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Lincoln's Grave Warning Realized

...a letter from President Abraham Lincoln to William F Elkins on 21 November 1864:

"I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country...corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed."

Eight Principles of Uncivilization

by Paul Kingsnorth and Dougald Hine


‘We must unhumanise our views a little, and become confident
As the rock and ocean that we were made from.’


  1. We live in a time of social, economic and ecological unravelling. All around us are signs that our whole way of living is already passing into history. We will face this reality honestly and learn how to live with it.

  2. We reject the faith which holds that the converging crises of our times can be reduced to a set of‘problems’ in need of technological or political ‘solutions’.

  3. We believe that the roots of these crises lie in the stories we have been telling ourselves. We intend to challenge the stories which underpin our civilisation: the myth of progress, the myth of human centrality, and the myth of our separation from ‘nature’. These myths are more dangerous for the fact that we have forgotten they are myths.

  4. We will reassert the role of story-telling as more than mere entertainment. It is through stories that we weave reality.

  5. Humans are not the point and purpose of the planet. Our art will begin with the attempt to step outside the human bubble. By careful attention, we will reengage with the non-human world.

  6. We will celebrate writing and art which is grounded in a sense of place and of time. Our literature has been dominated for too long by those who inhabit the cosmopolitan citadels.

  7. We will not lose ourselves in the elaboration of theories or ideologies. Our words will be elemental. We write with dirt under our fingernails.

  8. The end of the world as we know it is not the end of the world full stop. Together, we will find the hope beyond hope, the paths which lead to the unknown world ahead of us.



The Dark Mountain Manifesto

(excerpt)
Walking on lava

The end of the human race will be that it will eventually die of civilisation
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Those who witness extreme social collapse at first hand seldom describe any deep revelation about the truths of human existence. What they do mention, if asked, is their surprise at how easy it is to die.

The pattern of ordinary life, in which so much stays the same from one day to the next, disguises the fragility of its fabric. How many of our activities are made possible by the impression of stability that pattern gives? So long as it repeats, or varies steadily enough, we are able to plan for tomorrow as if all the things we rely on and don’t think about too carefully will still be there. When the pattern is broken, by civil war or natural disaster or the smaller-scale tragedies that tear at its fabric, many of those activities become impossible or meaningless, while simply meeting needs we once took for granted may occupy much of our lives.

What war correspondents and relief workers report is not only the fragility of the fabric, but the speed with which it can unravel. As we write this, no one can say with certainty where the unravelling of the financial and commercial fabric of our economies will end. Meanwhile, beyond the cities, unchecked industrial exploitation frays the material basis of life in many parts of the world, and pulls at the ecological systems which sustain it.

Precarious as this moment may be, however, an awareness of the fragility of what we call civilisation is nothing new.

‘Few men realise,’ wrote Joseph Conrad in 1896, ‘that their life, the very essence of their character, their capabilities and their audacities, are only the expression of their belief in the safety of their surroundings.’ Conrad’s writings exposed the civilisation exported by European imperialists to be little more than a comforting illusion, not only in the dark, unconquerable heart of Africa, but in the whited sepulchres of their capital cities. The inhabitants of that civilisation believed ‘blindly in the irresistible force of its institutions and its morals, in the power of its police and of its opinion,’ but their confidence could be maintained only by the seeming solidity of the crowd of like-minded believers surrounding them. Outside the walls, the wild remained as close to the surface as blood under skin, but the city-dweller was no longer equipped to face it directly.

The remainder of the essay can be read online: Dark Mountain manifesto.


Paul is the author of One No, Many Yeses and Real England. He was deputy editor of The Ecologist between 1999 and 2001. His first poetry collection, Kidland, is forthcoming from Salmon Poetry. His website is www.paulkingsnorth.net

Dougald writes the blog Changing the World (and other excuses for not getting a proper job). He is a former BBC journalist and has written for and edited various online and offline magazines. His website is www.dougald.co.uk

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Editorial Notes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The "Eight principles of uncivilisation" are expanded in the Dark Mountain manifesto (also available as PDF or purchased as a limited-edition, hand-stitched pamphlet.

See the site for the blog and information about their upcoming festival May 28-30.

Several Energy Bulletin contributors are on their Blogroll, including John Michael Greer, Sharon Astyk, Rob Hopkins and Dmitry Orlov. Also mentioned are Wendell Berry and Ivan Illich.

George Monbiot recently wrote a column in the Guardian about Dark Mountain Project: I share their despair, but I'm not quite ready to climb the Dark Mountain.

On Common Dreams, Robert C. Koehler wrote a related piece: Dark Green.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Original article available here
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our American Objectives

"Our national goals must be to rejuvenate the domestic economy; transfer the economic basis of our nation from consumptive to productive; recapitalize education and the technologies industries; achieve complete energy independence; move towards renewable energy sources;
restore public confidence in the government's ability to undertake large national infrastructure projects, and re-assert its right to set goals and policies to ensure those projects proceed smoothly; define the overarching standards for a reconstructed America including a federal review of the building and planning codes now in use, and probably the writing of new mandates that set out 21st-century standards and priorities for energy use, urban and transportation planning, and environmental design, which once put into law and accepted into general use, will be very difficult to change; commit funding for a massive 10- or 20-year program that will upgrade or replace failing components of America's infrastructure as the nation is broke (as it was in FDR's day) and this kind of spending needs to be seen as the long-term investment in our economic future that it is; restore a fair, honest, broad-based system of public contracting that will put large numbers of Americans to work on these new projects (and write the new rules in a way that ensures that the firms doing the most innovative work don't have to compete with unfair behemoth corporations like Halliburton and Lockheed for the lion's share of the funding) so that once there is a healthy, competitive construction industry that knows how to build sustainable projects—and is relying on the government to keep it in business—we will get a political constituency that will fight to ensure that the rebuilding will continue for the next several decades, regardless of what political party is in power; use the forces of globalization and information to strengthen and expand existing democratic alliances and created new ones; employ these alliances to destroy terrorist networks and establish new international security structures; lead, through our historic principles, on international cooperative efforts in spreading economic opportunity and democratic liberties, nation building, counter-prolification, and optimum environmental protection and safeguards; and cherish, honor, and protect our history and traditions of liberty and freedoms domestically particularly with respect to the Bill of Rights."

