The EPA Changed the Way it Makes Scientific Decisions to "Sustainable" In January 2012, the EPA announced it was "realigning its entire research enterprise around the concept of sustainability." The new initiative is titled, "The Path Forward." Agency scientists and managers agreed to base their process on "the widely used definition of sustainability as outlined by the Brundtland Commission in 1987..." The 1987 Brundtland Commission report, also known as "Our Common Future," stated that the earth was in danger, there was too much poverty and industrialized nations like the US were the cause. According to Brundtland, the only way to protect earth was for powerful central authorites to control all of society, the economy and the environment in an initiative it coined as "sustainable development."
Union Founder's Words on Socialism "Socialism has no place in the hearts of those who would secure the fight for freedom and secure democracy." Samuel Gompers 1918 Samuel Gompers was the founder and longest serving president of the American Federation of Labor. (AFL) "Deja vu All Over Again?"
FDR won his first two terms by attacking the wealthy and pitting them against poor Americans. In 1932 he promised to "cut government operations by 25% and lower taxes", but did neither. In 1936, he overwhelmingly won by raising taxes on the rich then redistributing the money to larger voting blocks in swing states using the WPA, Silver Purchase Act and the Agricultural Act. By 1940, needing businesspeople to win the war, he called for unity among the same people he divided and won another decisive victory. In 1944, FDR sidestepped laws prohibiting union money in elections by forming the nation's first Political Action Committee. This provided urban labor support. Fearing a backlash by Japanese prisoners if released from internment camps, he created an executive order to keep them imprisoned until 3 days after the elections. To gain the Polish American vote, FDR promised special treatment for Poland after the war. He won nearly 90% of their vote, and then betrayed the group by failing to offer the promised "self-determination" for Poland at the Yalta conference. Still, he won a fourth slim victory. Upon his death, the NYT wrote, "Men will thank God on their knees 100 years from now FDR was in the White House."! 
Between budget battles and elections, politicians and media supporters spin wildly to advance their own positions, leaving the public misinformed. In this column we will attempt to unravel some of the worst spins. Worst Economy, I think! In 2008, now Pres. Obama said "we are in the worst economy since the Great Depression." Presidential Whoppers! During the Healthcare Summit and his 2010 State of the Union message, Pres. Obama declared the healthcare bill would cut the federal deficit. |
Pinocchio Politics Between budget battles and elections, politicians and media supporters spin wildly to advance their own positions, leaving the public misinformed. In this column we will attempt to unravel some of the worst spins. Worst Economy, I Think! In 2008, now Pres. Obama said, "...we are in the worst economy since the Great Depression." In 2011, Pres. Obama said, "...I did not realize the magnitude of the recession." Campaign Tricks! In a March 2012 campaign ad, Pres. Obama took credit for U.S. oil production being at an eight year high. Sure enough U.S. domestic oil production peaked at over 2 billion barrels in 2011, an increase over the prior eight years. However, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Federal lands, over which Mr. Obama has control, produced only 31.8% of domestic oil. This was down from the nine year average of 33.4%. The production increase came from private lands over which the president has no control. According to the same EIA report, 2011 oil production on Federal lands decreased by 13% below 2010. Presidential Whopper! During the Healthcare Summit and his 2010 State of the Union message, Pres. Obama declared the healthcare bill would cut the federal deficit to help the economy. A March 2010 CBO report seemed to confirm this. But law requires the CBO to use whatever politically derived assumptions Congress presents. Since these assumptions are often unrealistic, the agency's reports generally include disclaimers. The media ignored the warnings, leaving the impression the bill did what it did not. Today we know the administration and Congress used numerous "tricks" such as double counting Medicare savings to create the illusion the bill costs less than it does. We also know these false savings enabled Congress to use the budgetary reconciliation process requiring 51 rather than the unobtainable 60 votes for passage. Mr. Obama was honest about one point. On January 27, 2010, he promised the nation he "wouldn't just do what was popular -– I would do what was necessary" to manage the economy. True to his word, he ignored the 61% of Americans opposing the healthcare plan, the 79% who believed the bill would increase the deficit and the 85% who felt it would raise taxes. The president did not do what was popular, but what he felt was necessary. | ||
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