Monday, June 22, 2009

President Barack Obama accepts invitation [to make an extremely long fossil-fueled trip to watch people who kick an inflated ball]
U.S. President Barack Obama has accepted an invitation to attend the opening ceremony of the World Cup finals in South Africa next year, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said on Monday.
Washington state - Summer snow, cold abnormal, but not unheard of
WENATCHEE — Snow fell on Mission Ridge and temperatures dropped 10 degrees below normal as summer arrived on Sunday.

"I know it doesn't feel like it, but summer is here," said Ron Miller, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Spokane. "We commonly say around here that you can't pay attention to the calendar because spring can be a long, drawn-out season. We typically get strange weather like this."
Oregon Congressman Peter DeFazio takes on fellow Democrats in Portland - Jeff Mapes on Politics
The congressman devoted most of his speech at the city club to bashing the "cap and trade" bill aimed at combating global warming that is sponsored by Reps. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Henry Waxman, D-Calif.

DeFazio's basic complaint is that a scheme to cap emissions and then allow companies to trade pollution permits would raise the danger of financial gamesmanship while doing little for the environment.

In the end, he said it could produce a speculative market that could make the mortgage meltdown look like child's play. "There's the potential for an unbelievable bubble and collapse in the future," he said. Right now, "cap and trade" is being pushed by the same "unholy alliance" of Wall Street, big business and environmentalists that were also behind energy deregulation (which DeFazio said also failed spectacularly and gave us such debacles as the Enron bankruptcy).

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