Fwd: Energy & Environment Update: Gulf Oil Spill: Washington’s Response Should Not Preclude Future Exploration

Energy & Environment Update Advancing freedom and prosperity by unleashing free enterprise, protecting America's energy interests, and advancing free global energy markets. Recent Updates A Renewable Electricity Standard: What it Will Really Cost Americans Let the Sun Set on Solar Subsidies Renewable Energy: Free as the Wind? Cash for Caulkers: Another Subsidized Clunker Oil Spill: Focus on Containment, Clean Up, Causation Featured Research Gulf Oil Spill: Washington's Response Should Not Preclude Future Exploration By Ben Lieberman America's most serious offshore oil spill in 20 years is currently unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico, and massive cleanup efforts are underway to cap the leak and contain the oil. This comes at a time when Washington had been considering expanding domestic oil production, including the Gulf and other offshore areas. For the most part, President Obama's initial response has been sensible, calling for a freeze on any plans to allow new leasing while not interfering with ongoing energy production contracts or calling for permanent policy changes before the facts are in. No doubt, this spill can and should spark prospective policy changes regarding offshore energy production, but it should be done in a prudent manner and not preclude continued exploration and drilling in America's waters. >> Click here to read Ben Lieberman's full report Global Warming on the Hill An Update from Heritage's Senate Relations Deputy Dan Holler On Wednesday, Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) will unveil their global warming plan – a combination of cap-and-trade and a gas tax.  Notably absent from the press conference will be Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who defected from the so-called tri-partisan after a squabble over immigration policy.  Senators Kerry and Lieberman seem to believe the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will help rally Americans around increased taxes and forced consumption of unproven, expensive energy sources.  Those policies remain deeply unpopular, but liberals tend to ignore public opposition.  In that spirit, they could bring this job-destroying proposal to the Senate floor as soon as June. For information on cap and trade, visit Heritage's Rapid Response page, which features research, commentary, blog posts, charts and additional policy resources. Shine Light on Energy Taxes Tap into your network on Facebook and invite your friends and family to join The Heritage Foundation as we educate more Americans about the dangers of a cap-and-trade system that will tax most forms of energy. Get started today at NoEnergyTax.com. About The Heritage Foundation Founded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation is a research and educational institute -- a think tank -- whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense. The Heritage Foundation | 214 Massachusetts Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002 | 202.546.4400

Fwd: National Security Update - "Protect America Month: Resurrecting a Vision of Peace Through Strength"

heritage.org | Heritage research | Blog |                         May 10, 2010 Issue in Depth: Protect America Month: Resurrecting a Vision of Peace through Strength Representative Eric Cantor (R-Va.) kicked off the Heritage Foundation's second annual Protect America Month with an address on May 4. Throughout the month, Heritage will release special publications and host events focusing on the need for increased defense spending to adequately fund the American military. The U.S. armed forces are under stress and at risk. The Obama Administration's plan to stop buying next-generation equipment means America's military could quickly lose its unrivaled primacy. Further, President Barack Obama has proposed defense spending cuts to pay for domestic initiatives, and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates included significant cuts to military modernization in the 2011 defense budget. Even though the U.S. still faces serious threats to its national security, our military readiness continues to decline. Defending America is choice, and it is time to make the choice to defend this country in the face of current threats just as the U.S. has done repeatedly in the past. See more in this week's Issue in Depth on Protect America Month. Dr. Feulner discusses Protect America Month Latest Research: The Heritage Foundation: Defending Freedom Is a Choice Talk of America's decline is in the air. It is on the cover of magazines, proclaiming, as British historian Niall Ferguson did in a recent Foreign Affairs piece, "Decline and Fall: When the American Empire Goes, It Is Likely to Go Quickly." Indeed, it is a topic so much in vogue that conservatives like Charles Krauthammer go to great lengths to explain that, if there were a decline of America on the world stage, it would be by choice, not because of inevitability. Mitt Romney: The Care of Freedom It is an honor to be here at the United States Navy Memorial. It's humbling to be reminded, in the words of "America the Beautiful," of "heroes proved in liberating strife, who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life." Our liberty and security have come at a great price. We can never repay those who died for us, but we can honor their sacrifice by defending freedom and extending its frontiers across the world. The Heritage Foundation: Sustaining American Leadership with Military Power Contrary to what many politicians and talking heads tell Americans, a false choice exists between what are often referred to as hard and soft power. A country's military resources (its hard power) and the diplomatic tools it uses to persuade others without resorting to coercion (its soft power) operate most efficiently in tandem. The Heritage Foundation: Four Percent for Freedom: The Need to Invest More in Defense -Selected Writings American power is an important stabilizing force in the world. The Four Percent for Freedom solution would help to reassure financial markets about American strength, reduce risk within the international community, and promote economic growth both at home and abroad. More Blogs: The Foundry: Rep. Eric Cantor Speaks on National Security House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) today spoke at The Heritage Foundation's President's Club meeting and delivered the following remarks on America's national security policy. Guest Blogger: Defending America Means Preparing for Current and Future Threats During his successful presidential campaign against Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan introduced the American electorate and the broader international community to a new doctrine that would contribute greatly to defeating the Soviet Union. His idea of achieving "peace through strength" still resonates in today's world and President Obama should welcome it as cornerstone of his Administration's strategy to protect America.   More Events: May 12, 2010, 2:00 PM Location: Washington, DC The Heritage Foundation: The Challenges and Opportunities of U.S. Policy in Asia Join us for this address by Stephen J. Hadley, former National Security Advisor to President George W. Bush. May 13, 2010, 1:30 PM Location: Washington, DC The Heritage Foundation: Maritime Challenges and the Future of the U.S. Navy Join our distinguished guest, Admiral Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations, as part of our Protect America Month series. Admiral Roughead, the highest ranking officer in the U.S. Navy and member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will speak about keeping the U.S. and its allies safe and prosperous. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *   May 25, 2010, 5:00 PM Location: Washington, DC The Heritage Foundation: Screening of "Terror in Mumbai" This Protect America Month event, jointly hosted by the Indian Embassy and the Heritage Foundation, documents the three-day Lashkar-e-Taiba attack against Mumbai.     Copyright All Rights Reserved © 2009, The Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation | 214 Massachusetts Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002 | 202.546.4400