"The renewed social contract for America with its middle class and poor must:
  • Raise the minimum wage still higher and on a regular basis. It has fallen far behind increases in inflation since the 1970s, and that affects higher level wages as well.
  • Encourage living-wage programs by local governments. Governments can demand that their contractors and suppliers pay well above the minimum wage. There is substantial evidence that this does not result in an undue loss of jobs.
  • Enforce the labor laws vigilantly. Minimum-wage and maximum-hour laws are violated to a stunning degree. American workers shouldn't be forced by their employers to understate the number of hours worked or be locked in the warehouse so they can't leave on time. Workers often make only $2 and $3 an hour.
  • Unions are not seeking a free pass to organize secretly when they advocate for open check-offs on cards to approve of a union vote. They are seeking to organize without persistent and often illegal management interference. Penalties for illegally deterring such organizing are so light, it makes little sense for management not to pursue strategies to stop organizing even at the cost of prosecution.
  • Request that trading partners develop serious environmental standards and worker-protection laws. This is good for them, bringing a progressive revolution and a robust domestic market to their countries. It is good for America, which will be able to compete on a more level playing field.
  • Demand that the president, governors and mayors speak up about unconscionable executive salaries and low wages. The influence from the top cannot be underestimated. A president who looks the other way sends a strong signal to business. A president who demands responsible treatment of workers will get a response. Business does not like such attention.
  • These measures should be accompanied by serious investment in modernized infrastructure and energy alternatives, which can create millions of domestic jobs that pay good salaries. It should also be accompanied by a policy that supports a lower dollar -- contrary to Rubinomics -- in order to stimulate manufacturing exports again. Accomplishing this may require a new system of semi-fixed currencies across the globe. The unabashed high-dollar policy of the past twenty years has led to imbalances around the world that have contributed fundamentally to US overindebtedness.
  • And finally, the nation needs more balance on the part of the Federal Reserve between subduing inflation and creating jobs. Americans can live with inflation above 2 percent a year. There is no academic evidence to support a 2 percent annual target, although the Fed has made this its informal target."

The Continuing Case for The Second Bill of Rights for All American Citzens

...from Michael Lind on Salon.com on 11 January 2010 ....

The Case for Economic Rights

FDR said it and it holds 66 years later: There are benefits and opportunities every American should expect to enjoy

Three score and six years ago, the greatest president of the 20th century gave one of his greatest speeches. On Jan. 11, 1944, in a State of the Union address that deserves to be ranked with Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" and King's "I Have a Dream" speech, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called for recognition of a "Second Bill of Rights." According to FDR:

"This Republic had its beginning, and grew to its present strength, under the protection of certain inalienable political rights -- among them the right of free speech, free press, free worship, trial by jury, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. They were our rights to life and liberty. As our nation has grown in size and stature, however -- as our industrial economy expanded -- these political rights proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness."

Roosevelt did not argue that economic rights had superseded basic, old-fashioned political and civil rights. The argument of authoritarians and totalitarians that economic rights are more important than non-economic liberty was abhorrent to him. Instead, with the examples of the fascist and communist regimes of his time in mind, he argued that the purpose of economic rights was to support and reinforce, not replace, civil and political liberties:

"We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. 'Necessitous men are not free men.' People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.

In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all -- regardless of station, race, or creed."

President Roosevelt was not promoting economic rights that were necessarily enforceable in court, but rather economic benefits and opportunities that every American should expect to enjoy by virtue of citizenship in our democratic republic. Many of the rights he identified have been secured by programs with bipartisan support. These include:

"the right to a good education" (the G.I. Bill, student loans, Pell Grants, Head Start, federal aid to K-12 schools) and

"the right of every family to a decent home" (federally subsidized home loans and tax breaks for home ownership). But even before the global economic crisis, the U.S. fell short when it came to full employment --

"the right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation"

-- and a living wage --

"the right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation."

Roosevelt's vision was controversial at the time and is contested today. When it comes to providing a safety net for Americans, there are three distinct paradigms, which I would describe as economic citizenship, welfare corporatism and faith-based charity.

Supporters of faith-based charity among "theoconservatives" such as Marvin Olasky argue that modern social insurance like Social Security and Medicare was a mistake. The medieval British and colonial American systems of relying on religious institutions to care for the sick and poor should have been continued and built upon, with government subsidies to "faith-based institutions."

The secular business-class right, however, has shown little interest in faith-based charity, perhaps because it is difficult for rent-seeking bankers, brokers and other private sector actors to extract huge amounts of money from tax-exempt church hospitals and church soup lines. The right's preferred alternative to the progressive vision of economic citizenship is what I call "welfare corporatism." Whereas economic citizenship views protection against sickness, unemployment and old age as entitlements of citizens in a democratic republic, welfare corporatism treats these necessities of life as commodities like groceries or appliances, to be purchased in a market by people who are thought of as consumers, not citizens.

Let's contrast ideal versions of the two approaches. In the ideal America of economic citizenship, there would be a single, universal, integrated, lifelong system of economic security including

single-payer healthcare,

Social Security, unemployment payments and

family leave

paid for by a single contributory payroll tax (which could be made progressive in various ways or reduced by combination with other revenue streams). Funding for all programs would be entirely nationalized, although states could play a role in administration. There would still be supplementary private markets in health and retirement products and services for the affluent, but most middle-class Americans would continue to rely primarily on the simple, user-friendly public system of economic security. As Steven Attewell points out, the Social Security Act of 1935 was intended not merely to provide public pensions for the elderly but to establish a framework for a comprehensive system of social insurance corresponding to President Roosevelt's "right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment." Attewell writes: "We need to go back to the original drawing board -- the Social Security Act of 1935 -- to finish the job it began and create a truly universal and comprehensive social welfare state."

