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  • Notes from the conservative stagnation, Part 10

    My occasional series on the conservative movement stagnation continues with Grover Norquist, the president of Americans for Government Elimination Tax Reform. On Monday, the New York Times ran a long story, “Among Republicans, a Debate Over the Party’s Road Map Back to Power,” about the response of leading right-wing thinkers to the question “how can […]

  • Pelosi confirms intent to maintain the House global warming committee; Markey stays on

    Yesterday, I posted on Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s plans for the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, which is scheduled to dissolve at the end of the year. Signs pointed to her intent to keep the committee going for another session. In a press conference today, she confirmed it: It is my intention […]

  • Key senator signals piecemeal approach to climate legislation

    David posted on Barbara Boxer’s big global warming announcement yesterday, in which the California senator promised to introduce two climate bills in January. The first would authorize a $15 billion clean-energy grant program, and the second would the EPA to develop a carbon cap-and-trade system by amending the Clean Air Act. The announcement is significant […]

  • Waxman’s win signals shift in Congress on climate and energy policy

    Henry Waxman. House Democrats unceremoniously dethroned John Dingell (D-Mich.) as chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, installing Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) in his stead — a move that will have resounding implications for climate and energy policy going forward and demonstrates growing strength among the party’s more liberal wing, especially when it comes to […]

  • Police spy on climate activist while global warming goes unarrested

    Terrorist Activist Mike Tidwell (at podium) exhibiting clearly threatening behavior.   Photo: chesapeakeclimate   I’m not sure what’s more shocking: the news that the Maryland State Police wrongfully spied on me for months as a “suspected terrorist,” or that, despite surveillance of me, officers apparently wouldn’t recognize me if I walked into their police headquarters […]

  • My robo-call from Gingrich

    Here’s the call I got this morning, loosely paraphrased, initially from a live person and then with a recording from Newt. Newt (paraphrased): “I’m calling business leaders like yourself who understand the way that taxes cripple our economy, to ask for your support in the development a flat tax structure to lower the cost on […]

  • Pelosi may keep House Global Warming Committee going

    Ed Markey. In the wake of news that Henry Waxman will take over the House Energy and Commerce Committee, there’s been some speculation that Speaker Nancy Pelosi would scrap the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, which she created this past session to throw a spotlight on climate change. (The committee is […]

  • Senator announces two climate bills to be introduced in January

    Today, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, announced that she will introduce two pieces of green legislation in January. Barbara Boxer. The first is a proposal to create a grant program that would hand out $15 billion a year to support clean energy innovation. This is in line […]

  • The new administration’s success with climate policy will depend on where they start

    A few observations as to what we can expect from the incoming administration: What they ultimately get done may be a function of what they do first. First off, our economic downturn is going to be long and deep. The headlines about over-leveraged companies going bust or paying down massive amounts of debt essentially mean […]

  • ‘Show me a 50-foot wall, and I’ll show you a 51-foot ladder’

    CNN is reporting that Janet Napolitano is Obama’s choice for secretary of homeland security. That’s great news for the imperiled wildlife and landscape of America’s desert southwest. Napolitano’s record shows that she’s the ideal candidate to fulfill Obama’s pledge to tear down (most of) the Bush administration’s border wall now dividing Arizona from Mexico. She’s […]