Fwd: Morning Bell: Former Attorney General Ed Meese on Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan

05/10/2010 Former Attorney General Ed Meese on Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan According to multiple sources, at 10 am today President Barack Obama will announce his decision to name Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. Kagan, who served as the Dean of Harvard Law School from 2003 to 2009, would be the first justice without judicial experience in almost 40 years. But this does not mean she is in any way a stranger to the Senate confirmation process. In fact, in 1995 she authored an article on judicial confirmations for the University of Chicago Law Review where she wrote: The Bork hearings presented to the public a serious discussion of the meaning of the Constitution, the role of the Court, and the views of the nominee; that discussion at once educated the public and allowed it to determine whether the nominee would move the Court in the proper direction. Subsequent hearings have presented to the public a vapid and hollow charade, in which repetition of platitudes has replaced discussion of viewpoints and personal anecdotes have supplanted legal analysis. Such hearings serve little educative function, except perhaps to reinforce lessons of cynicism that citizens often glean from government. ... [T]he fundamental lesson of the Bork hearings [is] the essential rightness—the legitimacy and the desirability—of exploring a Supreme Court nominee's set of constitutional views and commitments. On this point, we find agreement with Ms. Kagan. As we documented first with the Justice Sonia Sotomayor confirmation hearings, and again with the University of California at Berkeley law school Associate Dean Goodwin Liu hearings, President Obama's leftist legal nominees have been completely unwilling and unable to defend their liberal legal views from Senate questioning. Instead they have retreated or renounced their past writings in an all too familiar spectacle that Kagan has said: "takes on an air of vacuity and farce." We sincerely hope that Kagan continues to reject this model and that the U.S. Senate fulfills its proper advice and consent role. Responding to the news of Kagan's nomination, Former Attorney General Ed Meese released the following statement:

Fwd: MRC Alert: Bennett's Loss in Utah a 'Damn Outrage,' 'Non-Violent Coup,' Part of Larger Intolerant GOP Narrative

 

A daily compilation edited by Brent H. Baker, CyberAlert items are drawn from daily BiasAlert posts and distributed by the Media Research Center's News Analysis Division, the leader since 1987 in documenting, exposing and neutralizing liberal media bias.