In the utopia of welfare corporatism, today's public benefits -- Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance and, in a few states, public family leave programs -- would be abolished and replaced by harebrained schemes dreamed up by libertarian ideologues at corporate-funded think tanks like the Cato Institute and the Heritage Foundation. Tax subsidies would be funneled to insurance companies, brokers and banks. Social Security would be replaced by a bewildering miscellany of tax-favored personal savings accounts. Medicare would be replaced by a dog's breakfast of tax subsidies for purchasing health insurance and personal medical savings accounts. Unemployment insurance would give way to yet another Rube Goldberg scheme of tax-favored unemployment insurance accounts. As for family leave -- well, if you're not wealthy enough to pay out of pocket for a nanny for your child or a nurse for your parent, you're out of luck.

The strongest case for economic citizenship instead of welfare corporatism is economic. Economic citizenship is more efficient and cheaper in the long run, because the government need only meet costs, while subsidized private providers must make a profit. The Democratic and Republican supporters of welfare corporatism justify their system of massive subsidies for for-profit healthcare and retirement security with the claim that market competition will keep down prices. If only that were true. Competitive markets are probably impossible to create, in the highly regulated insurance sector and the highly concentrated financial sector that sells private retirement goods and services.

It follows that a policy of subsidizing oligopolies and monopolies, via government subsidies to consumers, in the absence of government-imposed price controls, is a recipe for cost inflation, as the providers jack up their prices, sending the consumers back to Congress to demand even more public subsidies. By its very nature, welfare corporatism funnels public resources, in the form of tax breaks, to rent-seeking, predatory firms in the FIRE (finance, insurance, real estate) sector, with ever-swelling dead-weight costs on the economy. Welfare corporatism equals corporate welfare.

Unfortunately, most progressives have failed to make the case against the libertarian myth of market competition in the provision of social insurance. All too many, including President Obama, have made the too-clever-by-half argument that the public option would keep prices down by means of market competition. In other words, the center-left has borrowed a bogus argument about competition from right-wing free-market fundamentalism in order to defend a token public program that ceased to be of any interest once Obama and the Democrats in Congress ruled that Americans with employer-provided insurance would be banned from joining the public option. When you're reduced to parroting the opposition's erroneous theories, in the process of begging for a slight modification of the opposition's pet program, you clearly don't have the nerve or the patience to play the long game in politics.

In a response to one of my earlier columns, Will Marshall wonders how I can dare to criticize the legacy of Bill Clinton, a Democrat. My reasons should be clear by now. I am not a partisan Democratic operative focused on winning the next election. I am interested only in strengthening the republic through a gradual expansion of economic citizenship in the tradition of Franklin Roosevelt's Second Bill of Rights. If this means criticizing Democratic presidents who expand welfare corporatism instead of economic citizenship, so be it.

As part of his opportunistic policy of triangulation between his own party and the opposition, Bill Clinton joined the Republicans in a three-pronged assault on New Deal economic citizenship. He and the Republican Congress abolished Aid to Families With Dependent Children, a flawed and unpopular means-tested program for the poor that should have been reformed as a national program rather than turned over to the states as the neo-Confederate right insisted. Instead of piecemeal expansion of single-payer healthcare, Clinton pushed a version of employer-based welfare corporatism plus subsidies that came out of the playbook of moderate Republicans like Nixon. And we now know that Clinton secretly agreed to support Newt Gingrich's drive to partly privatize Social Security, in return for dedicating the federal government's imaginary future surpluses to what was left of Social Security. In 2005, Will Marshall argued in favor of private accounts, on the grounds that they would soften up Americans for cuts in Social Security: "If today's workers start saving and investing more in stocks and bonds, the returns they earn would allow us to trim their Social Security benefits later, without reducing their overall standard of living."

While George W. Bush pushed for partial privatization of Social Security, he failed because of massive public opposition. But Bush and the Republican majority in Congress succeeded in enacting the Social Security drug benefit, a flawed but genuine expansion of economic citizenship. Clinton is the only president to have successfully supported the destruction of a New Deal entitlement, while Bush presided over the greatest expansion of the Rooseveltian entitlement system since Lyndon Johnson passed Medicare.

For his part, Barack Obama, like Bill Clinton, rejected single-payer in favor of a moderately conservative welfare corporatist approach to healthcare reform. In contrast, Obama's proposal for student loan reform, an idea discussed in the Clinton years, would move in the right direction, away from welfare corporatism and toward economic citizenship, by replacing subsidized third-party lenders with direct government provision of student loans to needy college students.

Parties are coalitions of interest groups, they are not public philosophies, and presidents, great and minor, are and have to be opportunists. In contrast, reformers only have a chance of succeeding if they stick to their basic principles and keep their eyes on the prize. Progressives should support any politician, Democrat or Republican, who expands economic citizenship to the detriment of welfare corporatism, and they should oppose any politician, Democrat or Republican, who expands welfare corporatism to the detriment of economic citizenship.

Any more questions?

