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Roomful of Blues
Turn it On, Turn it Up

Well, damn! I was hoping to hear more about how we’re winning the war in Iraq.

The SOTU will center on America’s energy needs. Bush is recommending we invest in alternative fuels research so as to wean ourselves from our oil dependency sometime in the next 100-125 years (or when the oil fields all dry up)… whichever comes first.

Bush State of Union to stress energy security

Focus expected on ethanol, cleaner coal, hybrid cars and nuclear power

WASHINGTON - A year after warning America of its addiction to oil, President Bush is expected to renew concerns about energy security in his State of the Union address. But will the rhetoric be followed by action? Up to now, the record has been mixed.

Aides hint of a major pronouncement on energy in the speech before Congress and the nation Tuesday night. Yet the president is expected to take a predictable path, urging expanded use of ethanol in gasoline, more research into cleaner burning coal and on gas-electric “hybrid” cars, and greater nuclear energy.

He may tweak his voluntary program on climate change. Aides, however, say the president remains opposed to mandatory cuts in carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping “greenhouse” gases as has been proposed in Congress.

A year ago, Bush declared “America is addicted to oil” and he set a goal of replacing three-fourths of today’s oil imports from the Middle East by 2025. He pledged to press for alternatives to oil and for more efficient use of energy.

Actions and words

Bush has had some success in getting more domestic production.

The Bush administration has opened new federal lands for oil and gas drilling. Last month, Congress approved opening a large new area in the Gulf of Mexico to drilling. This month, Bush lifted a longtime ban on oil and gas drilling in Alaska’s Bristol Bay.

But when it comes to weaning the country away from oil, the president’s critics say his rhetoric has not been matched by action.

“President Bush actually cut funding for the key energy’saving technologies,” says Joseph Romm, a former head of the renewable fuels and efficiency programs at the Energy Department during the Clinton administration.

The department’s requests for renewable fuel and conservation programs have stayed flat at about $1.18 billion annually over the past six years - really a decline if inflation is considered, energy efficiency advocates say.

“Since 2002, the energy efficiency programs at the Energy Department have dropped by a third in real dollars,” says Kateri Callahan, president of the Alliance to Safe Energy, a private advocacy group.

When one program is increased, others have suffered, these critics maintain.

They acknowledge spending increases for research into solar and wind energy, but contend that came at the expense of two other renewable energy programs that were eliminated: research into geothermal energy deep within the earth and efforts to make hydroelectric dams more fish friendly.

Source: MSNBC

Everyone, including Ahmadinejad, should know by now that Bush is itching for a fight with Iran. So why is the Iranian president begging for trouble? If it’s trouble he wants, then it’s trouble he’ll wind up with!

Iran sets new missile tests as U.S. carrier dispatched

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Iran announced new tests of short-range missiles Sunday, and hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed criticism that the country’s economy has been hurt by U.N. sanctions imposed for its suspect nuclear program.

The missile tests come as the U.S. Navy is sending a second aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf. U.S. officials said the USS John C. Stennis, which arrives in Mideast waters in a matter of weeks, is meant as a warning to Iran.

The deployment appeared to alarm some in Iran’s hardline leadership, including a member of a powerful cleric-run body who warned last week that Washington plans to attack, possibly by striking Iranian nuclear facilities. U.S. officials have long refused to rule out any options in the faceoff with Tehran, but say military action would be a last resort.

Stressing Iran’s preparedness, state television said the Revolutionary Guards planned to begin three days of testing the short-range Zalzal and Fajr-5 missiles Sunday. It could not be confirmed if the exercise had begun near Garmsar city, about 60 miles southeast of Tehran.

“The maneuver is aimed at evaluating defensive and fighting capabilities of the missiles,” the report quoted an unidentified Guards commander as saying.

Source: CNN.com

That title would make you think of a group of people, probably led by Cindy Sheehan, camped out in front of the White House trying to bring an end to this senseless war.

Nope. The “pro-death except before birth” crowd are at it again.

Pro-Lifers Ready to Kick-Off Rallies for Life

WASHINGTON - Pro-lifers across the nation are ready to tell Congress, the media, and American citizens “No to abortion!”

From coast to coast, grassroots campaigns are being organized to protest abortion. Tens of thousands of participants are expected to show their support for the sanctity of human life starting Saturday.

Sanctity of human life? Aren’t you folks pro-war? Hypocrite much?

The Third Annual Walk for Life West Coast will take place on Saturday with an expected 20,000 people to gather in San Francisco. Organizers of the walk say the goal is to deliver the message that “abortion hurts women, and that Life is the best choice,” according to a letter addressed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) earlier this week.

Rallies and events will take place throughout the weekend leading up to the 34th anniversary of the legalization of U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion.
…

Joe Scheidler, the director of the Pro-Life Action League, commented, “With the new pro-abortion leadership in Congress, we need grass-roots activism more than ever.”

Erm, Joe… it’s pro-choice, not pro-abortion. Mind if I call you anti-choice? Anti-rights? Pile-o-Dogshit? I didn’t think so.

…

“America was founded on the principle that we are all endowed by our Creator with the right to life and that every individual has dignity and worth,” said President George W. Bush, who is against abortion, in a statement on Friday regarding National Sanctity of Human Life Day on Sunday.

Tell that to the Iraqis and your war prisoners, bastard.

Bush called for using science to relieve human suffering without abusing the “dignity of human life.”

Is he talking about contraceptives here? I thought that was a no-no with the religious-right crowd. Bush made a boo-boo here.

Source: The Christian Post

More troops is definitely not the answer. Less is. Much less. It’s time to bring our troops home!

Car bombings kill 75 in Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) – At least 75 people were killed and 160 wounded in a pair of nearly simultaneous car bombings in central Baghdad’s Bab al-Sharqi district, an Iraqi Interior Ministry official said Monday.

“Body parts everywhere, many bodies charred, it was horrible,” the official said.

According to the official, the midday bombings targeted civilians in a second-hand clothing market, the site of several attacks in the past.

The explosions left DVDs and compact discs scattered on the street as black smoke rose into the sky, The Associated Press reported. Iraqi police sealed off the area as ambulances rushed to the scene to evacuate the victims.

Separately, mortar rounds fell on an elementary school in southern Baghdad’s Abu Dhseir section, killing one woman and wounding eight children.

Deadly weekend for U.S. troops

Attacks and the crash of a Black Hawk helicopter brought to 25 the number of American troops killed in Iraq on Saturday, making it one of the deadliest days for the U.S. military since the war began almost four years ago.

On Sunday two Marines, both members of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit based at Camp Pendleton, California, were killed in separate battles in western Iraq, bringing the weekend’s toll to 27.

Source: CNN.com