 

Tracking Liberal Media Bias Since 1996
Monday May 10, 2010 @ 09:37 AM EDT

1. Bennett's Loss in Utah a 'Damn Outrage,' 'Non-Violent Coup,' Part of Larger Intolerant GOP Narrative
"This is a damn outrage," a disgusted David Brooks, the faux conservative columnist for the New York Times, declared on Sunday's Meet the Press reacting to Republican Senator Bob Bennett's loss Saturday at Utah's Republican convention which chose two others to compete in a June primary for the seat. Brooks fretted he was punished for being "a good conservative who was trying to get things done" by "bravely" working with Democrats on health care and supporting TARP. "Now," he repeated, "he's losing his career over that. And it's just a damn outrage." Sitting beside Brooks on NBC's roundtable, liberal Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne Jr,. a former New York Times correspondent, saw "almost a non-violent coup because they denied the sitting Senator even a chance of getting on the primary ballot."

2. MSNBC Host Asks Black GOP Candidate About 'Racist' Tea Parties
In Friday's 3PM ET hour of live coverage on MSNBC, anchor Peter Alexander asked black Republican congressional candidate Allen West of Florida about "aligning" with the tea party movement: "the Tea Party has raised concerns that it may have, I guess, racism built within it. We have seen some racist signs at past events...are African-American candidates aligning themselves with the tea party?" West responded: "The principles and values that I espouse, limited government, lower taxes, individual responsibility, and accountability, liberty, and honoring the traditions of our constitutional republic, are connecting me with those grass roots Americans that attend tea party rallies. And I've spoken at four to five of those rallies and I've not seen any racist type of signs."

3. 60 Minutes Empathizes with Hillary Clinton's Challenge After Bush, Hails Her Work Ethic and 'Global Star Power'
A quick look at the flavor Sunday night's fawning 60 Minutes profile of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, which, after some questions about the Time Square botched bomber, framed her job around the challenge of fixing a world abused by George W. Bush and Condoleezza Rice, a situation exacerbated by U.S. debt. Picking up from her initial rejection of the position, Scott Pelley asserted: "Now she's gone from "not interested" to an all-consuming global campaign in a time when the U.S. is the biggest debtor in the world, fighting two wars, and accused of abandoning its ideals to the struggle with terrorism....Right away, she found that America is in a crisis of credibility." Pelley soon proceeded to how "she doesn't let anyone work harder" and "she's the only person in American politics with global star power close to" that held by Barack Obama.

---

 

Bennett's Loss in Utah a 'Damn Outrage,' 'Non-Violent Coup,' Part of Larger Intolerant GOP Narrative

 

"This is a damn outrage," a disgusted David Brooks, the faux conservative columnist for the New York Times, declared on Sunday's Meet the Press reacting to Republican Senator Bob Bennett's loss Saturday at Utah's Republican convention which chose two others to compete in a June primary for the seat. Brooks fretted he was punished for being "a good conservative who was trying to get things done" by "bravely" working with Democrats on health care and supporting TARP. "Now," he repeated, "he's losing his career over that. And it's just a damn outrage."

Sitting beside Brooks on NBC's roundtable, liberal Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne Jr,. a former New York Times correspondent, saw "almost a non-violent coup because they denied the sitting Senator even a chance of getting on the primary ballot."

Over on Fox News Sunday, NPR's Juan Williams expressed exasperation: "This is evidence of how the American political center is losing, on the right wing of the party a guy like Bob Bennett, who is a right-wing conservative, is being driven out because he's not sufficiently conservative?"

ABC's Jake Tapper brought Rudy Giuliani aboard This Week to address the handling of the Times Square botched bomber, but wouldn't let him go before bringing up Bennett's defeat as proof of an intolerant GOP: "Are you worried at all that the Republican Party is not only growing more hostile to more liberal to moderate Republicans such as yourself, but also conservative Republicans who are shown to, at least shown an ability to work with Democrats?"

Later, during the roundtable, George Will answered the presumption Bennett was the victim of an ideological purity test:

This is an anti-Washington year. How do you get more Washington than a three-term Senator who occupies the seat once held by his father, a four-term Senator, who before that worked on the Senate staff and then as a lobbyist in Washington? He's a wonderful man and a terrific Senator. But the fact is, he's going against terrific head-winds this year and he cast three votes: TARP, stimulus and an individual mandate for health care. Now, you might like one, two or all three of those, but being opposed to them is not outside the mainstream of American political argument.

Brooks admired those very votes from Bennett, hailing the Wyden-Bennett health plan as "a substantive, serious bill, a bipartisan bill, with strong conservative and some liberal support. So he did something sort of brave by working with Democrats which more Senators should do and now they've been sent a message to him don't do that."

As if this would convince conservatives, Dionne pointed to how "you just had an election in Britain where David Cameron, the conservative, almost got a majority by saying we need to de-toxicfy, take the rough edges off conservatism, appeal to a broader constituency." But he didn't get a majority with that approach!