Monetary Cost of Iraq War

31 August 2008

Recent News Articles and Observations

Here are some news items and reports over the last week that caught my attention and some brief reactions to them. The big news overall last week was the conducting of the Democratic National Convention in Denver last week and the accompanying speeches, activities, and sights. Most other news focused on the upcoming GOP convention in St Paul; the expectation of the arrival of another monster hurricane, Gustav, into New Orleans and the Gulf Coast and preparations and reactions to the looming disaster; and the start of the 2008 College Football season across the nation.
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A. Lake Powell Rebounds
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It is good to hear the preeminent recreation site in the Southwest is on the rebound. I hope to return to the big lake someday as it is truly a spectacle and a great place to relax and play.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/24/us/24powell.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&oref=slogin
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*****
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B. National Climate Atmosphere Laboratory News
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This federal laboratory facility is still slated to be moved to Cheyenne in the next few years in spite of its current fiscal problems, which will come to a quick end once the Obama administration replaces the heads in the sand Bush junta. The mission of and experiments that occur in this laboratory are critical for the future of mankind and society.
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http://www.trib.com/articles/2008/08/24/news/wyoming/56ca46d139d94857872574ae0074660d.txt
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*****
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C. Desert tortoises
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A serious effort will need to be made in very due time in order to preserve these gentle creatures whose habitat is quickly disappearing which threatens the very existence of the species. Legal efforts and land preservation will be essential to prevent the possible looming extinction of this remarkable land reptile.
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http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_10292721
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*****
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D. Intrigue of Nuclear Espionage
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This is a very interesting read, and expect it to be into a film in coming years.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/25/world/25nuke.html?em=&pagewanted=all
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*****
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E. Obama and the Economy
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The more one reads the details of the Obama economic strategy, the more it seems like the right course of action and the best that can be achieved at this time. It is far from perfect and leaves a lot to be desired, but its about the best that can be hoped for in the current environment that exists and will continue to for at least the next few years.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/24/magazine/24Obamanomics-t.html?em=&pagewanted=all
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*****
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F. JFK nomination speech at LA Coliseum
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A look back to an event in history that is largely unremembered today.
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http://www.footballstadiumdigest.com/news/index.html?article_id=251
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*****
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G. The Empty Vacant Baseless American Economy
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The cold hard truth on what the nation's economy is all about now, and what the consequences are for all of us very soon and in the long run.
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http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=947bf9e5-923b-409a-adac-579658c99ddf
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*****
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H. Wind Transmission Outlook
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It is essential to see efforts continue to increase transmission infrastructure across the entire Rocky Mountain Front from Montana south through Wyoming and Colorado and on into New Mexico and Texas as quickly as possible to get the use of wind power generated electricity into the pipeline. Adjacent states in the High Plains such as the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma also need to be included in these efforts. Enough wind exists to generate all the electricity needs of the entire region and beyond, and placing infrastructure in the next several years will optimize and maximize the exploitation of this renewable and nonpolluting energy source.
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http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/08/27/news/wyoming/28-windpower.txt
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*****
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I. The Start of Instant Replay in Baseball
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It is long past due, as it should have been in place even before 1996 when that punk Jeffrey Maier interfered with a ball in play which led to a colossal blown umpire's call by Rich Garcia against the Baltimore Orioles in game one of the ALCS at Yankee Stadium which led to a New York victory in both the game and eventually in the series.
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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BBO_INSTANT_REPLAY?SITE=MTBIL&SECTION=SPORTS&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
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*****
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J. Latest National Census Findings
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The bottom line in these findings is that incomes for American citizens working has seen a blatant decline in the last eight years if figures from Americans older than age 65 are factored out.
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http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/census/2008-08-26-income-side_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip
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http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/stagnation-nation/#comments
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http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/about-that-bush-boom/
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http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/how-important-is-social-security/
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*****
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K. Destroy All Mullets !
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There are a lot of ugly hairstyles being by worn by men (why men would want to have an exotic or outre hairstyle is totally beyond me) but perhaps the mullet is worst of all. Lets hope someday this hairstyle completely disappears from the face of the earth like the doo wop and ducktail have.
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http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008145946_kitsapmullet28m.html
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*****
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L. The Growing Expense of NonConference Football Opponents
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This is an interesting and educational read. I look for many conferences to add another conference game to replace these expensive nonconference games, like the Pacific Ten Conference has by going to a nine game conference schedule in the last two years.
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http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080824/SPORTS020502/808240355
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*****
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M. The Fatal Flaws of Unrestrained Absolutist Market Corporate Capitalism
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The cold hard facts and the ugly truth about what the real price of our recent economic obsession is.
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http://www.alternet.org/story/92426/the_u.s._economy_is_socialism_for_the_rich/--middle
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*****
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N. The Ongoing Effort to Exterminate the Middle Class
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Yet another consequence of the national obsession with Absolutist Free Market Corporate Capitalism.
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http://www.alternet.org/workplace/92431/america%27s_middle_class_can%27t_take_much_more_punishment/
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*****
Posted by at No comments:

Palin Monumental Blunder as McCain VP Running Mate

Arizona US Senator and Republican Presidential nominee designate John McCain continued the long poor history of Republican choices for vice - presidential running mates with his choice of political neophyte and novice Alaska governor Sarah Palin. In the last 60 years, blunder after blunder has marked the Republican choice for a vice - president with few exceptions: Earl Warren (then California Governor) in 1948; Henry Cabot Lodge in 1960; Bob Dole in 1976, and possibly Jack Kemp in 1996.
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Time after time, the GOP Presidential nominee has struck out with his choice for a running mate and these names from past history and even the present clearly demonstrate that: Richard Nixon, William Miller, Spiro Agnew, George Bush, Dan Quayle, and Richard Cheney. Most of these men were poorly qualified at best and possessing noteworthy serious character flaws in most every way to be holding the office that was one heartbeat away from the presidency. Nixon and Bush used their poor record of vice - presidencies as springboards to the Presidency which were overall unmitigated disasters for the nation as a whole which has led to broad consequences for most citizens to this day. Both men also had serious character shortcomings and were almost certainly involved in criminal and unconstitutional acts while both as President and Vice - President. Agnew was an out and out crook, and Quayle was the most inept and incompetent Vice - President since Calvin Coolidge. Miller was an obscure New York congressman that was a disastrous choice by Barry Goldwater in 1964. And the disasters and mistakes that the seriously flawed and maniacal Richard Cheney has made as the most powerful vice - president in history ( in effect he was an acting president often in light of the shortcomings and serious inadequacies on many levels by George W Bush) are well known to most Americans with any awareness, consciousness, or intelligence. Finally, clearly the choice of George Bush Sr as his vice - presidential running mate by Ronald Reagan led to the eventual rise of unquestionably the worst President in the last three - quarters century, George W Bush (Bush Jr, Shrub, Bush the Younger, W) which has has dire and grave consequences and repurcussions for all Americans and many across the globe.
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Palin is just the latest in this long line of extremely poor choices. She has limited experience and has zero qualifications to be President should McCain suddenly pass while in office, at least a possibility given his age, health, and life experiences. Her service as a statewide or otherwise eminent elected official is less than two years and in a state that is as about as far away in significance and importance as can be. Government in Alaska is an afterthought for the most part with limited social services, a relatively small infrastructure, and an eternal oceanful of money coming in that all but ends any stress on government and even allows citizens to get a kickback of over $ 2 grand per year with no state income tax for any citizen. She has zero legislative experience other than as a small town councilwomen rubberstamping menial municipal programs like trash collection schedules and holiday party expenditures. Her viewpoints are about as far from the mainstream as Alaska is from the continental US. She is totally disbelieving of global warming and climate change in spite of it being most apparent in The Last Frontier in all of the 50 states; she is dogmatic in her views of environmental irresponsibility including favoring oil drilling in the ANWR, the slaughter of wolves from helicopters, and continued diminishing of habitat for threatened Arctic ecosystems for animals such as polar bears, walruses, caribou, and seals; she believes creationism should be taught in public schools; and she is an opponent of some Bill of Rights freedoms. Finally, like many noteworthy Alaska Republicans, she is under investigation by various law enforcement agencies for inproprieties and indiscretions while serving as an elected official, some of which may eventuate into criminal or at least civil proceedings. All in all, McCain probably could not have made a worse choice when all other individuals that were being considered are compared across the board on every level. The only worse choice would have been former Florida governor Jeb Bush, brother of George W Bush.
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It is quite obvious one of several other individuals should have been selected by McCain. These include Joe Lieberman, Tim Pawlenty, Willard Mitt Romney, Colin Powell, John Thune, Lindsey Graham, Chuck Grassley, Thomas Kean, Fred Thompson, and Charlie Crist; among others.
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Clearly the Palin selection by the McCain is a blatant effort to pander to women, rural voters, and disillusioned Hillaryites. It was most evidently a move built of desperation and attention getting after the overwhelming successes and positive messages coming out of the recently completed Democratic National Convention in Denver. And it will be a decision that will result in failure.
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http://newmexicoindependent.com/view/when-i-knew-sarah
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http://www.coloradoindependent.com/6478/who-the-heck-is-sarah-palin/
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http://www.coloradoindependent.com/6555/palin-flip-flops-on-creationism-in-schools/
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http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion/350759
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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-mccainassess30-2008aug30,0,3659863.story
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http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/29/183255/841/290/579394
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http://www.thenation.com/blogs/anotherthing/351330/sarah_palin_wrong_woman_for_the_job
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http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters/352178
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*****
Posted by at 3 comments:

24 August 2008

Joe Biden Slotted as Obama VP Running Mate

Illinois US Senator and Democratic Presidential nominee designate Barack Obama made a fine choice in selecting longtime Delaware US Senator Joe Biden as his running mate. Biden brings many years of experience in Congress and an excellent background on foreign policy matters, an area seen perhaps as a weakness in the Obama campaign. Biden has been in the US Senate since 1973, beginning his service at age 30 which makes him the 5th youngest senator in history. Biden ran unsuccessfully for President in '88 and '08. He has a strong record of legislative sponsorship successes on both domestic and foreign policy issues over the 35 years of his service. Biden brings an element of spunk and doggedness to the Obama campaign and likely will be among the designated campaigners against the McCain team. Biden was born in Scranton, PA, which may make him a positive in the Democrats' aspirations of winning the Keystone State and other like states such as West Virginia and Ohio. Shortly after Biden was first elected to the US Senate in 1972, he suffered a tremendous loss as his wife and very young daughter were killed in an automobile accident. To this day, Biden still commutes to Washington DC via train for an hour and a half from his home in Wilmington DE which is quite unique among elected politicans in the Beltway. He is about the least wealthy members of the Senate. The election of an Obama - Biden slate in November will be helped by Biden being on the ticket much as Lyndon Johnson was for John Kennedy in the early 1960s. Biden's long presence and standing in Congress may help an Obama Administration win greater successes in enacting legislation and policy direction which may take less overt compromise than if another individual was chosen as the Veep. And taking everything into consideration, its difficult to make an argument for a better choice as the vice-presidential running mate than Joe Biden.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Biden
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http://www.kansascity.com/445/story/763169.html
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http://www.kansascity.com/444/story/763831.html
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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-biden24-2008aug24,0,7966756.story
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http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/election08/302
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http://biden.senate.gov/
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Recent News Articles and Observations

Here are some news items and reports over the last week that caught my attention and some brief reactions to them. The big news stories of the last week were Tropical Storm Fay and its devastating destruction across much of Florida; the continued Russian military incursion into the nation of Georgia and the likely result of a Russian presence in the small Caucusus Mountains state longterm in the face of a powerless reaction from the US and other democracies across the globe; and the sudden sharp decline in oil prices in the last six weeks with prices nearing $ 110 per barrel which is down about 25 % from its peak of over $147 in early July.


A. Andrew Bacevich on American Policy, Recent History, and the Future
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Bacevich is an esteemed policy expert, retired US Army officer, academician and educator, and author of several books, the latest being The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism. His comments are quite thought provoking and indeed a strong warning about what our future holds.

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/08152008/transcript1.html

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-bacevich24-2008aug24,0,3736853.story
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B. The Summer of 2008 Winds Down
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The great simmering dissatisfaction enrapting most, if not all, conscious and awake Americans is superbly capsulized in this essay in the Boston Globe by James Carroll. Some of us did accomplish and enjoy some fun and accomplishments on a personal level in many places, but it was not nearly enough by any measure and was certainly offset by the deep troubling circumstances we see our nation in on so many levels. Summer 2008 will be remembered by many as being unpleasant for the most part, incomplete in many ways, and one filled with angst, disgust, and sadness towards the numerous negative larger forces now underway.

