Author Archives: RubinkJoseph

Just, um, do it? Climate action, sponsored by Nike

by RubinkJoseph Posted on April 10, 2013

Just, um, do it? Climate action, sponsored by Nike

By Susie Cagle

Kicks on Fire

Your hemp shoes won’t save you.

The oil industry isn’t the only business flexing its muscle in Washington. The Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy coalition, aka BICEP, today released a “Climate Declaration” urging Congress to do some heavy lifting on climate change and “asserting that a bold response to the climate challenge is one of the greatest American economic opportunities of the 21st century.” Signatories include Nike, Starbucks, eBay, and 30 other companies, with a combined annual revenue of about $450 billion.

“The signers of the Climate Declaration have a clear message for Washington: Act on climate change. We are, and it’s good for our businesses,” Anne Kelly, director of BICEP, said in a statement.

From the statement: “The signatories of the Climate Declaration are calling for Congress to address climate change by promoting clean energy, boosting efficiency and limiting carbon emissions — strategies that these businesses already employ within their own operations.”

Though the clean coalition’s efforts are aimed at policymakers, its business is really aimed at the rest of us. And that’s where this effort starts to feel a bit self-serving.

These companies may be lobbying for some decent federal energy policies, but they’re still in the business of pushing jeans (Levi Strauss) and pressboard furniture (IKEA). They might be sad about climate change — we can all agree on the sad part, right? — but they make it clear that this is really about their bottom line. Eileen Fisher is upset that the drought is cutting into its cotton supply, not that it might be encouraging people to buy clothes they don’t really need.

For these companies the bottom line is consumerism. No matter how you spin it, that’s not sustainable for the planet. And even if they’re promoting some policies that we like, do we want to rely on L’Oreal and company to be our advocates in Washington? I’m not buying it. But hey, maybe President Obama will.

Susie Cagle writes and draws news for Grist. She also writes and draws tweets for

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Just, um, do it? Climate action, sponsored by Nike

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Americans want more renewable energy and more climate-change prep

by RubinkJoseph Posted on April 2, 2013

Americans want more renewable energy and more climate-change prep

By John Upton

Shutterstock

/ Gencho PetkovSeeing the light.

This is how the typical American thinks in 2013, according to a couple of new polls: “More solar power, please. No more nuclear, thanks though. And let’s get ready for this crazy climate-change thing.”

A Gallup poll of 1,022 people revealed that a whopping 76 percent of Americans think the U.S. should put more emphasis on developing solar power. Even Republicans are into it, with 68 percent of them calling for more solar. Wind is also popular. So too is natural gas, supported by about two-thirds of Americans. Support for oil and coal is split along party lines, with most Republicans favoring efforts to dig up and burn more of the dirty fuels and most Democrats opposing them. Nuclear, meanwhile, is not particularly popular with either party.

Gallup

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The surging popularity of renewable energy coincides with a growing and overdue awareness of the hazards associated with climate change. We reported recently on an uptick in the number of Americans who now grasp that humans are affecting the weather.

And now a poll of 1,174 Americans by Stanford University reveals that most people want the nation to prepare for rising seas and intense storms (though they’re not too keen on having the government pay for it).

From Stanford:

A new survey commissioned by the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and the Center for Ocean Solutions finds that an overwhelming majority of Americans want to prepare in order to minimize the damage likely to be caused by global warming-induced sea-level rise and storms.

A majority also wants people whose properties and businesses are located in hazard areas to foot the bill for this preparation, not the government. Eighty-two percent of the Americans surveyed said that people and organizations should prepare for the damage likely to be caused by sea-level rise and storms, rather than simply deal with the damage after it happens.

Among the most popular policy solutions identified in the survey are stronger building codes for new structures along the coast to minimize damage (favored by 62 percent) and preventing new buildings from being built near the coast (supported by 51 percent).

“People support preventive action,” said survey director Jon Krosnick, a senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and professor of communication, “and few people believe these preparations will harm the economy or eliminate jobs. In fact, more people believe that preparation efforts will help the economy and create jobs around the U.S., in their state and in their town than think these efforts will harm the economy and result in fewer jobs in those areas. But people want coastal homeowners and businesses that locate in high-risk areas to pay for these measures.”

Now those are some polls we’d like politicians to pay attention to.

