Fwd: [blind-democracy] Re: Obama Quietly Undercutting Climate Legacy With Foreign Fossil Fuel Investments:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Carl Jarvis <carjar82@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 2 Dec 2016 07:41:03 -0800
Subject: Re: [blind-democracy] Re: Obama Quietly Undercutting Climate
Legacy With Foreign Fossil Fuel Investments:
To: blind-democracy@freelists.org

When I was a boy, mother kept a big sign on the front door. It said,
"NO PEDDLERS OR SOLICITORS ALLOWED".
Of course this did not stop salesmen from believing they could sweet
talk their way into mother's heart. Mother would open the door and
when the salesman began his schpiel, mother would look down at the
sign, pointing to it. "You are able to read?" she would say, and
slammed the door as they looked to what she was pointing to.
But as pleased as she was regarding her defense of the front door, in
keeping the evil peddlers away, they entered every time she turned on
the radio. This was, of course, some years prior to the entry of
Television into nearly every living room in America. The simple flick
of a knob, or in recent years, the touch of a remote, and Presto
Chango, peddlers were galloping all over the house.
As Americans moved from being Citizens to the status of Consumer,
these Pitchmen began to sway public opinion. They did it by
underwriting only those programs which favored their products.
No one was immune to this control, not even the president. For most
Americans this control went unnoticed. Biased news was accepted as
"The News". Advertisers(the name now used by those old time peddlers
and hucksters), even changed the English language. Direct talk was
replaced by innuendo and broad suggestions. Double Talk became the
mainstay, not only for the advertisers, but for those politicians
seeking public favor. In short, we have more talk today than ever
before in our history, but it is meaningless. Language that was once
the method of conveying ideas, has become the tool to confuse and
muddy facts. Think of how long the Tobacco industry spewed lies
designed to confuse the public, before we finally came to understand
that sucking polluted smoke into our lungs was actually harmful to our
health.
While I had issues with Jimmy Carter as president, and with Barack
Obama as president, nonetheless, they were victimized by the powerful
advertisers(Corporations) who felt maligned, not just by what they
said, but also by the policies they promoted. But even so, both these
presidents were believers in a System that was draining the working
class of its power, and the good that they, at least Carter,
accomplish as ex presidents, will not undue the harm done to working
class Americans.