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/08/18/11048/

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C. World Affairs Take a Sharp Turn for the Worse for United States
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The last several weeks have seen a number of noteworthy foreign policy setbacks to say the least for the United States and its interests. The many years of misguided Bush junta policy and overall incompetence are showing up in a number of places. Add in the Olympics where China put on a spectacular problem free workmanship demonstration of Authoritarian Capitalism, and the news internationally has been grim for the US. The only solace is the continued sharp decline in the number of deaths of American troops in Iraq and the early discussions that seem to set a timetable for an overall withdrawal of American forces from Iraq finally after many wasted years, lives, and money.
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http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/08/23/11103/
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D. Greenland Glacier Nears Collapse
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Another week, another story about a massive body of ice largely unchanged for tens of thousands of years experiencing a rapid change with a resulting collapse soon. This time its on the north coast of Greenland. The melt that is undergoing across Greenland is troubling as this kind of land based ice melt that will contribute to a rise in sea level. Most longterm observers feel the melt is occurring at a frightening pace. Add this on top of reports that indicate it is likely the Arctic Ocean's icecap will set a record for being the smallest recorded in history when the melting season peaks in mid - September.
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http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1834956,00.html?xid=feed-rss-netzero
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E. Primary Results in Colorado and Wyoming
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The last two weeks saw the conducting of primaries in both Colorado and Wyoming. First up was the Centennial State. There were a couple of surprises as Jerod Polis used his vast wealth to basically buy the nomination and an all but assured election of the 2nd Congressional seat which is based in Boulder being vacated by Mark Udall who is running for the US Senate. Polis defeated the far better choice, former state legislator Joan Fitz-Gerald, by a margin larger than expected. In the other Colorado congressional primary elections, the name recognition, military record, and political experience carried Colorado Secretary of State Mike Coffman in the 6th Congressional District as the successor to Tom Tancredo, and the citizens of El Paso County made a tremendously poor choice to retain Doug Lamborn as their congressman in the 5th district rather than selecting Jeff Crank or Bentley Rayburn. Crank would have beaten Lamborn if Rayburn had opted not to run. Thus, tt appears Colorado will have Democrat representation in Congress for the '09-10 session in Districts 1, 2, 3, and 7 with GOP representatives in Districts 5 and 6. District 4 looks to be a tossup at this point in the contest between irksome incumbent Marilyn Musgrave and challenger Betsy Markey for the seat that represents northern and eastern Colorado.
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In the Wyoming primary that was held this last week, dogmatic former Cheyenne legislator Cynthia Lummis was chosen on the GOP side to vie for the state's sole congressional seat in a contest to succeed the retiring and ineffective Barbara Cubin against Jackson Democrat Gary Trauner. Nick Carter from Casper was selected by Democrats to face Casper appointee John Barrasso for one US Senate seat being contested. For the other US Senate seat, newcomer Democrat Chris Rothfuss, a chemistry professor at the Universityof Wyoming in Laramie, is running against the incumbent and unaccomplished Mike Enzi of Gillette whose two terms in the Senate have been marked without any noteworthy results for Wyoming citizens. The Wyoming US House seat very well could go Democratic, but it is likely both Senate seats will stay in GOP hands.
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The now ongoing negative advertising on television and radio is already to the point where its revolting, silly, and disrespectful to any citizen who has even a morsel of a brain.
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18 August 2008

News Articles and Observations

Here are some recent news articles and some of my observations on them. August is usually one of the slowest news months of the year with many individuals and families taking vacations. This year the political conventions for both major parties are being conducted much later than they have historically, with the GOP convention occuring after Labor Day. The positive of this will mean the Autumn campaign season will be just a little shorter. This is something we can all be tremendously thankful for, considering the leadup to the primary season started over a year before the actual first caucus and primary, a process which left virtually everyone burned out with politics even more so than usual. Onto to other items:

A. Over-the-Air Television Misses Out Being on Cellular Telephones

Unlike places such as in Asia, American consumers do not get over -the-air analog television broadcasts over cellular telephones. This may change in the coming few years. With the changeover to digital broadcasting next February, an opportunity exists to link together the two communication mediums. Look for cellular phones to enter the marketplace by 2010 that are capable of receiving over the air television transmissions. With the digital product a superior one to the soon to end analog broadcasts, it makes sense to add this feature. Phones must be designed and manufactured that can handle the digital telecast signal while still being able to utilize the primary cellular signal. This is not a serious engineering challenge. Soon we will have replacements for all those mini-televisions that are soon going to be largely useless.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26225196

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B. American Medical Association Universal Health Insurance Plan

Health care is not the highest priority for Americans as an issue at the moment, but it is among the issues that is of great concern. Several competing plans have emerged and Congress as well as the next President will need to come to an agreement to enact legislation to address this serious growing social problem. The AMA proposal will likely be among the plans given the greatest consideration. Hopefully a single-payer plan will become reality with a small payroll tax deduction of 1.5 to 2.0 percent to fund the program with the fullscale elimination of most insurance programs except for the wealthy elite and those choosing a more comprehensive exclusive plan.

http://www.voicefortheuninsured.org/

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C. Added Controversies Concerning CFL Bulbs

Compact Fluorescent Lighting (CFL) bulbs have been mandated by federal law to replace the venerable incandescent bulb in a phased transition over the next five years. While CFLs have some advantages, there are concerns environmentally with these products and concerns are valid with some particular safety factors. Now this report has been made discussing the likelihood these CFL bulbs will result in greater electricity expenses for consumers due to the bulbs' inherent design. Hopefully LED bulbs will come into the mainstream faster than is being envisioned, and at a cost that makes them the fully sensible alternative to the troubled CFL bulbs.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Are-CFL-s-Designed-to-Make-by-Steve-Windisch-ji-080814-42.html

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D. A Savant Observation of the American and Global Economy

Nouriel Roubini is an esteemed economist and one of the few voices in the wilderness who foresaw the downturn now underway nationally and globally economically. His outlook is one that is even more downcast, as the future is one he believes will be considerably and noticeably different in many ways from what Americans and others have known over the past decades. Dr Doom believes the worst is yet to come and we will all feel it in a number of ways.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/17/magazine/17pessimist-t.html?_r=2&em=&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin

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E. Kingman - The Next Arizona Metropolis ?

