My column last week on Fourth of July fireworks and their environmental impact had an explosive impact of its own, as my back-and-forth with a right wing blogger in the comments section helped make it the most popular article on Hermosa Beach | Patch for five straight days.
The truth is, the one-day-a-year environmental problems caused by Independence Day fireworks is a miniscule issue compared to the damage we cause every day using fossil fuels to power our transportation, as well as electricity and heat.
But a larger issue emerged from the reaction to my fireworks article, and my tough stance on those who practice a deadly business-as-usual approach to climate change at the expense of our younger generations and the future.
Creative Greenius 
Always interesting to read the labels put on people who happen to hold differing views. Thanks Joe for the laugh. Love to read what you’re up to you left wing blogger you.:)
Also, nice to hear our back-and-forth created actual interest in environmental issues. It’s fun eh? Ah controversy. The backbone of American politics.
But it’s far more interesting when people are in denial about the labels they’ve earned. I have no problem with being called a left-wing anything, Joy, because that’s what I am and I’m proud of it. I have no problem putting my own self interests aside to try and help lift all boats and not just my own yacht. I’d rather err on the side of being too generous or too helpful as opposed to standing up for the rights of the rich to ride the gravy train and for the unethical to avoid doing the right thing. I’m pretty sure that if Jesus was on the scene today you’d call him a bleeding heart left winger too and he wouldn’t mind either. I know because that’s what he told me and you’ve certainly got to respect the word of the Lord.
And you’re welcome for the laughs, Joy, and no extra charge for the endorphins, either. I bet you could really use the lift. That’s why I include the photos of myself. 🙂
But you’re wrong about “controversy” being the backbone of American politics. The real backbone of American politics is money and lies. It would just be representative government without the money and the lying, but it’s the cash and the con jobs are what make it professional politics. That’s why I always say never give any money to politicians, it only encourages them.
Glad to see you’re reading Creative Greenius in addition to the Drudge Report and the Fox News web site!
Can’t wait till they team us as “Joy vs Joe” on our own talk radio show.
Ah Joe, I never read Drudge, nor the Fox News Site so keep assuming bud.:)
I have been a moderate and uninterested in politics all my life until watching the media give Obama a 90% approval rating while he was running, being silenced on a liberal community group site for daring to have an opposing opinion to the majority of the liberals who posted, and continuing to see mainstream media completely ignore the lies and deceit going on in government on a larger scale than ever before.
Here’s just a few recent examples:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/22/AR2010072204704.html
http://www.wmal.com/FlashPlayer/default.asp?SPID=37564&ID=1889956
“At the White House, the prime minister and the president both condemned Megrahi’s release, with Obama saying:
“I think all of us here in the United States were surprised, disappointed, and angry about the release of the Lockerbie bomber. And my administration expressed very clearly our objections prior to the decision being made and subsequent to the decision being made. So we welcome any additional information that will give us insights and a better understanding of why the decision was made.”
This weekend a shocking report broke overseas that casts doubt on just how “surprised” President Obama really was about Megrahi’s release. England’s The Sunday Times reported yesterday that “the U.S. government secretly advised Scottish ministers that it would be ‘far preferable’ to free the Lockerbie bomber than jail him in Libya.”
Richard LeBaron, a top U.S. embassy official in London, sent a secret memo to British and Scottish officials advising them of the U.S. position. As the The Sunday Times noted, Scottish officials believed LeBaron’s memo demonstrated the Obama Administration’s “half-hearted” opposition to Megrahi’s release.
In the wake of the controversy that erupted, Scottish officials are demanding that even more details of U.S. involvement, including a phone conversation between Attorney General Eric Holder and British ministers, be made public. It is hard to imagine that one of our closest allies would release a convicted terrorist who murdered scores of Americans, over our objections. But it now appears as though Megrahi was released with a “wink and a nod” from the Obama White House.”
But I know you only focus on Green issues so I’m sure you hadn’t heard of this, nor will you if mainstream media has it’s way.
That said, Joe, please realize we’re probably more on the same page in certain aspects of greening, but there will always be differences too. Nice communicating. Amazing what can be accomplished or discussed when civility is involved isn’t it?
And if we ever are approached to do a show, it would be my pleasure. Lastly, yes, have to admit, you do bring a smile to my face by including your smiling mug so often.
Keep on keepin’ on!
Joy, Joy, Joy,
You mean to tell me you were unmoved to become involved politically during the entire 8 years of Bush and Cheney and all the things that went down during those two terms couldn’t rouse your interest? You were okay with the way corporate interests were catered to and regulations were slashed while industry insiders were given key posts in the departments that oversaw their own industries? Invading Iraq for bullshit reasons and then spending all this time, money and human treasure for absolutely no gain on the USA’s part, but plenty of gain for crooked contractors unmoved you to any action or interest? The entire Jack Abramoff scandal, Scooter Libbey, the outing of our CIA agent Valerie Plume, countless other ethics problems – all no problem or concern for you from 2000-2008. Katrina, fine by you? But now that Barack Obama is President, suddenly you’ve been awakened to reality and now you’ve got problems with the government? I’m finding that just a little too hard to swallow and hardly the stance of someone who thinks they’re a moderate.
