Tag Archives: america

Bill O’Reilly Had the Worst Response to Michelle Obama’s Convention Speech

by MagdalenaTurriff Posted on July 27, 2016

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

On the first night of the Democratic National Convention, Michelle Obama delivered a stirring speech that was widely praised on both sides of the aisle. Even Donald Trump commended the first lady’s performance, despite being the unnamed target of her forceful rebuke.

But there was one line in her remarks that Fox News historian Bill O’Reilly felt needed more explanation. The line below:

“I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves,” Obama said. “And I watch my daughters—two beautiful, intelligent, black young women—playing with their dogs on the White House lawn. Because of Hillary Clinton, my daughters and all of our sons and daughters now take for granted that a woman can be president of the United States.”

On his show Tuesday, O’Reilly lauded Obama for “referring to the evolution of America in a positive way.” But he then proceeded to fact-check her statement in a way that appeared to excuse the US government’s use of slave labor.

“Slaves that worked there were well fed and had decent lodgings provided by the government, which stopped hiring slave labor in 1802,” he said. “However, the feds did not forbid subcontractors from using slave labor. So Michelle Obama is essentially correct in citing slaves as builders of the White House, but there were others working as well. Got it?”

And there you have it—the worst response to Michelle Obama’s 2016 Democratic National Convention address.

Source – 

Bill O’Reilly Had the Worst Response to Michelle Obama’s Convention Speech

Posted in FF, GE, LG, ONA, Radius, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Bill O’Reilly Had the Worst Response to Michelle Obama’s Convention Speech

Trump: Scared of ISIS, loves air-conditioning, slams John Kerry

by KatrinaDeffell Posted on July 27, 2016

Trump: Scared of ISIS, loves air-conditioning, slams John Kerry

By on Jul 26, 2016Share

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Fox News’s Sean Hannity had a little chat on Monday evening about economics, climate change, and terrorism. It was pretty typical for a Trump interview, until the talk turned to air conditioning (a subject I happen to have done a little thinking about recently).

CBS reporter Sopan Deb captured the moment for Twitter:

Let’s fact check this for a moment, shall we? Here’s what really happened:

Last week, Secretary of State John Kerry attended a conference in Vienna where global leaders worked on an amendment to the Montreal Protocol, the landmark 1989 agreement that banned chlorofluorocarbons, an industrial refrigerant formerly common in air conditioners that caused the hole in the ozone layer.

The goal of the Vienna amendment is for countries to phase out hydrofluorocarbons, the successor to CFCs, which have some serious negative consequences of their own. HFCs are a potent greenhouse gas and trap thousands of times more heat than carbon dioxide, making air conditioners a significant contributor to climate change. Kerry said the following from Vienna:

[On Thursday], I met in Washington with 45 nations — defense ministers and foreign ministers — as we were working together on the challenge of [ISIS] and terrorism. It’s hard for some people to grasp it, but what we — you — are doing here right now is of equal importance because it has the ability to literally save life on the planet itself.

He’s right. ISIS has killed thousands across the globe, but as terrifying as that is, ISIS will not spell the end of mankind. Climate change, however, could. Climate change impacts every aspect of life on earth, from where we live to the food we eat to the water we drink. Global markets, natural disasters … even war and terrorism. 

In 2014, the Defense Department (not exactly a bunch of hippies) wrote: “In our defense strategy, we refer to climate change as a ‘threat multiplier’ because it has the potential to exacerbate many of the challenges we are dealing with today — from infectious disease to terrorism. We are already beginning to see some of these impacts.” 

Donald Trump doesn’t see the connection. You can watch the entire segment here, or you could repeatedly hit yourself in the head with a heavy object. Either way.