Kingman, AZ, is a relatively small community stradling I-40 about three and a half hours northwest of downtown Phoenix and about an hour and a half southeast of Las Vegas. Currently it is estimated about 40,000 people live in the area. But a big change may be looming. Developers have convinced government officials in the surrounding area of Mohave County that adequate groundwater resources exist to support a tenfold increase in the population, particularly along US Highway 93 in the Sacramento north of Kingman on the way to Las Vegas. Widescale land is available for development along this corridor and it is relatively inexpensive and easier to develop as compared to Clark County and Las Vegas. Whether or not the water resources do exist is a legitimate question and one that has yet to be answered conclusively. The Kingman area has a good climate overall and is located in a scenic environment in every direction. Growth will continue to occur but it is hard to imagine growth of that magnitude within a generation. Then again, the Phoenix, Tucson, and Las Vegas areas exploded almost unimaginably in the last several decades, particularly after 1970. But it would be a shame to see it happen in now largely unpopulated northwest Arizona. Southern Arizona has already been largely lost and a repeat up the road would be a mistake.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/10/us/10kingman.html?ei=5070&en=66b7ce2d76bc78f0&ex=1219118400&emc=eta1&pagewanted=all

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F. Outlook for Future Employment - What and Where

This report on what careers and professions are still in demand and where opportunities currently exist relative to other locales is a snapshot in time. Reports like this are constantly in a state of flux and future reports may be largely different. Still, the information provided here can be a framework and guide for those trying to prepare for the future and making important choices.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/08/16/earlyshow/living/money/main4355285.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_4355285

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G. One - Eighth of All American Homeowners to be Foreclosed

The grim news on the collapsing housing market continues unabated as record increases in the numbers of homes facing or in foreclosure continues. Nevada is ground zero, as by the time all is said and done, more than one - quarter of all homes will have been foreclosed. Florida, California, and Arizona are also states where the numbers far exceed the national average. With so many houses sitting empty, the pressure only increases on homeowners as home values continue a strong downward trend. It can be expected by 2011 that home values will probably drop by 50 - 70 percent in some areas from their peaks in 2005 and 2006. Most areas will experience at a minimum a one - third decline in value from their peak in the next two to three years.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aLY_H8XQz_iM&refer=worldwide

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10 August 2008

A European View of the Broad American Economic Decline

Most media in the US does not report the full story on many things going on within the nation. Most of these sources strive to focus on positive stories and information that is largely of little substance and importance, such as celebrities, politicians, sports, and crime. European media often does a better job of covering real news in the US. This article on the decimated American economy in a Florida hotbed not so long ago is a striking example of this. While internet news reports often do the same thing, many times these sources are lacking in objectivity and completeness in their coverage; whereas the European media coverage is more reliable and believable fully. Anyone that has any insight, wisdom, and intellect already knows the economy in most parts of America is truly in a downturn and worse, and the few limited objective media sources are doing a good job of affirming just that about many varied places across the nation, rather than what we are getting from most mainstream media in the US that distorts and warps the news to kiss up to corporations, the elite, politicians, and the consumption-oriented bourgeois.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/aug/08/subprimecrisis.useconomy
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09 August 2008

Allure of Suburia and Exurbia Quickly Fading

If one lives in a residence more than about one-half hour from a central city core or a significant employment center, they are seeing the end of the allure and promise that exurbs and suburbs once had. Rising gasoline fuel prices and the endless pressure and time consuming wasteful commute are helping to expedite the beginning of the demise of these places. Prices and values of homes in these outlying areas are showing the greatest decline, and the accompanying foreclosure and home mortgage crisis are only worsening the situation. While it appears some places in the US will inevitably see a decline of 40 to 50 percent in home prices and values in the next two to three years, it is almost certain that most exurbs and distant suburbs will bear the brunt of this decline, and there will perhaps even be locales that experience steeper falls. The only salvation for these exurbs and distant suburbs will be to develop a diversified economy of their own which is no easy solution and will take at least a generation to occur which is no answer; or to get a fast track mass transit solution in place and underway. A light rail or express rail mass transit system could be in place and running within 5 to 7 years everywhere with aggressive, competent, and visionary municipal leadership and management in counties and communities that are exurbs and distant suburbs. Unfortunately the vast majority of officials in these types of communities are largely out of touch with the modern challenges facing their communities which will doom these exurbs and outer suburbs to an existence far more troublesome and worse not only economically but in many other ways due to their shortsightedness, political blindness, and being a part of an "old boys network" that is based on the past rather than the future.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/04/AR2008080402415.html
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Corporate America Launches War against Democrats and Obama

Corporations and their executives, boards, management, and officials are utterly frightened with and panicky over the prospect of a Democratic landslide and a clear move back to policies and laws that favor workers and the middle class being enacted by a more progressive Congress and signed by President Obama in the next four years. What is good for the majority of us is not for them in their shortminded and limited views and opinions. These types of creatures would lose their big fat wasteful paychcecks, vast gluttonous perks, and they would be forced to be socially, environmentally, economically, and morally responsible and prudent. Thus it is not surprising to see the first salvos being fired in light of the possible outcome looming in November. With corporations fully in control of the mainstream media in the nation, expect propaganda, lies, and horse manure to be the order of the day in the coming months as corporations pull out all the stops to prevent the demise of the policies which perpetuated their greed, waste, irresponsibility, and injustice that has been the hallmarks and purpose of their existences with little exception for the last generation. Obviously a progressive federal legislative and executive agenda will not mean the demise of many if not most of these corporations who act and behave this way, but it is unfortunate that it isn't. Several hundred to over a thousand corporations need to be slain, carved up, dissected, and splintered into many pieces throughout the nation to help bring America back to its original vision and to re-create a true Capitalistic economy with opportunity and economic and social justice. At stake is merely the continued existence of civilization, mankind, and society.
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War Erupts in Far Southeast Europe

