It has been an eventful week. The economy has shown signs of considerable collapse. One of the most stodgy and respected banks, Bear Stearns, collapsed from being worth some $130 a share to being bought out for a mere $2 a share. AND it needed bailing out by the government as well. Inflation and stagnation...what used to be called stagflation. That is what we are seeing. Back when we first saw this horrible combination, at least our Presidents admitted it. Ford's slogan was "WIN: Whip Inflation Now!" It was worthless, but at least it admitted the problem. Bush merely "reassures" us that there is nothing to worry about. He claims there is no recession, no inflation, no problem. "Don't worry, be happy." The mantra that worked so well for his father.

This week it was all about the economy, the war and race. That's a pretty heavy week!

Well, for those of us living in New York this has been, shall we say, an "interesting" week. I discuss the scandal surrounding Eliot Spitzer in some detail in this newsletter. In the end it just may be a good thing. Our new governor, Governor Paterson, is untested in many ways...and some consider him a bit weak. But I have a better feeling about him than I did about Spitzer when he was elected. But time will tell.

This week also has been horrible for our economy. Things are getting worse and worse and no end in sight. I am seriously concerned about the economic situation. But Bush has been "reassuring" America that the economy is just fine. This reminds me of his father telling us "Don't worry, be happy." Which, of course, led to the brilliant counter line, "It's the Economy, Stupid." Well, "It's the Economy Stupid" applies more than ever, as I write on Culture Kitchen. Halliburton, Exxon/Mobil, Shell Oil, Chevron etc. rake in record profits while you and I have trouble making ends meet...and Bush "reassures" us. Pardon me, but to Hell with that! This economy has sucked during the entirety of Bush's term, with this being the SECOND recession he has given us. And inflation has been a problem at the very same time. I am not reassured.

But change is coming. Whether our nominee is Clinton or Obama, I am eager to see a change. Either way we will see some of the nastiest attacks from the Republicans we have ever seen. Be prepared. And be prepared to fight it tooth and nail. They will be as sexist and/or racist as they need to be to win. They will lie, steal and cheat to win. We are poised to take the Senate solidly, win more House seats and take the White House. This week alone we won yet another House seat (in Illinois) and successfully defended a threatened seat (in Indiana). But they have more dirty tricks up their sleeves and we have to be ready for it.

The Progressive Democrat Newsletter grew out of the frustration of the 2004 election. Having organized protests against the Republican Convention, I found I had a core of activists who were looking to me for support after Bush "won" re-"election". My carefully thought out suggestions as to where we could go from that defeat led to this more-or-less weekly newsletter. EVERYONE REMEMBER: TUESDAY IS ELECTION DAY IN MANY STATES. VOTE!

This week I discuss the declining Republican Party, Ann Coulter's Extremist Intolerance, Child Soldiers in Burma, Rudy Giuliani's screwing of New York's firefighters, and rape and women's rights in Indian Country. I also focus on local actions and events in New York State, New York City, New Jersey, Virginia, California, Iowa and Mississippi. Don't forget to visit an advertiser or two and if you want more, please visit Culture Kitchen.

I have often discussed the various actions we can do as individuals to help mitigate global warming. But today I am realizing that I have often left out one thing. Investing. I started investing in alternative energy in a very tentative manner years ago...with mixed success. I had avoided wind and solar because I felt other things looked more promising (e.g. geothermal). Honestly, I seldom put much in and the overall result was so-so.

But recently I have started investing more aggressively in alternative energy stocks, this time primarily wind and solar. I know from my scientific reading that really both are pretty well current technologies, with wind ahead of solar in terms of practicality. But I also figure if we are going to address global warming in the next ten years we had better start treating alternative energy stocks more seriously. Since I started investing in such stocks early this year, I have made LOTS of money on alternative energy. I am proud to say I am profiting off being a part of the solution.

The Progressive Democrat Newsletter grew out of the frustration of the 2004 election. Having organized protests against the Republican Convention, I found I had a core of activists who were looking to me for support after Bush "won" re-"election". My carefully thought out suggestions as to where we could go from that defeat led to this more-or-less weekly newsletter.

This week I discuss fighting the Burmese dictators and making money by investing in alternative energy. I revisit from last week targeting one of the most horrible, corrupt, anti-science Republicans, Joe Barton, one of the Katrina 11. I also focus on local actions and events in New York State, New York City, Texas, Virginia, California and New Jersey. Don't forget to visit an advertiser or two and if you want more, please visit Culture Kitchen.

What a week! Gonzales looking like a deer in the headlights, Virginia Tech, and McCain seemingly completely losing it (see here and here). As usual I can barely keep up. But I hope what I can get to is still helpful to you.

This week I discuss targeting NH Senator Sunnunu as an enabler of the McCain/Bush/Lieberman escalation, present John Edwards' response to Democracy for America, show how Dems and Repubs differ on election reform, an experiment in alternative energy in Indiana, and revisit the issue of recycled paper. If you visit my blog, don't forget to click on an advertiser or two since that helps me keep the blog going. As usual I also highlight local events and organizations for several states. And, if you want more political and social discussions, please check out our offerings on Culture Kitchen.

Recently I wrote a diary discussing global warming, indicating the overwhelming evidence that it is happening and suggesting that we can do something about it. Many of the comments I got on other sites were negative. The objections to my diary included a.) global warming is a scam; b.) we are not technically advanced enough to make any real changes; c.) our society won't do anything, so we have to act as individuals and forget about societal action; and, worst of all, d.) fine, you can do what you want about global warming as long as it doesn't inconvenience me.

I want to address these negative comments because, quite simply, they are all wrong and all of them interfere with our ability to mitigate global warming.

Sometimes things just come together and several individual items that don't quite add up to a story unite into a really good one. This week, there is a really good story like that on Energy Policy that comes from three synegizing sources.

This last week, a discussion with someone who grew up in Iowa, this month's issue of Catalyst, the newsletter of the Union of Concerned Scientists, and a press release from Nancy Pelosi all synergized to remind me that Democrats have been pushing for a real, American, practical energy policy since the Carter administration and all the Republicans advocate for are oil, oil, oil.

On October 26th, in response to the release of record profits by the bloated oil company Exxon/Mobil, Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement:

I am writing this partly out of some things that have been floating through my mind for some time and partly in response to Scottage's pessimistic article on Global Warming. My premise is simple. Our lack of a response to the immanent cirsis of Global Warming is not due to a lack of solutions or technology or ability to deal with it. We still have a chance to face the problem and ensure a better future for our children. What we lack is leadership.

There are three kinds of State of the Union address.  

First come the kind of stirring speeches made by Franklin Roosevelt, by John Kennedy, and even by Lyndon Johnson -- the speeches that call us to great purpose.  These speeches take a chance, they go out on a political limb to offer America a change in direction.  They force both the president giving the speech and the public listening to stretch.

Next come the laundry list speeches.  These can often contain significant programs, but they lack any clear sense of direction, and often end up containing so many scattered ideas that it's hard to tell what the president really values.  Bill Clinton, take a bow.

Then come the speeches that tell us absolutely nothing.  No significant information.   No new ideas.  No guts.  No... anything.  That's what we got last night.