Are the devastating and deadly recent floods in Australia caused by climate change? No. Australia has always been "a land of drought and flooding rains," as a foundational poem about the nation, My Country, by Dorothy McKellar, described it over a hundred years ago. But could a tendency towards drought and flood be worsened by climate change?Continue reading “Could the Australian floods be caused by climate change?”
Category Archives: politics
The Tucson Memorial speech
The news event of this month has been, without question, the horrific assassination attempt and mass shooting in Tucson, the shock and horror of experiencing that, and the extraordinarily uplifting speech President Obama gave in response, many days later, at a memorial. Never have I seen a speech so widely admired, across the political spectrum.Continue reading “The Tucson Memorial speech”
Cancun talks do not end in failure
Newspaper headlines by their nature are expected to state what happened, not what did not happen, because what did not happen is not, after all, news. Unlike the headline above. But the truth of the modest deal that emerged between 190 nations negotiating at Cancun, under the auspices of the United Nations, is that theContinue reading “Cancun talks do not end in failure”
Acceleration of drought in Mexico accelerating illegal immigration?
That's the startling argument advanced by Thomas Elias in today's Ventura County Star: a new study published in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences appears to establish a coming (and possibly a present) link between global warming and illegal immigration from Mexico,..the study led by atmospheric science Prof. Michael Oppenheimer of Princeton UniversityContinue reading “Acceleration of drought in Mexico accelerating illegal immigration?”
Congress won’t extend unemployment benefits: LA Times
Veteran reporter Don Lee of the LA Times already knows that Congress won't extend unemployment benefits for the long-term out of work, even before the debate is joined: Economists also worry that consumer spending may weaken. Confidence remains low, and unemployment benefits, which have helped prop up spending, probably won't be extended by lawmakers, givenContinue reading “Congress won’t extend unemployment benefits: LA Times”
Sarah Palin: She’s no Julie Andrews
The critics don't like Sarah's new reality show. Alexandra Stanley complains: In a way it’s like “The Sound of Music” but without the romance, the Nazis or the music. Steve Brodner, for The New Yorker, artfully makes the same point: Don't think Sarah will care what some New York smarties think. But when some ofContinue reading “Sarah Palin: She’s no Julie Andrews”
The nihilistic American voter
As a couple of veteran Washington observers have recently noted, the American voter of today is something of a nihilist. He doesn't really know what he wants, but he sure as hell knows what he doesn't want: what he's got. Here's Doyle McManus, in an opinion column in the Los Angeles Times today, on theContinue reading “The nihilistic American voter”
Obama in trouble, lefties and righties agree
From conservative David Brooks, on public radio Friday, when asked — as the President suggested — if it's true that President Obama has a communications problem: Mr. BROOKS: Yeah. Well, maybe the Titanic had a communications problem with the iceberg. You know, I just think it's a wrong diagnosis. You know, 60 or 70 percentContinue reading “Obama in trouble, lefties and righties agree”
“We will not leave our problems for our children unresolved”: Marco Rubio
Senator-elect Marco Rubio gave a fascinating speech Tuesday night in Florida. It's been widely broadcast, major portions even on All Things Considered, but hasn't been available in print on the Web (not that I have found, anyhow). So here, as a public service, let me present the two-edged sword of Republican idealism and denial. Americans believeContinue reading ““We will not leave our problems for our children unresolved”: Marco Rubio”
Climate change and income distribution: real change vs political
The big changes underway in this country are not political, despite the headlines. Divided government: What a shock! Never would've seen that one coming. A much bigger change has taken place in the nature of our economy, and in the nature of our atmosphere, and these are changes the Tea Party can't face, and thusContinue reading “Climate change and income distribution: real change vs political”
Kit Stolz 