Al Gore called Thursday for a “man on the moon” effort to switch all of the nation’s electricity production to wind, solar and other carbon-free sources within 10 years, Associated Press reported. “When you connect the dots, it turns out that the real solutions to the climate crisis are the very same measures needed to renew our economy and escape the trap of ever-rising energy prices,” Gore said. The Alliance for Climate Protection, a bipartisan group Gore leads, put the 30-year cost of his plan – both government and private – at $1.5 trillion to $3 trillion.
Also Thursday, utility officials in Texas gave preliminary approval to a $4.9 billion plan to build new transmission lines for wind-generated electricity, AP reported. Texas is already the national leader in wind-power generation and could soon leave Kansas and other windy states in the dust.
Meanwhile, the Americans for Prosperity group has a video of it pestering attendees at a recent Gore event about why they didn’t take public transportation, as Gore advocates. The video also notes how Gore and his family and associates came to the event in two Lincoln Town Cars and a Chevy Suburban SUV.
Red Cross investigators concluded last year that the CIA’s interrogation methods for high-level al-Qaida prisoners were “categorically” torture, according to a new book, “The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals.” The book by Jane Mayer, who writes about counterterrorism for the New Yorker, provides details about torture techniques used on detainees and says that the Red Cross warned the Bush administration that “the abuse constituted war crimes, placing the highest officials in the U.S. government in jeopardy of being prosecuted.”
In a speech Monday to the NAACP, Barack Obama didn’t back down from the tough and needed message he’s been giving to the black community on personal responsibility, especially on fatherhood.
“If we’re serious about reclaiming that dream, we have to do more in our own lives,” Obama told the NAACP audience to loud applause. “There’s nothing wrong with saying that.”
The Rev. Jesse Jackson might think that Obama is “talking down” with this message, but it’s a winner with most Americans.
In response to flak about the negative elements of his latest TV ad, Sen. Pat Roberts’ campaign wisely has toned it down. There will be plenty of time to get nasty once his Democratic challenger, former congressman Jim Slattery, clears the Democratic primary next month. Meanwhile, a new poll suggests Roberts can relax: Rasmussen Reports shows Roberts leading Slattery by a whopping 27 percent. Just a month ago, Roberts’ support had dropped to 48 percent — setting off some alarm bells nationally about his chances. But now, Rasmussen reports, “Roberts is one of the few Republican incumbents who appears to be in the clear this election year.”
The same polling firm also gives John McCain a 20 percentage point lead over Barack Obama in Kansas, never mind the latter’s family roots in Butler County and close ties to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.
A Hutchinson News editorial makes a good point about Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Hays, who has yet to comment publicly since the Hays Daily News quoted from a fundraising letter saying Moran intends to run for the U.S. Senate in 2010: “Voters don’t understand a politician who seemingly can be honest with campaign contributors yet publicly offers a ‘no comment.’”
Al Gore called Thursday for a “man on the moon” effort to switch all of the nation’s electricity production to wind, solar and other carbon-free sources within 10 years, Associated Press reported. “When you connect the dots, it turns out that the real solutions to the climate crisis are the very same measures needed to renew our economy and escape the trap of ever-rising energy prices,” Gore said. The Alliance for Climate Protection, a bipartisan group Gore leads, put the 30-year cost of his plan – both government and private – at $1.5 trillion to $3 trillion.
