Lincoln casts doubts on climate bill - Lisa Lerer - POLITICO.com

Just minutes after taking the gavel of the influential Senate Agriculture Committee, new chairwoman Blanche Lincoln cast even more doubt about the future of climate legislation in the Senate.

"I think it's a heavy lift for the Senate," said Lincoln. "We have a tremendous amount of work to do, having been in the hearings today."
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Lincoln's opposition to passing a climate bill this year could have a significant impact on the legislation's future in the Senate. Agriculture is one of several committees with jurisdiction over the complex bill.

Where In The World is Robin Carnahan? - bs’s blog - RedState

At the breakfast, Congressman Roy Blunt, the favorite for the GOP nomination, spoke out about “cap and trade” legislation and pointed out how it could negatively impact Missouri farmers and consumers. Carnahan’s take on cap and trade? Crickets.

Nukes Will Be Part of Senate Energy Bill, Boxer Says - Environmental Capital - WSJ

Still, the obstacles to Senate action on energy and the climate bill this year seem to multiply like mushrooms. Arkansas’ Blanche Lincoln, the new chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee—a hugely influential cook in the climate-change broth, as evidenced by the House bill—said today she doesn’t think a bill will pass this year.

The convenient fantasies of President Obama | Washington Examiner

Legislation to restrict carbon emissions that is supported by the administration would undoubtedly kill a large number of jobs by increasing the cost of energy, and so you can see why its advocates might want to argue that there will be a compensating number of "green jobs" created -- at least if the government spends a lot of money on them.

But this sounds like fantasy. If there were money to be made in green jobs, private investors would be creating them already. In fact big corporations like General Electric are scrambling to position themselves as green companies, gaming legislation and regulations so they can make profits by doing so. Big business is ready to create green jobs -- if government subsidizes them. But the idea that green jobs will replace all the lost carbon-emitting jobs is magical thinking.

President Obama says 'sin tax' on sodas is food for thought, despite Gov. Paterson's failed proposal

Obama acknowledged that the idea could lead to charges that Uncle Sam is trying to dictate personal diets, but he hinted the benefit may be worth it.