Tag Archives: citizen

Ted Cruz Addresses Rally Organized By Doctor Who Says Gays Recruit Children

Mother Jones

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz Cruz spoke at an anti-gay marriage rally on Thursday hosted by Steven Hotze, a controversial doctor who has told women that birth control would make them unappealing to men and has warned that equality for gays would be a stepping stone to child molestation. Hotze, who runs an alternative medicine practice in suburban Houston and is suing the Obama administration over the Affordable Care Act, organized the event through his political action committee, Conservative Republicans of Texas. Cruz was joined on stage fellow Sen. John Cornyn, and state Sen. Dan Patrick, the party’s nominee for lieutenant governor.

As I reported in April, Hotze’s opposition to gay rights stretches back to at least the early 1980s, when he told Third Coast magazine that gay people “proliferate by one means, and one means only, and that’s recruiting. And they recruit the weak. They recruit children or young people in their formative years.” With that, he was off:

Three years later, after overturning an anti-discrimination ordinance in Houston, Hotze organized a group of eight candidates he considered allies in the fight against homosexuality. He called them “the Straight Slate.” His preferred mayoral candidate said that the best way to fight AIDS was to “shoot the queers.” Hotze told a local newspaper reporter that he cased out restaurants before making reservations to make sure they didn’t have any gay employees and became such a divisive figure in local politics that for a brief period the Harris County Republican Party cleaved in two.

More recently, his PAC spent big bucks to oppose Annise Parker, a Democratic candidate who would become Houston’s first openly gay mayor in 2009. On Thursday, Cruz also signed onto an amicus brief in support of Hotze’s lawsuit against Obamacare, which he contends is unconstitutional because it did not originate in the House. But Hotze is an unusual mascot for politicians who fear Obamacare has ruined the health care system, because he operates largely outside of it. An investigation by the Houston Press raised questions about his medical practice, noting that he had inflated his credentials and touted the healing powers of treatments such as colloidal silver—which can turn patients’ skin permanently blue—which are not covered by health insurance and not backed up by studies.

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Ted Cruz Addresses Rally Organized By Doctor Who Says Gays Recruit Children

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This Is Where the Government Houses the Tens of Thousands of Kids Who Get Caught Crossing the Border

Mother Jones

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Yesterday, the Obama administration announced that it was creating a multiagency taskforce to oversee the recent surge of unaccompanied child migrants coming primarily from Central America and Mexico. The announcement included plans to move some 600 kids from holding cells at the border to an emergency shelter at Naval Base Ventura County in Southern California.

As the number of unaccompanied children entering the United States has more than doubled since 2011, the Office of Refugee Resettlement—the part of the Department of Health and Human Services charged with caring for unaccompanied minors in US custody—has brought more and more shelters online to accommodate the influx. (Kids are typically housed in these shelters until ORR can reunify kids with US-based family, with whom they stay pending their immigration hearings.) Here’s what the increase has looked like:

So where, exactly, are these shelters? Fifty of the 80 shelters in 2013 were in states along the Southwest border; Texas alone had 33 shelters. The rest, however, are spread out throughout the country. As Maria Woltjen, director of the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, told me in an interview: “Nobody in Chicago knows there are 400 kids detained in our midst. You walk by, and you think it’s just an old nursing home, and it’s actually all these immigrant kids who are detained inside.”

Check out our map of ORR’s 2013 shelters, data I obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request:

Continued: 

This Is Where the Government Houses the Tens of Thousands of Kids Who Get Caught Crossing the Border

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Obama gears up for his big climate move

Obama gears up for his big climate move

President Obama is about to launch the biggest climate change initiative of his presidency — the biggest in U.S. history — and it’s not because he’s a tree-hugging hippie. As he lays the groundwork for introducing landmark regulations on power-plant CO2 emissions on Monday, he “wants to shift the conversation from polar bears and melting glaciers to droughts in Iowa and more childhood asthma across the nation,” as Bloomberg reports.

He pushed that message home in his weekly video address on Saturday:

I’m here at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., visiting with some kids being treated here all the time for asthma and other breathing problems. Often, these illnesses are aggravated by air pollution — pollution from the same sources that release carbon and contribute to climate change. And for the sake of all our kids, we’ve got to do more to reduce it. …

This week, we’re unveiling … proposed guidelines [that] will cut down on the carbon pollution, smog, and soot that threaten the health of the most vulnerable Americans, including children and the elderly. In just the first year that these standards go into effect, up to 100,000 asthma attacks and 2,100 heart attacks will be avoided — and those numbers will go up from there.

On Friday, Obama linked climate change to the storms and weather disruptions that Americans are already seeing in their hometowns, echoing the message of the big climate report that his administration put out in early May. During a meeting at the headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, he said:

The changes we’re seeing in our climate means that, unfortunately, storms like Sandy could end up being more common and more devastating. And that’s why we’re also going to be doing more to deal with the dangers of carbon pollution that help to cause this climate change and global warming.

