of John Wayne, who Rohrabacher says taught him how to drink tequila (small glass, ice cube, lime squeeze). He dismissed American interrogators’ use of panties to pressure terrorism suspects as “hazing pranks.”

THE HIPSTER CAUCUS

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.): Her signature look, which has included a Spock ‘do with red streaks, horn-rimmed glasses, and combat boots, inspired the Rosa DeLauro Is a Fucking Hipster Tumblr. Asked about it, the gentlewoman from Connecticut cheerfully replied, “People can call me whatever they want to call me.”

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.): Pro-bike before it was cool, the rep from Portlandia founded the Congressional Bike Caucus in 1996. Trademark look: bow ties and bicycle-shaped, neon-hued lapel pins.

Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.): When Cyndi Lauper stopped by Polis’ office last spring, he served her some of the Colorado-crafted High Country Kombucha his office orders by the case. His 2009 staff retreat included yoga, a scavenger hunt, and a vegan dinner at his home (he and his partner make their own nut cheese).

Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.): A bisexual nontheist who doesn’t own a TV and used to work out of coffee shops before getting elected, Sinema oversold her hipster cred when she dissed stay-at-home moms for “leeching off their husbands…That’s bullshit.”

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.): Then: ironic comedian who mocked earnestness (e.g., Stuart Smalley). Now: earnest wonk who hosts a mildly ironic annual Minnesota hot dish cook-off.

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The 5 Biggest Bros And 5 Biggest Hipsters in Congress

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How Hitler’s U-Boats Are Still Attacking Us

by LauraFore Posted on May 21, 2013

Mother Jones

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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has some fresh news from World War II: Thirteen Merchant Marine ships sunk by the German navy in the Battle of the Atlantic threaten to release oil from their watery graves.

The finding comes in an assessment presented to the Coast Guard that analyzed 20,000 shipwrecks in US waters, and identified 36 as posing a significant threat of oil pollution. Seventeen of those are recommended for further assessment, which could lead to missions to remove their fuel oil and oil cargo. Besides the Merchant Marine vessels, the worrisome ships include a barge lost in bad weather in 1936; two ships sunk in separate collisions in 1947 and 1952; and a tanker that exploded in 1984.

The 17 wrecks NOAA recommends for further investigation. NOAA

“This report is the most comprehensive assessment to date of the potential oil pollution threats from shipwrecks in U.S. waters,” says Lisa Symons, resource protection coordinator for NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. “Now that we have analyzed this data, the Coast Guard will be able to evaluate NOAA’s recommendations and determine the most appropriate response to potential threats.”

An initial screening of the 20,000 shipwrecks found 573 that could pose substantial pollution risks based on the vessel’s age, type, and size. Ships built of steel, made to be a tanker or to carry over 1,000 gross tons got on the list. Further investigation narrowed the number to 107 wrecks. Some were deemed navigational hazards and demolished, and others were salvaged. But most of the 107 have not yet been directly surveyed for pollution potential. In some cases little is known about their current condition.

Locations of some of the 20,000 shipwrecks. NOAA

The report is part of NOAA’s Remediation of Underwater Legacy Environmental Threats (RULET) project, which hunts down potential sources of oil pollution from sunken vessels. Knowing where these ships lie helps oil response planning efforts, and may assist in tracking down mystery spills—sightings of oil where a source is not immediately known or suspected.

The Gulfstate before it was torpedoed in 1943. NOAA/SSHSA Collection, University of Baltimore Library

The vessel ranked worst on the NOAA’s risk assessment scale is the WWII tanker the Gulfstate, torpedoed and sunk off the Florida Keys in 1943. Here’s a casualty narrative for the ship, as excerpted by NOAA, that tells the terrifying tale of how the vessel went down after an attack by a Kriegsmarine U-Boat:

At 09.03 hours on 3 Apr, 1943, the unescorted Gulfstate (Master James Frank Harrell, lost) was hit by two torpedoes from U-155 about 50 miles southeast of Marathon Key, Florida while steaming a nonevasive course at 10.5 knots. The first torpedo struck on the port side directly under the bridge and ripped a large hole in the hull at the waterline, causing immediate flooding and setting the cargo on fire. The second torpedo struck at the engine room. The fire leapt 100 feet in the air and spread from the bridge to the after part of the vessel. The master ordered the engines secured and the ship abandoned, but the vessel sank bow first within four minutes. None of the lifeboats could be launched and all rafts were lost in the fire. Only a single doughnut raft managed to break free of the tanker. The eight officers, 34 crewmen and 19 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in, four .50cal and two .30cal guns) had to jump in the water and swim through 600 feet of burning oil surrounding the tanker. The survivors clung to floats and the single raft for seven hours before being discovered by a U.S. Navy blimp, which dropped two rubber life rafts. An U.S. Coast Guard seaplane picked up three of the most seriously wounded two hours later and took them to Miami. One hour later the remaining 15 survivors (five of them wounded) were picked up by the American patrol craft USS YP-351. Three of the wounded were later transferred to USS Noa (DD 343) for medical treatment. All survivors were landed at Key West. Eight officers, 26 crewmen and nine armed guards were lost.

Gulfstate ranks as the number one priority for the Coast Guard to assess and potentially to attempt to salvage or remove its oil, according to the NOAA rating system. That’s in part because it might still be holding almost 84,000 barrels (about 3.5 million gallons) of oil, and in part because of its location near Florida’s coral reefs. Unfortunately no one knows exactly where the Gulfstate went down, though it’s thought to lie in more than 2,800 feet of water. So NOAA is recommending steps to find the vessel, including asking Florida’s commercial and recreational fishermen to report oil spottings that could lead back to the ship.

Many of the 20,000 wrecks in US waters date to before 1891, when US shipping began switching to fuel oil. Most of these earlier wrecks from the age of coal and sail pose little or no environmental threat. You can find the full list of potentially polluting wrecks here.

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How Hitler’s U-Boats Are Still Attacking Us

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