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Gore’s sermon
Former Vice President Al Gore is holding high church with the gospel
according to Gore on global warming according to the
Associated Press:
The 2000 Democratic presidential nominee has hired longtime political
associate Roy Neel to aid in his effort to raise awareness about global
warming, a problem Gore calls "a planetary emergency."
Gore's movie and book about the issue, both called "An Inconvenient Truth,"
are set for widespread release in May.
"He's taking an increasingly high-profile role in working on the climate
change issue," Gore spokesman Michael Feldman said.
Vilsack’s travels
Governor Tom Vilsack's run for president is probably short-lived. His
administration under his Democrat friend Richard Running, who ran Iowa’s
Workforce Development Center, helped South side Democrats hand out largess
to their cronies.
The scandal involves a non-profit called Central Iowa Employment and
Training Consortium (CIETC). The consortium paid out hundreds of thousands
of dollars a year to the top executives of the organization who were charged
with spending federal and state dollars to train and re-employ Iowa
citizens. There is some talk of romantic involvement with high-ranking
Democrats in enabling these indiscretions of payola.
Vilsack’s supporters are touting his quick action in firing Richard Running
and his second in command who tried to cover up the scandal as proof of
Vilsack’s leadership. However, it is not selling.
If that wasn’t enough, the report is in on Vilsack’s stalking horse
Heartland PAC. In the last three months, the PAC raised approximately
$400,600. This makes for a total of $2 million since it was established a
year ago. This is not a pace that would allow him to compete for the
presidency.
Vilsack also has had the unfortunate aspect of leaving the country at this
time. The Department of Defense has arranged for a few Governors to visit
Iraq and Afghanistan to be with their state’s armed services. Compounding
this visit was a tornado hitting Iowa with one fatality and going through
the campus of the University of Iowa... a change in the Senate Republican
Majority Leader... a stalled budget requiring the Governor to be present to
negotiate a close to the legislative session... and of course, further talk
on how the Vilsack administration dropped the ball on the CIETC scandal.
Another clear signal that Vilsack is receiving no respect is the campaigning
by other Democrat presidential candidates here in Iowa. Virginia Gov. Mark
Warner is in Iowa on Thursday to raise funds for Rep. Leonard Boswel,l who
is seen as the most endangered Democrat in 2006.
Vilsack’s presidential aspirations are toast. This despite having breakfast
with the current president before he heads home.
Abortion battleground
USA Today has an article that those who follow abortion should read. It
covers the battleground aspect of how the states divide up on banning
abortion if the Supreme Court were to put the issue back on the states:
The conclusions:
·
Twenty-two state legislatures are likely to impose
significant new restrictions on abortion. They include nearly every
state in the South and a swath of big states across the industrial Rust
Belt, from Pennsylvania to Ohio and Michigan. These states have enacted most
of the abortion restrictions now allowed.
Nine states are considering bans similar to the one passed in South
Dakota - it's scheduled to go into effect July 1 - and four states are
debating restrictions that would be triggered if the Supreme Court
overturned Roe.
·
Sixteen state legislatures are likely to continue current
access to abortion. They include every state on the West Coast and
almost every state in the Northeast. A half-dozen already have passed laws
that specifically protect abortion rights. Most of the states in this group
have enacted fewer than half of the abortion restrictions now available to
states.
·
Twelve states fall into a middle ground between those two
categories. About half are in the Midwest, the rest scattered from
Arizona to Rhode Island.
Liberal Science politics
CNS News reports on the exposing of NASA’s crazy Global Warning
scientist:
NASA scientist James Hansen, profiled by the New York Times, "60 Minutes"
and other media titans as a renowned scientist with unassailable credibility
on the issue of "global warming" and a victim of White House censorship, is
actually a loose cannon at NASA who lied about the alleged censorship,
according to one of Hansen's former colleagues as well as a current
co-worker.
George Deutsch, a former NASA public relations employee who resigned his job
in February, told Cybercast News Service that he was warned about
Hansen shortly after joining the space agency. "The only thing I was ever
told -- more so from civil servants and non political people -- is, 'You
gotta watch that guy. He is a loose cannon; he is kind of crazy. He is
difficult to work with; he is an alarmist; he exaggerates,'" Deutsch said.
White House changes
Joel D. Kaplan, now the deputy White House budget director, will assume Karl
Rove's duties as the manager of policy development at the White House. Rove
will retain his title as deputy of chief of staff and concentrate on
politics.
Scott McClellan White House spokesman is resigning his post
"The White
House is going through a period of transition," McClellan said. "Change can
be helpful, and this is a good time and good position to help bring about
change. I am ready to move on. I've been in this position a long time, and
my wife and I are excited about beginning the next chapter in our life
together."
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