From the May 9 Meet the Press:

DAVID BROOKS: This is a damn outrage, to be honest. This is a guy who was a good Senator and he was a good Senator and a good conservative, but a good conservative who was trying to get things done. The Wyden-Bennett bill, which he co-sponsored -- if you took the health care economists in the country, they would probably be for that bill, ideally. It was a substantive, serious bill, a bipartisan bill, with strong conservative and some liberal support. So he did something sort of brave by working with Democrats which more Senators should do and now they've been sent a message to him don't do that. The second thing is the TARP.

Nobody liked the TARP. But we were in a complete economic meltdown and sometimes you have to do terrible things. And we're in a much better economic place because of the TARP. So he bravely cast a vote that nobody wanted to really cast and now he's losing his career over that. And it's just a damn outrage.

E.J. DIONNE: I agree with David on this. And I think that something's happening inside the Republican Party that I think in the long run won't be good for the Republican Party. You just had an election in Britain where David Cameron, the conservative, almost got a majority by saying we need to de-toxicfy, take the rough edges off conservatism, appeal to a broader constituency. And here you have a state party convention, by the way, not a primary. It's almost a non-violent coup because they denied the sitting Senator even a chance of getting on the primary ballot. And I think the party in the long run risks a backlash among voters who may not be liberal at all, but don't like this kind of politics.

And before people on the right crow too much about this, it is a party convention in Utah. I would imagine the left would win a party convention on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. So let's not, sort of, make this into a bigger thing than it is. But it is a big deal to dump somebody like Bob Bennett.

From Fox News Sunday:

JUAN WILLIAMS: This is evidence of how the American political center is losing, on the right wing of the party a guy like Bob Bennett, who is a right-wing conservative, is being driven out because he's not sufficiently conservative?...If I lived in Utah, I'm going to give up Bob Bennett and his seniority and connections?

BILL KRISTOL: Why do you need the seniority? To bring the pork home?

WILLIAMS: To bring the pork home?

KRISTOL: That's worked well over the last several years.

WILLIAMS: Oh, so you'd sit here and say, "oh TARP was terrible, bailouts were terrible," even though we saved ourselves from depression? That's rational? That's good, inspired caring about America?

— Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.

MSNBC Host Asks Black GOP Candidate About 'Racist' Tea Parties

 

View the Video Here

In Friday's 3 PM ET hour of live coverage on MSNBC, anchor Peter Alexander asked black Republican congressional candidate Allen West of Florida about "aligning" with the tea party movement: "the Tea Party has raised concerns that it may have, I guess, racism built within it. We have seen some racist signs at past events...are African-American candidates aligning themselves with the tea party?" [Audio available here]

West responded: "The principles and values that I espouse, limited government, lower taxes, individual responsibility, and accountability, liberty, and honoring the traditions of our constitutional republic, are connecting me with those grass roots Americans that attend tea party rallies. And I've spoken at four to five of those rallies and I've not seen any racist type of signs."

On Wednesday, Alexander talked with correspondent Luke Russert about the fact that 32 African-Americans are running for Congress as Republicans. Russert noted with surprise how "these candidates are actually soliciting support from the tea party, a group that a lot of folks have claimed to be racist against African-Americans."

Earlier, April 15, with video: "White NBC Reporter Confronts Black Man at Tea Party Rally: 'Have You Ever Felt Uncomfortable?'"

In the Friday interview, Alexander referenced a recent quote by Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele that African-Americans "don't have a reason to" vote Republican and asked West: "What's your response to that?" West replied: "Chairman Steele is totally wrong....go back and look at the legacy of the Republican Party, being the establishment of the Emancipation Proclamation, the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments....I think that Chairman Steele should do a little bit more research before he goes out spouting his mouth like that."

Earlier, Alexander wondered: "Do you think the Democrats presently, with an African-American as President, take for granted the African-American vote in this country?" West declared: "Well, absolutely they do. I think that I believe they've come to depend upon a 21st century plantation." He went on to observe that "a lot of the black community...really has some conservative principles and ideas at its root core."

Here is a full transcript of the segment:

 

3:24 PM EDT:

PETER ALEXANDER: President Obama's rise to the presidency has inspired many across this country, but no one may be more surprised than the President, himself, to find out that 32 African-Americans are running for Congress this year as Republicans. Republicans in the House have not had an African-American member since the man on your screen, J.C. Watts of Oklahoma. That was in 2003, after he finished serving eight years. Retired Lieutenant Colonel Allen West is running for Congress as a Republican in Florida and he is joining me live from the sunshine state. Lieutenant Colonel, nice to visit with you. Thank you.