I’m a real lefty liberal so take it from me. If you’re a moderate, Barack Obama is your guy. Because he’s certainly been no liberal’s liberal and he’s been way too moderate for my money. But I’ll take him ten ways to Sunday over the last guy and most certainly over the guy and gal he ran against.
And for the record. The Megrahi release? I could care less. There are so many issues that supersede that in terms of import and national priority that it’s not even worth. I haven’t approved of the way this country has dealt with foreign terrorists for a couple of decades now. Why should it be any different now?
Meanwhile the environmental issues I deal with every day are far bigger problems for you and me then the issues you raise that seem to steam you so much about our President.
See you around campus.
Joe, Joe, Joe, Here’s a little civics lesson for ya because for some reason, you conveniently forgot to mention this bit of history. Oh, and before I post this, yes, believe it or not, not into politics until Obama began running. And, shocker, I didn’t always agree with Bush’s spending either, but as you’ll soon see, he wasn’t all to blame. Here’s a little something for you and your readers to chew on:
“The Washington Post babbled again today about Obama inheriting a huge deficit from Bush. Amazingly enough,…… a lot of people swallow this nonsense. So once more, a short civics lesson.
Budgets do not come from the White House. They come from Congress, and the party that controlled Congress since January 2007 is the Democratic Party. They controlled the budget process for FY 2008 and FY 2009, as well as FY 2010 and FY 2011. In that first year, they had to contend with George Bush, which caused them to compromise on spending, when Bush somewhat belatedly got tough on spending increases.
For FY 2009 though, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid bypassed George Bush entirely, passing continuing resolutions to keep government running until Barack Obama could take office. At that time, they passed a massive omnibus spending bill to complete the FY 2009 budgets.
And where was Barack Obama during this time? He was a member of that very Congress that passed all of these massive spending bills, and he signed the omnibus bill as President to complete FY 2009.
If the Democrats inherited any deficit, it was the FY 2007 deficit, the last of the Republican budgets. That deficit was the lowest in five years, and the fourth straight decline in deficit spending. After that, Democrats in Congress took control of spending, and that includes Barack Obama, who voted for the budgets. If Obama inherited anything, he inherited it from himself.
In a nutshell, what Obama is saying is I inherited a deficit that I voted for and then I voted to expand that deficit four-fold since January 20th.
Oh and by the way the Unemployment rate was between 4.6% and 5.2% VS. 9.9%
Are “You” feeling good about this?? How’s the change working for “YOU”??”
And to wrap things up, how’s Rangel and Waters’ ethic issues sitting with you? Or the delay in taking care of the BP Oil Spill which Katrina is now no comparison to.
And the gay man who released over 90,000 sensitive military documents because he was mad over the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that Obama is trying to overturn? I’m rather angry over that because he’s endangered thousands of our military lives unnecessarily and from what I can see, Obama sometimes spends more time on this issue than the economy!
I know you think the environment is more important than humans, but I don’t. I think it’s important, but when it comes down to losing valuable jobs, increasing taxes sky high and driving CA to the brink of bankruptcy, I’ll take a little toxins and pollution over your solutions any day.:)
Have a nice day.
Joy,
I think you do such a good job offering up your side’s point of view on politics and the many reasons you don’t like President Obama that there’s no reason for me to retort to any of that. Usually you have to read a Bizarro World comic book to get that storyline, so I appreciate you offering it as your comment.
You can claim “I know you think the environment is more important than humans,” but you really don’t have any credibility as a mind reader, especially with me, and you should stick to the facts instead of fantasizing. I’ve written more than enough about my beliefs since 2007 and you might want to actually quote me about my environmental position. But then again, you weren’t really paying attention to any of these issues prior to the 2008 election, right?
I will point out that there is no separation in my mind between the environment and humans. I never talk or write about “saving the planet” because I know the planet will be just fine without us. My mission is to try and preserve a livable environment for the human beings I like to call our children and our children’s children. People my age (52) and even your age Joy, have enjoyed the greatest lifestyle and civilization of any people in the history of the world. But people 30 and under are unlikely to get an equal chance at. I don’t think that’s fair and I don’t want to be responsible for handing off the planet in worse shape then we received it from our parents.
You may be willing to “take a little toxins and pollution” as your personal choice, but I don’t think you should force the next generations to suffer from that unwise decision.
You make a strawman argument that supposes we must choose between jobs and transitioning to a clean energy economy. That’s not the real choice we’re now facing, and in fact is the opposite of reality. The real choice is between the dirty, unsafe fuels of the past that tie us to a 19th century mindset, and threaten both our national security and prosperity as they deteriorate our atmosphere, verses the clean, safe fuels of the future which never run out, don’t need to be imported, don’t make terrorists and our enemies rich, and which bring jobs and investment in the USA along with them.