ShareElection Guide ★ 2016Making America Green AgainOur experts weigh in on the real issues at stake in this electionGet Grist in your inbox

Read this article:  

Trump: Scared of ISIS, loves air-conditioning, slams John Kerry

Posted in alo, Anchor, eco-friendly, Everyone, FF, GE, LAI, Landmark, ONA, solar, solar power, Uncategorized, wind power | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Trump: Scared of ISIS, loves air-conditioning, slams John Kerry

A 1-acre permaculture farm supplies 50 families

by RosettaKunkle Posted on July 26, 2016

green4us

The Art of Raising a Puppy (Revised Edition) – Monks of New Skete

For more than thirty years the Monks of New Skete have been among America’s most trusted authorities on dog training, canine behavior, and the animal/human bond. In their two now-classic bestsellers, How to be Your Dog’s Best Friend and The Art of Raising a Puppy, the Monks draw on their experience as long-time breeders of […]

iTunes Store
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up – Marie Kondo

This New York Times best-selling guide to decluttering your home from Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes readers step-by-step through her revolutionary KonMari Method for simplifying, organizing, and storing. Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles? Japanese cleaning consultant […]

iTunes Store
Make a Statement – Janet Crowther & Covington

From runways to boutiques, statement jewelry has become the coveted accessory. In Make a Statement, jewelry designers Janet Crowther and Katie Covington share their trade secrets for using basic techniques and easy-to-source materials to make stylish jewelry and accessories, from a gold bib necklace and geometric hoop earrings to a classic charm bracelet and elegant […]

iTunes Store
Cesar Millan’s Short Guide to a Happy Dog – Cesar Millan

After more than 9 seasons as TV’s Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan has a new mission: to use his unique insights about dog psychology to create stronger, happier relationships between humans and their canine companions. Now in paperback, this inspirational and practical guide draws on thousands of training encounters around the world to present 98 essential lessons. Taken together, they will […]

iTunes Store
The Sustainable Vegetable Garden – John Jeavons & Carol Cox

From the author of our best-selling and widely beloved HOW TO GROW MORE VEGETABLES comes this “quick and dirty” introduction to biointensive gardening that shows it is not only possible but easy to grow astonishing crops of healthful organic vegetables and fruits, while conserving resources and actually helping the soil. A revolutionary approach to feeding […]

iTunes Store
How to Raise the Perfect Dog – Cesar Millan & Melissa Jo Peltier

From the bestselling author and star of National Geographic Channel’s Dog Whisperer , the only resource you’ll need for raising a happy, healthy dog. For the millions of people every year who consider bringing a puppy into their lives–as well as those who have already brought a dog home–Cesar Millan, the preeminent dog behavior expert, […]

iTunes Store
The General’s Handbook Enhanced Edition – Games Workshop

An essential resource for all warlords of the Mortal Realms, the General’s Handbook comes packed with new, exciting ways to play Warhammer Age of Sigmar, including: Open Play – Ideal for new hobbyists, this straightforward system will have you playing games in no time. Narrative Play – Narrative play brings the stories of the Age […]

iTunes Store
Be the Pack Leader – Cesar Millan & Melissa Jo Peltier

Bestselling author Cesar Millan takes his principles of dog psychology a step further, showing you how to develop the calm-assertive energy of a successful pack leader and use it to improve your dog’s life–and your own. Filled with practical tips and techniques as well as real-life success stories from his clients (including the Grogan family, […]

iTunes Store
Spark Joy – Marie Kondo

Japanese decluttering guru Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up  has revolutionized homes—and lives—across the world. Now, Kondo presents an illustrated guide to her acclaimed KonMari Method, with step-by-step folding illustrations for everything from shirts to socks, plus drawings of perfectly organized drawers and closets. She also provides advice on frequently asked questions, such as whether to […]

iTunes Store
Gardening Basics For Dummies, Mini Edition – Steven A. Frowine & National Gardening Association

Your green-thumb guide to planning, planting, and cultivating a garden With some basic knowledge, the right tools, and a little work, anyone can transform a boring old yard into a beautiful garden. This friendly guide tells you how. From improving your soil to selecting plants and caring for them, you get just the information you […]

iTunes Store

Continue reading – 

A 1-acre permaculture farm supplies 50 families

Posted in aquaponics, eco-friendly, FF, For Dummies, G & F, GE, Jason, LAI, Monterey, ONA, organic, solar, solar power, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on A 1-acre permaculture farm supplies 50 families

Clinton’s VP pick gets decent reviews from both enviros and fossil fuel industry

by QuentinZtf Posted on July 23, 2016

citizen kaine

Clinton’s VP pick gets decent reviews from both enviros and fossil fuel industry

By on Jul 23, 2016Share

Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, Hillary Clinton’s brand-new running mate, appears to have an uncanny ability to appeal to people across the spectrum.