John Upton is a science aficionado and green news junkie who

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Americans want more renewable energy and more climate-change prep

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The Four Agreements – Don Miguel Ruiz

by RubinkJoseph Posted on March 19, 2013

READ GREEN WITH E-BOOKS

The Four Agreements

A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom

Don Miguel Ruiz

Genre: Self-Improvement

Price: $9.99

Publish Date: January 18, 2010

Publisher: Amber-Allen Publishing, Inc.

Seller: Amber-Allen Publishing, Inc.


Bestselling author don Miguel Ruiz reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless suffering. Based on ancient Toltec wisdom, The Four Agreements offer a powerful code of conduct that can rapidly transform our lives to a new experience of freedom, true happiness, and love.

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The Four Agreements – Don Miguel Ruiz

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Conservatives Outraged About Mountaintop Removal in Tennessee… By Chinese Company

by RubinkJoseph Posted on March 19, 2013

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What’s it take to get conservatives in Tennessee fired up about blowing up mountains? China, apparently.

On Tuesday, the Tennessee Conservative Union, which bills itself as the state’s “largest and oldest conservative group,” started running anti-mountaintop removal coal mining ads on television throughout the state. Their complaint? The Chinese company Guizhou Guochuang Energy Holding Group announced last year that it is acquiring Triple H Coal Mining, which does mountaintop removal. The Tennessee Conservative Union ad warns that they will become “the first state in our great nation to permit the red Chinese to destroy our mountains and take our coal.”

“We’re proud that Tennessee is a red state,” the ad concludes. “But just how red are we willing to go?”

The ad comes off as anti-China, but it also offers a critique of mountaintop removal coal mining in general, which is the big news here. The ad comes just a day before committees in both the state Senate and House are expected to vote on the Scenic Vistas Protection Act, a bill activists have been trying to get passed in the state for six years. The measure would make it illegal to blow up mountaintops to mine coal. Supporters are taking TCU’s support for the bill as a sign that it might gain more traction this year.

“The Tennessee Conservative Union is 100% pro-Coal, but our organization does not support destroying our mountain heritage,” TCU Chairman Lloyd Daugherty said in a statement Tuesday. “Mountaintop removal mining kills jobs because it takes fewer workers to blow up a mountain.”

JW Randolph, Tennessee director of Appalachian Voices, a group that has been working to pass the anti-mountaintop removal law, welcomed the ad. “We don’t care if you’re from Bristol or Beijing, blowing up the oldest mountains in America for a few tons of coal is a bad idea,” he said.

Here’s TCU’s ad:

Mother Jones
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Conservatives Outraged About Mountaintop Removal in Tennessee… By Chinese Company

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WATCH: Feinstein Smacks Down Cruz Over Gun Ban: "I Am Not a 6th-Grader"

by RubinkJoseph Posted on March 14, 2013

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On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the so-called assault weapons ban on a party-line vote, paving the way for the full chamber to vote on the measure as early as next week. But not before Sen. Ted Cruz, the freshman Republican from Texas, aimed to give Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the five-term Democrat from California, a lesson about the Bill of Rights. He suggested that it was a slippery slope from banning bazookas to banning books. Feinstein was not impressed. Watch:

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Here’s the text of some of Feinstein’s remarks:

Let me just make a couple points in response. One: I’m not a sixth-grader. Senator, I’ve been on this committee for 20 years. I was a mayor for nine years. I walked in and I saw people shot. I’ve looked at bodies that have been shot with these weapons. I’ve seen the bullets that implode. In Sandy Hook, youngsters were dismembered. Look, there were other weapons. I’m not a lawyer, but in 20 years I’ve been up close and personal to the Constitution. I have great respect for it. This doesn’t mean that weapons of war—and the Heller decision clearly points out three exceptions, two of which are pertinent here—and so I, you know, it’s fine you want to lecture me on the Constitution. I appreciate it. Just know that I’ve been here for a long time. I’ve passed on a number of bills. I’ve studied the Constitution myself. I am reasonably well educated… Incidentally, this does not prohibit—you use the word “prohibit”—it exempts two thousand two hundred and seventy one weapons. Isn’t that enough for the people of the United States? Do they need a bazooka?

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WATCH: Feinstein Smacks Down Cruz Over Gun Ban: "I Am Not a 6th-Grader"

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Yes, Potential Senate Candidate Ashley Judd Has Gotten Naked on Screen. So Have These Political Figures.

by RubinkJoseph Posted on March 4, 2013

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Late Sunday evening, the Daily Caller‘s entertainment editor Taylor Bigler posted a short item on actress, activist, potential US Senate candidate, and rape survivor Ashley Judd. The post notes that Judd, who seems to be laying the groundwork for a 2014 challenge to Republican Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, has appeared in a bunch of movies naked, half-naked, or partially naked. The Caller piece cites her performances in films like Norma Jean and Marilyn and Eye of the Beholder, and is based on data from MrSkin.com, an online database of nude and sex scenes celebs have done on-screen. MrSkin.com—which I will decline to link to in this post—gives Judd four stars and ranks her as “Hall of Fame Nudity!”