Earlier in the week, in a big speech on his foreign policy agenda, the president warned that climate change is also “a creeping national security crisis.”

Yep, no polar bear mentions.

Obama has not gotten into specifics about the forthcoming regulations — we’ll have to wait for Monday for the details — but, in his address on Saturday, he did warn Americans not to believe the dirty-energy interests that are preemptively bashing the regs.

Now, special interests and their allies in Congress will claim that these guidelines will kill jobs and crush the economy. Let’s face it, that’s what they always say.

But every time America has set clear rules and better standards for our air, our water, and our children’s health — the warnings of the cynics have been wrong. …

These excuses for inaction somehow suggest a lack of faith in American businesses and American ingenuity. The truth is, when we ask our workers and businesses to innovate, they do. When we raise the bar, they meet it. …

In America, we don’t have to choose between the health of our economy and the health of our children. The old rules may say we can’t protect our environment and promote economic growth at the same time, but in America, we’ve always used new technology to break the old rules.

The fossil fuel industry and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce will paint the proposed regulations as environmental extremism run amuck. Obama and his allies will argue that climate action is needed to protect things mainstream Americans care about deeply — their health, the economy, national security, their very homes.

It’s not about dirty fucking hippies. It’s about organic apple pie.

Watch his Saturday address:


Source
Climate Change Meets Kitchen Table as Issue Gets Personal, Bloomberg
Obama warns of ‘devastating’ hurricanes from climate change, The Hill

Lisa Hymas is senior editor at Grist. You can follow her on Twitter and Google+.

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Obama gears up for his big climate move

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Obama: Some of America’s "Most Costly Mistakes" Come From Relying Too Much on the Military

Mother Jones

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

President Obama today:

To say that we have an interest in pursuing peace and freedom beyond our borders is not to say that every problem has a military solution. Since World War II, some of our most costly mistakes came not from our restraint but from our willingness to rush into military adventures without thinking through the consequences, without building international support and legitimacy for our action, without leveling with the American people about the sacrifices required. Tough talk often draws headlines, but war rarely conforms to slogans. As General Eisenhower, someone with hard-earned knowledge on this subject, said at this ceremony in 1947, “War is mankind’s most tragic and stupid folly; to seek or advise its deliberate provocation is a black crime against all men.”

….America must always lead on the world stage. If we don’t, no one else will. The military that you have joined is, and always will be, the backbone of that leadership. But U.S. military action cannot be the only, or even primary, component of our leadership in every instance. Just because we have the best hammer does not mean that every problem is a nail.

It’s nice to hear Obama say this so directly. Oh, the usual suspects will howl, but no one who has paid even the slightest attention to the history of the past 50 or 60 years can really question this. Our world isn’t yet beyond the need for war, but for war to be an effective instrument of policy it needs to be used judiciously. It needs to be used when core interests are at stake and, equally importantly, it needs to be used only when it’s likely to succeed on its own terms. If we don’t know how to win, or if we have unrealistic ideas of what it even means to win—both of which were the case in Afghanistan and Iraq—then we shouldn’t fight. This isn’t a matter of deep foreign policy thinking, it’s just common sense. Like it or not, there are lots of problems in the world that US military force can’t solve.

On another note, I was intrigued, toward the end of Obama’s speech, at the parts that got applause from the West Point cadets. Here’s a sample:

Having other nations maintain order in their own neighborhoods lessens the need for us to put our own troops in harm’s way. It’s a smart investment. It’s the right way to lead. (Applause.)….What makes us exceptional is not our ability to flout international norms and the rule of law; it is our willingness to affirm them through our actions. (Applause.)

And that’s why I will continue to push to close Gitmo, because American values and legal traditions do not permit the indefinite detention of people beyond our borders. (Applause.) That’s why we’re putting in place new restrictions on how America collects and uses intelligence, because we will have fewer partners and be less effective if a perception takes hold that we’re conducting surveillance against ordinary citizens. (Applause.)….We’re strengthened by civil society. We’re strengthened by a free press. We’re strengthened by striving entrepreneurs and small businesses. We’re strengthened by educational exchange and opportunity for all people and women and girls. That’s who we are. That’s what we represent. (Applause.)

The cadets were applauding multinational engagements, international law, closing Guantanamo, cutting down on the surveillance state, and the use of soft power. I confess that I wouldn’t have guessed that these points would get the strongest response from an audience of West Point graduates. But I’m not sure if that says more about them or me.

David Corn has some more thoughts about Obama’s speech here, and Max Fisher has a pretty good rundown here of both the benefits and the pitfalls of Obama’s approach. I think he goes too far when he describes it as a “superdove foreign policy doctrine,” but his criticisms are worth reading anyway.