Kaine is no Elizabeth Warren, but he’s no Jim Webb either, getting good reviews from surprising quarters. As Politico reported earlier this month, he opposed the Keystone XL pipeline, protected 400,000 acres of land from development as governor of Virginia, supports the Clean Power Plan, and has worked to prepare coastal communities for climate change and sea-level rise. The League of Conservation Voters has given him a lifetime voting score of 91 percent.

Kaine, however, has also supported offshore drilling in the Atlantic — contradicting Clinton’s position — and supported a bill to fast-track the construction of natural gas terminals. Even fossil fuel interests have taken a liking to him. “We’re encouraged by the reasonable approach he’s taken on oil and natural gas, that he hasn’t been swayed by politics and ideology,” Miles Morin, executive director of the Virginia Petroleum Council, told Politico.

Of course, being on good terms with the fossil fuel industry is a cause for concern among some greens. “If Kaine is the pick, Hillary will need to stake out much clearer positions on drilling, fracking, and new fossil fuel infrastructure,” said 350.org’s Jason Kowalski before Clinton’s choice was made. R.L. Miller, Climate Hawks Vote cofounder and a chair of California Democrats’ environmental caucus, responded to Kaine with a resounding “meh,” citing his mixed record on fossil fuels as something that won’t lure progressive Democrats to the polls.

Election Guide ★ 2016Making America Green AgainOur experts weigh in on the real issues at stake in this electionGet Grist in your inbox

View post:  

Clinton’s VP pick gets decent reviews from both enviros and fossil fuel industry

Posted in alo, Anchor, Citizen, FF, GE, Jason, ONA, The Atlantic, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Clinton’s VP pick gets decent reviews from both enviros and fossil fuel industry

Jon Stewart makes late-night TV great again

by SuzanneBl Posted on July 22, 2016

Your Moment of Zen

Jon Stewart makes late-night TV great again

By on Jul 22, 2016Share

He’s baaaack!

American hero Jon Stewart emerged from his bunker Thursday to join his old pal Stephen Colbert on The Late Show.

Looking fresh out of survivalist training, Stewart gave us much-missed commentary on this week’s Republican National Convention and Roger Ailes’ exit from Fox News.

He had one message for Donald Trump, and the machinery that nominated him: “I see your bullshit.”

Either Lumpy and friends are lying about being bothered by thin-skinned, authoritarian, less-than-Christian readers-of-prompter being president, or they don’t care, as long as it’s their thin-skinned prompter authoritarian tyrant narcissist. You just want that person to give you your country back, because you feel that you are this country’s rightful owner. The only problem with that: This country isn’t yours. You don’t own it.

There was plenty of BS like that in Trump’s address to the RNC.

CBS censors were less than pleased with Stewart, but the crowd loved it. Watch the segment above.

Election Guide ★ 2016Making America Green AgainOur experts weigh in on the real issues at stake in this electionGet Grist in your inbox

Originally posted here: 

Jon Stewart makes late-night TV great again

Posted in alo, Anchor, FF, GE, ONA, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Jon Stewart makes late-night TV great again

Sorry, Trump: Scottish wind farm is going ahead despite you

by SamMickey557244 Posted on July 22, 2016

Blow it out your ass

Sorry, Trump: Scottish wind farm is going ahead despite you

By on Jul 22, 2016Share

Donald Trump may have gotten the Republican nomination for president, but he isn’t getting his way when it comes to his Scottish golf course.

Swedish company Vattenfall has announced a nearly $350 million investment in an offshore wind farm that Trump tried to prevent from being built, afraid it would mar the view from his luxury golf course. Now the wind farm is expected to go online in 2018.