ALLEN WEST: A pleasure. Good afternoon to you.

ALEXANDER: I was reading some of the articles that have quoted you recently. You said that in 2008 you raised a half million dollars and 'the state party didn't support me and the national party didn't support me.' This time around, you've raised $2 million, $838,000 alone in the first quarter, so what has changed?

WEST: Well, I think the fact in November of '07 I had just gotten back from Afghanistan and I was new to the political scene and we had an eight-month campaign in 2008. So it was a matter of proving yourself and getting your message out and people getting to know you. And we finished up with 45.3% in the 2008 election and that set the conditions for us to have a lot of success this cycle.

ALEXANDER: Well so, Lieutenant, then let me ask you – Lieutenant Colonel, more specifically if you can, about the Democrat versus Republican idea here, the fact that most African-Americans for years have voted for Democrats. Do you think the Democrats presently, with an African-American as President, take for granted the African-American vote in this country?

WEST: Well, absolutely they do. I think that I believe they've come to depend upon a 21st century plantation. But if you go back and you look at one of the key indicators in the 2008 presidential election cycle, you had a same sex marriage amendment that was out in California and also Florida that failed in both states, especially here in my home state of Florida, because you did drive out a lot of the black community which really has some conservative principles and ideas at its root core.

ALEXANDER: Lieutenant Colonel, let me read to you what your RNC Chairman Michael Steele said just last month he was asked why African-Americans should vote Republican. This was his quote. He said the following: 'You really don't have a reason to, to be honest, we haven't done a very good job of really giving you one.' What's your response to that?

WEST: Well, I think that Chairman Steele is totally wrong. I think that if the Chairman Steele would go out and talk about the principles and values and go back and look at the legacy of the Republican Party, being the establishment of the Emancipation Proclamation, the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, some of the early civil rights legislation that was done in the Reconstruction era. The first congressmen and senators were Republicans, so there is a great history that was connecting the Republican Party to the black community and I think that Chairman Steele should do a little bit more research before he goes out spouting his mouth like that.

ALEXANDER: Lieutenant Colonel, our time is limited, but my last question to you, the Tea Party has raised concerns that it may have, I guess, racism built within it. We have seen some racist signs at past events, people have said that that is not a part of the tea party movement, but are African-American candidates aligning themselves with the tea party?

WEST: Well, I don't think it's so much aligning yourself with the tea party. The principles and values that I espouse, limited government, lower taxes, individual responsibility, and accountability, liberty, and honoring the traditions of our constitutional republic, are connecting me with those grass roots Americans that attend tea party rallies. And I've spoken at four to five of those rallies and I've not seen any racist type of signs.

ALEXANDER: Understood. Lieutenant – retired Lieutenant Colonel Allen West joining us live from Florida, thank you, sir. We appreciate your time.

WEST: Thank you for having me.

—Kyle Drennen is a news analyst at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here.

60 Minutes Empathizes with Hillary Clinton's Challenge After Bush, Hails Her Work Ethic and 'Global Star Power'

 

Before the media hoopla begins in a few hours for President Obama's Supreme Court nominee, let me squeeze in a quick look at the flavor Sunday night's fawning 60 Minutes profile of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, which, after some questions about the Time Square botched bomber, framed her job around the challenge of fixing a world abused by George W. Bush and Condoleezza Rice, a situation exacerbated by U.S. debt. Picking up from her initial rejection of the position, Scott Pelley asserted:

Now she's gone from "not interested" to an all-consuming global campaign in a time when the U.S. is the biggest debtor in the world, fighting two wars, and accused of abandoning its ideals to the struggle with terrorism....Right away, she found that America is in a crisis of credibility.

Pelley soon proceeded to how "she doesn't let anyone work harder" and "she's the only person in American politics with global star power close to" that held by Barack Obama:

Many back in Washington have more foreign policy experience than Clinton, but she doesn't let anyone work harder. The Afghan trip was typically brutal. She spent 27 hours on the ground, had countless meetings, plus interviews and speeches. And then, on departure, she stopped to see the troops.

This is exactly what the President got in return for swallowing the bitterness of the campaign and reaching out to Clinton. She's the only person in American politics with global star power close to his own. She can pack a room anywhere. A few Secretaries of State have been famous; none has been a first name celebrity like Hillary.

— Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.