The region between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea in far southeast Europe is one that nearly all Americans know little or nothing about. It is an area long filled with tragedy, hardship, strife, and war. With the collapse of the USSR almost 20 years ago, peoples that had been oppressed by outside rule for centuries finally had an opportunity to establish their own nations. This process has been difficult with violence and war continuing, The eruption of war between Georgia and Russia is a continuation of this transition. Lands, territories, peoples, and assets are at stake and agreements and understandings are difficult to achieve. And the growing power and greed by Russia under Vladimir Putin adds another strong dangerous element into the equation. Putin is committed to and has publicly declared he wants Russia to reclaim and reconquer all the new nations that emerged out of the old USSR posthaste. This philosophy of aggression is being put in place with Georgia, a tiny state relatively speaking, beriddled with poverty and possessing little in the way of any valuable resources or economic strengths. The consequences and risks of Russian aggression in response to Georgia sending troops into the rebellious breakaway province of South Ossetia are indeed immense. The conflict is still likely to be akin to the wars between Azerbaijan and Armenia in recent years; but there is a chance it could escalate into something much bigger, and an exchange of nuclear weapons between the United States and Russia is not entirely out of the question. Georgia is viewed as a vital ally to the US and is located in a region where the US is increasing its presence in a number of ways, including due to its proximity to Iran. While an escalation to this extent is not out of the question, remember the leadership in place in Russia and and in the US, particularly with men like George Bush and Richard Cheney at the helm.
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http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008087858_apgeorgiasouthossetia.html

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L9618164.htm
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http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080809/D92F03GG0.html
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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/10/weekinreview/10traub.html?hp=&pagewanted=all
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_(country)
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_South_Ossetia_(2008)
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04 August 2008

The Ronald Reagan Truths

Much of the current problems, challenges, and hardships beseiging America as a nation and in particular its middle class citizens can directly be traced back to the 1980 election of Ronald Reagan and George Bush and their ensuing twelve years adminstration between them. Today Reagan has been turned into a mystic myth, a legend, and an overwhelming big lie. Most every Republican absolutely worships Reagan and has made him into a saint. The truth is quite different. Reagan and subsequent Bush administration policies started the US strongly down the road to the economic crisis we are facing today. Strongly pro-military policies directed vast sums of money towards sometimes wasteful and overpriced projects and programs instead of towards programs for the benefit of the citizenry such as education, health care, infrastructure improvements and maintenance, natural resources conservation preservation, and new energy technologies research and development. This was done through irresponsible vast deficit spending which still is harming the American economy to this day. The Reagan years began the destructive insane obsession with Absolutist Free Market Capitalism. The consequences of this direction has been utterly catastrophic and intensely costly for most middle class American citizens. The Reagan foreign policy legacy is probably even more bleak, if that is possible, as this article points out the unbelievable blunder in Reykjavik in 1985 concerning the likely end of nuclear weapons of mass destruction offer made by Gorbachev which Reagan and his cronies inexplicably nixed. Tax policy was turned into a nightmare, moving the nation towards a huge level of income and asset inequality. What is reported in this article really captures the true honest essence of the cost of eight years of Reagan and what the legacy is today for most Americans, a reality that parallels the lowest points in the overall history of the nation.
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http://existentialistcowboy.blogspot.com/2008/08/exposing-gop-lies-myths-and-propaganda.html
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02 August 2008

The Next Step in Solar Power: "An Inorganic Leaf"

A recent monumental scientific discovery by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology holds great promise for mankind and civilization with its remarkable ramifications. Scientists at MIT were able to convert solar energy into a new kind of storage for use in times when solar energy was not available such as at night. The process converts the energy into electricity in a way that is comparable to plants converting sunlight into energy for their growth and nourishment. Oxygen is separated from hydrogen on the molecular level using such minerals as cobalt, phosphate, and platinum. It is a high tech version of photosynthesis. This discovery could provide a clean endless way of fully powering needs in homes, businesses, and in transportation within a generation or probably sooner. The report of this scientific discovery was published in the journal Science on Friday 1 August.
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http://www.forbes.com/energy/2008/07/30/nocera-solar-power-biz-energy-cz_jf_0731solar.html
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http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/green/greenblog/2008/07/mit_weve_found_a_better_way_to.html
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http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/1162018
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Two Hottest August Days Ever in Cheyenne

The record breaking heat wave across the Rockies, High Plains, and Front Range continues on as we have gotten into August. While Denver has endured a record shattering stretch of over three weeks of consecutive 90 plus degrees days, we here in Cheyenne have been not been far behind. Being 1000 feet higher than Denver in elevation at around 6000 ', we are always going to be usually about five degrees cooler. But it is quite striking to see the occurrence of the two hottest August days ever for this area. It hit 98 degrees on both Friday 1 August and Saturday 2 August. Prior to this it never gotten above 96 degrees here in Cheyenne in August. 98 degrees at this altitude is equivalent to 127 degrees at sea level. It has only been recorded at 100 degrees in Cheyenne four times in history, and never has a 99 degree temperature been officially observed. With climate records from before World War II being possibly questionable, one has to think this kind of heat is possibly unprecedented in centuries and more. If this had occurred three to four weeks earlier with a higher sun angle, the temperature would have made it at least to 101 degrees. This is probably yet another micro event that can be possibly tied to global warming and climate change, but cannot be made conclusively. However, the kind of weather and temperatures we have experienced in this region throughout this decade and particularly in the last month is becoming the new norm and will be quite commonplace within a decade or so. Welcome to Arizona at altitude -- the new description for the climate of the Front Range region...
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http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=cys&storyid=17101&source=0
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RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY
0323 PM MDT SAT AUG 02 2008
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...RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE SET AT CHEYENNE WY...
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A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 98 DEGREES WAS SET AT CHEYENNE WY TODAY.THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 94 SET IN 1938.
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RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY
245 PM MDT FRI AUG 01 2008
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...RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE SET AT CHEYENNE AIRPORT...
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AT 228 PM...A RECORD TEMPERATURE OF 98 DEGREES WAS REACHED AT THE CHEYENNE AIRPORT. THIS TOPPED THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 96 DEGREES SET IN 1938.
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