Trump once compared the project to the 1988 plane bombing over Lockerbie, which killed 270 people. “Wind farms are a disaster for Scotland, like Pan Am 103,” Trump said. “They make people sick with the continuous noise. They’re an abomination and are only sustained with government subsidy. Scotland is in the middle of a revolution against wind farms. People don’t want them near their homes ruining property values.”

The Scottish people, however, have more love for wind farms than for Donald Trump. A 2013 newspaper poll found two-thirds of respondents disagreed with Trump about the wind project, and he hasn’t gained fans since.

“He’s not a popular person in Scotland,” Alex Salmond, a Scottish member of parliament, said last month, “but the way Trump talks you’d think he owned the country.” We know how he feels.

Election Guide ★ 2016Making America Green AgainOur experts weigh in on the real issues at stake in this electionGet Grist in your inbox

Link to original:

Sorry, Trump: Scottish wind farm is going ahead despite you

Posted in alo, Anchor, FF, GE, ONA, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Sorry, Trump: Scottish wind farm is going ahead despite you

Walmart wants to sell you ugly fruits and veggies — and that’s a good thing

by MichaleMargarot Posted on July 21, 2016

FUGLY

Walmart wants to sell you ugly fruits and veggies — and that’s a good thing

By on Jul 21, 2016Share

Walmart may be best known for low prices — and low wages — but now the company is vying for a new reputation: the nation’s largest seller of ugly food.

Earlier this year, the retail giant started selling “Spuglies,” or ugly potatoes, as part of an effort to cut down on food waste. This week it announced that it will begin selling a line of cosmetically challenged Washington state apples called “I’m Perfect” (a play on imperfect — get it?). The apples will start rolling out in 300 Walmart stores in Florida this week, where they will sell for lower prices than their sightlier sisters.

“One of the challenges growers have is that Mother Nature can throw a curveball such as a hailstorm, high winds, or even a string of very hot sunny days, which can damage the exterior finish of fruits,” wrote Walmart Senior Vice President Shawn Baldwin in a blog post. “While the texture and flavor remain perfect, the exterior damage usually renders these fruits unsellable in the fresh market because they fail to meet traditional grade standards. We’re proud to be the first retailer to bring these apples to you.”

Walmart is also trying to curb food waste by requiring some of its suppliers to standardize their date labels: Instead of the confusing “best by,” “use by,” or “sell by” wording, they’ll be using more understandable “best if used by” language.

Food waste is a huge problem worldwide. Americans throw away an estimated $29 billion worth of food annually. Globally, 40 percent of the food we produce is never consumed. That’s not just wasteful, it’s hugely costly for the planet, squandering water, land, and other resources.

Now, if only Walmart would do something about those slave wages.

Election Guide ★ 2016Making America Green AgainOur experts weigh in on the real issues at stake in this electionGet Grist in your inbox

Link – 

Walmart wants to sell you ugly fruits and veggies — and that’s a good thing

Posted in alo, Anchor, Everyone, FF, GE, ONA, PUR, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Walmart wants to sell you ugly fruits and veggies — and that’s a good thing

The Republican Party makes its hatred of mass transit official

by Philip28X16 Posted on July 21, 2016

Get off the bus, gus

The Republican Party makes its hatred of mass transit official

By on Jul 21, 2016Share

The Republican Party has made its views on transportation clear: highways good, transit and bike shares bad — or at least not worth spending any federal money on.

This is the vision laid out in the recently released GOP platform. It’s intensely anti-urban, anti-transit, opposed to smart growth, and far outside the mainstream.

According to the GOP, the only legitimate federal transportation expense is building highways. The Republicans propose eliminating all federal spending on mass transit, which they call “an inherently local affair.” They would also end all federal funding for high-speed rail, ferries, “bike-share programs, sidewalks, recreational trails, landscaping, and historical renovations.” And forget about finding new revenue to pay for any of these programs: The platform reiterates the party’s longstanding opposition to raising the gas tax, which hasn’t gone up since 1993.