(Click here to read my podcast partner Alyssa Rosenberg’s rage-filled rebuttal to Bigler’s post.)

Judd has discussed her nude scenes candidly before. She turned down an audition for the female lead in a 1992 Christian Slater film because the audition demanded a topless screen test. “My mother worked too hard for me to take off my clothes in my first movie,” she told People magazine. And in this interview with Delaware County Magazine, Judd opened up about stripping down for the sex scene in Double Jeopardy, one of the films referenced in the Daily Caller story.

“But will Judd be the first potential senator who has — literally — nothing left to show us?” Bigler wrote, with tongue firmly ensconced in cheek.

Actually, no.

There was a time not too long ago that Scott Brown was a Republican senator from Massachusetts. Here’s a photo of him:

Brown was awarded Cosmo‘s distinction of “America’s Sexiest Man,” and appeared in this June 1982 spread. Via Cosmopolitan.com

Here are some other successful American politicians who were elected and appointed despite having borne their flesh for all the world and internet to see:

Arnold Schwarzenegger:

This doesn’t even begin to touch the work he did during his earlier bodybuilder days. Despite the above clip—and some serious groping allegations—Arnold was elected as the governor who oversaw the world’s ninth largest economy.

Clint Eastwood:

Via TCM.com

The icon was a one-term mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California in the late ’80s, and decades later introduced Mitt Romney at the 2012 Republican National Convention (here’s how that turned out).

Jesse Ventura:

Close enough. Via WWE

His enthusiastically shirtless and sweaty pro-wrestling did not stop him from getting elected governor of Minnesota.

Kal Penn:

Lionsgate

Penn has acted in nudity-riddled set pieces and cheap, extremely awkward sex scenes (like in National Lampoon’s Van Wilder, pictured above). And though he has never been elected to public office, he has served multiple stints as associate director for the Office of Public Engagement in the Obama administration.

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Yes, Potential Senate Candidate Ashley Judd Has Gotten Naked on Screen. So Have These Political Figures.

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"Movie & An Argument" Podcast: Dennis Rodman, North Korea, and The Oscars

by RubinkJoseph Posted on March 1, 2013

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On this week’s episode of A Movie & An Argument, With Alyssa Rosenberg & Asawin Suebsaeng, we discuss (scroll down for audio):

Retired NBA star Dennis Rodman’s four-day trip to North Korea this week.
Last Sunday’s Oscars.
The new raunchy comedy 21 and Over—and the human rights controversy surrounding it.

Listen:

Each week, I’ll be sitting down to chat with ThinkProgress critic Alyssa Rosenberg (who also does killer work at The Atlantic and Slate‘s “Double X“). We’ll talk, argue, and laugh about the latest movies, television shows, and pop-cultural nonsense—with some politics thrown in just for the hell of it.

Alyssa describes herself as being “equally devoted to the Star Wars expanded universe and Barbara Stanwyck, to Better Off Ted and Deadwood.” I (everyone calls me Swin) am a devoted lover of low-brow dark humor, Yuengling, and movies with high body counts. I hope you enjoyed this episode, and tune in during the weeks to come.

We’ll be featuring guests on the program, and also taking listeners’ questions, so feel free to Tweet them at me here, and we’ll see if we can get to them during a show.

Thank you for listening!

Click here for more movie and TV features from Mother Jones. To read more of Asawin’s reviews, click here.

To find more episodes of this podcast, click here.

To check out Alyssa’s Bloggingheads show, click here.

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"Movie & An Argument" Podcast: Dennis Rodman, North Korea, and The Oscars

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RAW DATA: Debt Levels of Families Approaching Retirement

by RubinkJoseph Posted on February 25, 2013

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A couple of weeks I put up a post showing projections of future retirement income, but these were long-term projections and didn’t provide any insight into the specific effect of the Great Recession on those who are currently nearing retirement. There are two big things we’re interested in: (a) the effect on retirement savings 401(k)s, IRAs, etc, and (b) debt levels as a percent of income. EBRI provided some rough data on the former here, and today they provide us with a look at the latter. Here’s their quick summary for all families with a head of household over 55:

The percentage of American families with heads age 55 or older that have debt held steady at around 63 percent from 2007–2010. Furthermore, the percentage of these families with debt payments greater than 40 percent of income—a traditional threshold measure of debt load trouble—decreased in 2010 to 8.5 percent from 9.9 percent in 2007. However, total debt payments as a percentage of income increased from 10.8 percent in 2007 to 11.4 percent in 2010.