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Obama: Some of America’s "Most Costly Mistakes" Come From Relying Too Much on the Military

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Koch brothers get rolling on their first tar-sands project

Koch brothers get rolling on their first tar-sands project

Jared Rodriguez / Truthout

The Koch brothers are currently right on track to become the most dangerous senior citizens in the North American nonrenewable energy game. Considering that that particular arena is currently dominated – as are most lucrative yet morally fraught industries – by white men with Cialis prescriptions, that’s saying something.

In March, it was revealed that Chuck and Dave had quietly acquired leases for between 1.1 and 2 million acres of tar-sands land in Alberta. That makes them one of the largest tar-sands leaseholders in Canada. “Maybe they were planning on converting that property into a lovely nature preserve,” said exactly no one. Surprise, no one! Koch Industries’ Canadian arm, Koch Oil Sands Operating LLC, has started to make arrangements to drill on that land.

The project, slated to begin construction in 2016, is expected to cost $2.2 billion, and would produce 60,000 barrels of tar-sands oil per day starting in 2018.

And that’s just the start. Roxanne Rees, media representative for Koch Oil Sands, confirmed to the Vancouver Observer that the company has other projects in nascent stages of development.

Canada, we are truly sorry to share one of our national plagues with you. And for every moron who may be thinking otherwise: Charles and David Koch are significantly worse than Justin Bieber, Avril Lavigne, and Chad Kroeger combined, so this does not make us even.


Source
Koch brothers’ company files to develop oil sands project, The Globe and Mail
Koch brothers’ Canadian company moves to exploit oil sands gold rush, Vancouver Observer

Eve Andrews is a Grist fellow and new Seattle transplant via the mean streets of Chicago, Poughkeepsie, and Pittsburgh, respectively and in order of meanness. Follow her on Twitter.

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Koch brothers get rolling on their first tar-sands project

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World Briefing: Ecuador: Permit Issued for Drilling in Amazon Reserve

Ecuador’s government has issued an environmental permit for oil drilling in a pristine Amazon reserve that President Rafael Correa initially offered to exempt from exploration if rich countries would pay his government. Link: World Briefing: Ecuador: Permit Issued for Drilling in Amazon Reserve ; ;Related ArticlesExtreme Weather: How El Niño Might Alter the Political ClimateThe Big Melt AcceleratesIn California, Climate Issues Moved to Fore by Governor ;

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World Briefing: Ecuador: Permit Issued for Drilling in Amazon Reserve

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National Briefing | South: North Carolina: Deal Reached on Cleanup of Utility’s Toxic Spill

The Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday that it had reached an enforceable deal with Duke Energy to clean up its mess from a huge coal ash spill into the Dan River. Link:  National Briefing | South: North Carolina: Deal Reached on Cleanup of Utility’s Toxic Spill ; ;Related ArticlesFlood Danger Persists in Serbia, Threatening Power PlantJane Kleeb vs. the Keystone PipelineIn California, Climate Issues Moved to Fore by Governor ;

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National Briefing | South: North Carolina: Deal Reached on Cleanup of Utility’s Toxic Spill

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Near-Average Hurricane Season Is Predicted for U.S. as El Niño Develops in the Pacific

Experts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said they anticipated three to six hurricanes — one or two of them major storms — this year. Link:   Near-Average Hurricane Season Is Predicted for U.S. as El Niño Develops in the Pacific ; ;Related ArticlesExtreme Weather: How El Niño Might Alter the Political ClimateThe Big Melt AcceleratesIn California, Climate Issues Moved to Fore by Governor ;

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Near-Average Hurricane Season Is Predicted for U.S. as El Niño Develops in the Pacific

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Dot Earth Blog: Gavin Schmidt on Why Climate Models are Wrong, and Valuable

Two takes on climate science by Gavin Schmidt, who explains while computer models, while highly imperfect, are valuable. Read article here:   Dot Earth Blog: Gavin Schmidt on Why Climate Models are Wrong, and Valuable ; ;Related ArticlesIn California, Climate Issues Moved to Fore by GovernorThe Big Melt AcceleratesScience Standards Divide a State Built on Coal and Oil ;

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Dot Earth Blog: Gavin Schmidt on Why Climate Models are Wrong, and Valuable

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Dot Earth Blog: Pope Francis: ‘We Are Custodians of Creation’

Pope Francis lays out a religious and scientific argument for caring for the planet. More:  Dot Earth Blog: Pope Francis: ‘We Are Custodians of Creation’ ; ;Related ArticlesNote to Olympic Sailors: Don’t Fall in Rio’s WaterCatastrophic Floods Hit Balkans, Raising Fears for Land Mines and Power PlantsOutlasting Dynasties, Now Emerging From Soot ;

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Dot Earth Blog: Pope Francis: ‘We Are Custodians of Creation’

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