But when it comes to building highways, Republicans don’t want to let anything stand in the way. They want to “reform provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act which can delay and drive up costs for transportation projects.” Look out, sensitive wetlands, there’s a road to nowhere headed your way and — if Republicans get to rewrite NEPA — no stopping it.

Election Guide ★ 2016Making America Green AgainOur experts weigh in on the real issues at stake in this electionGet Grist in your inbox

Continue at source – 

The Republican Party makes its hatred of mass transit official

Posted in alo, Anchor, Everyone, FF, GE, LAI, ONA, PUR, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Republican Party makes its hatred of mass transit official

Extreme heat is exhausting and expensive

by EarnestTrumbo Posted on July 21, 2016

cool it

Extreme heat is exhausting and expensive

By on Jul 21, 2016Share

It’s July, the month where the whole world collectively reaches for the nearest chilled beverage. Work be damned: Hordes of city-dwellers are relocating to the seaside, celebrities frolic in Ibiza, and most of us in the continental United States are tethered to the air conditioner right now.

Just kidding — first-world problems are the least of our worries in the middle of this 14-month global heat streak. It turns out that increasingly hot summers are going to wreak total havoc on some countries’ GDP, as excessively high temperatures make working during peak daylight hours impossible.

According to a just-released United Nations study, poorer workers and manual laborers are especially affected by heat stress. In developing countries, fewer working hours can translate into serious economic strain. In Southeast Asia, heat is already cutting work hours by 15 to 20 percent. By 2050, that number could be as high as 40 percent.

“It’s a whole working month that would be lost because it’s so hot you can’t work,” the report’s coauthor Tord Kjellstrom told the Washington Post. If global warming continues at its current rate, extreme heat could cost global economies $2 trillion by 2030.

Though excess heat primarily affects poor or middle-income countries, the report also notes that more prosperous countries such as Sweden, Norway, and Russia could see their working hours impacted by extreme winters.

Election Guide ★ 2016Making America Green AgainOur experts weigh in on the real issues at stake in this electionGet Grist in your inbox

Source: 

Extreme heat is exhausting and expensive

Posted in alo, Anchor, Everyone, FF, GE, ONA, PUR, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Extreme heat is exhausting and expensive

Obama Is the Guy Who Made America Work Again

by WillyDostie5865 Posted on July 20, 2016

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

The theme of the convention tonight was supposed to be “Make America Work Again.” But Donald Trump has a famously short attention span, and apparently that’s spilled over into the scheduling of the entire convention. As near as I can tell, not a single person talked about jobs and the economy except maybe soap opera star Kimberlin Brown, who grows avocadoes and spent several minutes railing against Obamacare.

However, I didn’t watch every minute of the convention, so maybe I missed one of the early C-list speakers talking about jobs. On the off chance that this happened, I have two charts for you. First, here’s a re-up of one of my favorites, showing that Republicans did everything they possibly could to keep America from recovering while Obama was president:

As you can see from the various red and orange lines, Republicans were eager to increase spending for Reagan, Bush Jr., and Bush Sr.—at least until he lost the election and Clinton took over. Then they cut back. For Obama, they depressed public spending from the start. That’s the blue line. Today, more than six years after the official end of the recession, public spending is more than 20 points lower than the trendline for Reagan and Bush.

Nonetheless, check out Obama’s record on job growth:

Even with two big tax cuts and a housing bubble, Bush Jr. managed to create only 10.9 million jobs. Obama, even with the headwind of Republican obstruction, has created 13.1 million jobs so far.

You can decide for yourself how much credit presidents deserve for the strength of the economy on their watch. But one thing is sure: Obama started with the worst recession since World War II, and six years later he’s created over 13 million jobs; the unemployment rate is under 5 percent; inflation is low; and the economy is growing faster than nearly any other rich country. Imagine what he could have done if Republicans hadn’t stood in his way the entire time.

This article – 

Obama Is the Guy Who Made America Work Again

Posted in FF, GE, LG, ONA, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Obama Is the Guy Who Made America Work Again