This includes both near-retirees and retirees. In order to get a clearer look just at people nearing retirement, the chart below shows debt payments for families with a head of household age 55-64 (red line). As a comparison, it also shows debt payment levels for all families, taken from Fed data (blue line):

There’s much more in the full report, including data on families already in retirement, as well as breakdowns between housing debt and other consumer debt.

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RAW DATA: Debt Levels of Families Approaching Retirement

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Could extreme weather save farmers from extreme weather?

by RubinkJoseph Posted on February 21, 2013

Could extreme weather save farmers from extreme weather?

By Susie Cagle

After a seriously dry run, some drought-stricken farmers have gotten a bit of a reprieve. Snow dumping this week on the country’s potential future dust bowl is great news for suffering, parched wheat crops.

larsongarden

Reuters reports:

Nearly a foot or more of snow fell across key growing areas in Oklahoma and Kansas in the last 24 hours, and more was coming.

“I feel a lot better this morning,” said Kansas wheat farmer Scott Van Allen, who has about 2,300 acres planted to winter wheat in south-central Kansas. “It snowed all night on us. I was getting very concerned with the lack of moisture we’ve had.”

Well, Scott, here are some scientists to rain on your parade (except without any actual rain, sorry). This extreme weather isn’t nearly extreme enough to make up for the other extreme weather.

“This is not going to put a big dent in the drought,” said [University of Nebraska Drought Mitigation Center climatologist Brian] Fuchs. “The moisture is welcomed, but is it a drought-buster? No it is not. We need several more storms like this to really start turning the tide.” …

Kansas is typically the top U.S. wheat producing state and Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Colorado are also top producers. But a nagging drought has plagued the region, leaving agricultural producers struggling. Without adequate soil moisture plants either die outright, or yield poorly, if at all.

The wheat crop will be emerging soon from winter dormancy and will require good soil moisture to grow.

A report issued Thursday by a consortium of state and federal climatologists said that as of Feb. 19 more than 82 percent of the High Plains region, which includes Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado, was suffering from “severe” or worse drought.

Fully 100 percent of Kansas was engulfed in severe drought or worse, the Drought Monitor report said.

In conclusion, poor Scott says he and other Kansas farmers will “keep our fingers crossed.” Go ahead; science can’t take that away from you.

Susie Cagle writes and draws news for Grist. She also writes and draws tweets for

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Could extreme weather save farmers from extreme weather?

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Mother Jones’ David Corn Wins George Polk Award

by RubinkJoseph Posted on February 18, 2013

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How is MoJo Washington Bureau Chief David Corn like Edward R. Murrow, Carl Bernstein, David Halberstam, Gay Talese, Fred Friendly, I.F. Stone, and Walter Cronkite? So many ways really, but the most notable today is that they have all won a George Polk Award, one of the most prestigious honors in journalism. Corn is the winner in the political reporting category for the 47 percent story—his revelation of a video documenting Mitt Romney’s remarks at a $50,000-a-plate fundraiser that 47 percent of Americans were “dependent upon the government” and would never “take personal responsibility and care for their lives.“

The Polk award, established in 1949 to honor a CBS correspondent murdered while covering the Greek Civil War, is given each year by Long Island University; this year’s announcement commends Corn for the “years of high-impact journalism that helped lead him to the source of the recording,” and for the “persistent digging and careful negotiation” that made the story possible. Other winners include the staff of Bloomberg News and the New York Times‘ David Barboza for uncovering corruption among China’s elite; a team of McClatchy correspondents (including former MoJo contributor David Enders) covering the war in Syria; Sarah Stillman for her New Yorker piece on teen informants; Ryan Gabrielson of California Watch for a story on abuses in state clinics for the disabled; and the Frontline team behind the documentary “Money, Power, and Wall Street.” For David and all of us at Mother Jones, it’s a capstone for an amazing year and thrilling recognition for a project that has been widely credited with changing the course of the campaign.

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Mother Jones’ David Corn Wins George Polk Award

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