Carl Jarvis


On 12/1/16, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@optonline.net> wrote:
> Jimmy Carter has done a lot of good internationally since his retirement.
> He
> has been concerned about the integrity of elections throughout the world.
> He
> has told the truth about apartheid in Israel and for that, he has been
> shunned by the Democratic party establishment ever since. I remember that
> he
> was tossed off a convention program because of his stance on the
> Palestinian
> issue. He's made other unpopular, but true statements from time to time,
> and
> he is very much part of his rural, working class church community. He was
> an outsider from the start and was given a bad rap by the media and
> establishment from the start. If he did anything good as President, you
> certainly wouldn't have heard about it in the mainstream media. I'm reading
> a very interesting historical book right now, a new book, one that is
> relevant. It's called, White Trash, and it's on BARD. I'll probably review
> it for the DB Review list if I haven't been banned from the list before I
> finish it. I just wrote a rather scathing post , part of a discussion about
> all of the reviews of Christmas books that they start doing each year in
> October and that don't stop until January. They reread and rereview many of
> them, absolute commercial trash and I've had it with all this religiosity
> which has nothing to do with real religion or what Christmas is supposed to
> be. I expect my computer to burn up with their replies. I basically said
> that instead of celebrating Christmas by reading this trash and buying more
> things that people don't need, they should be lobbying their politicians to
> be sure that all of our people have homes and enough to eat, or they should
> find room in their own homes for some refugees from the wars that our
> country has been complicit in starting. The real right wing zealots will
> not
> like it.
>
> Miriam
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blind-democracy-bounce@freelists.org
> [mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@freelists.org] On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
> Sent: Thursday, December 01, 2016 8:09 PM
> To: blind-democracy@freelists.org
> Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Obama Quietly Undercutting Climate Legacy
> With Foreign Fossil Fuel Investments:
>
> Yeah, you're right Joe.
> I guess I was focused on the nice guy Jimmy, who pulled on his boots and
> headed off to help build homes for Habitat. Still, in the scheme of
> things,
> Carter and Obama are good men...just not good for the working class. While
> they seem to have lacked real Leadership, they didn't have any personal
> scandals or corruption to deal with. Both were quiet Wall Street Lackeys,
> true, which made them unable to support the Causes of the working men and
> women.
> I am sort of wandering around trying to differentiate between Greed driven
> men and men who believe in the Oligarchy as the best way to run the
> government. Simply put, Carter and Obama do not share my values.
> Which just happen to be the Honest and True Values, Just ask me.
>
> Carl Jarvis
>
> On 12/1/16, joe harcz Comcast <joeharcz@comcast.net> wrote:
>> Hi Carl and All,
>>
>> Not to "lionize" or de-monize one James Earl Carter I have some
>> personal or
>>
>> tangentential experiences.
>>
>> Jimmy Carter was by all measures an ineffective at best President do
>> mostly
>>
>> to his own design and actions, not only in my opinion but also in my
>> experience.
>>
>> He alienated all of the so-called establishment, which is not bad, but
>> then,
>>
>> not unlike Trump now replaced the prior establishment with one of his
>> own and often with nepotism.
>>
>> Regardless, it has always amused me that J. Carter was some sort of
>> "Jesus ChristSuper-Star of American politics as often portrayed.
>>
>> He wasn't so. He was an outsider for sure, not being a part of the
>> Washington "establishment" for sure.
>>
>> But what the f was "won".
>>
>> Whell we avoided nuclear war under Carterwhich isnt to be diminished
>> by a long or short shot.
>>
>> Other than that we got in the after math union busting, and all sorts
>> of other more ugly things of which I'll expound in the future.
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Carl Jarvis" <carjar82@gmail.com>
>> To: <blind-democracy@freelists.org>
>> Sent: Thursday, December 01, 2016 12:37 PM
>> Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Obama Quietly Undercutting Climate
>> Legacy With Foreign Fossil Fuel Investments:
>>
>>
>>> Maybe. Maybe after securing his family, Obama will bend toward
>>> public service. That's why I put him in the same room as Jimmy Carter.
>>> Carter is a good man, and so is Barack Obama. But neither one was
>>> able to slide around "The Monster in Waiting" who guards the Oval
>>> Office. So both ended up trying to compromise with this unbending
>>> pile of Greed.
>>> If Obama's heart is in the right place, then I'll take him away from
>>> partnering with Silent Cal" who was never a friend to the needy.
>>> But regardless of how he tries following his 8 years, Obama will
>>> always carry the stain of one who had opportunities, but failed to
>>> seize them.
>>>
>>> Carl Jarvis
>>>
>>>
>>> On 12/1/16, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@optonline.net> wrote:
>>>> I think that Jimmy Carter has done a lot of good, but that this
>>>> happened after his Presidency. And I think that if Obama feels
>>>> financially secure, he may also, go on to do some good too, after
>>>> his Presidency. But I agree with what Cornell West said this
>>>> morning on Democracy Now. Obama is very good at doing symbolic
>>>> things and making good speeches. But when it comes to following
>>>> through on real action that will help the people, he doesn't .
>>>>
>>>> He
>>>> serves Wall Street.
>>>>
>>>> Miriam
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: blind-democracy-bounce@freelists.org
>>>> [mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@freelists.org] On Behalf Of Carl
>>>> Jarvis
>>>> Sent: Thursday, December 01, 2016 10:36 AM
>>>> To: blind-democracy@freelists.org
>>>> Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Obama Quietly Undercutting Climate
>>>> Legacy With Foreign Fossil Fuel Investments:
>>>>
>>>> Speaking of our Prince of Peace, perhaps now that he is about to
>>>> shed his "Sheep's Clothing", we'll get a good sense of the toothless
>>>> Wolf that has been lurking there these past 8 years.
>>>> At best we knew Obama might be one of those very bright men who
>>>> could rise above themselves and champion the cause of the Working
>>>> Class...sort of filling the shoes left behind by FDR.
>>>> But unlike FDR, who, had he retired from his Fourth term as
>>>> president, to the luxury of his inherited wealth, Obama has a future
>>>> to attend to. He
>>>>
>>>> is
>>>> not from money. Making certain that his future, and that of his
>>>> family,
>>>>
>>>> is
>>>> secure, has to be front and center on his mind.
>>>> Obama, no matter how nice a guy he appears to be, has never been the
>>>> friend of the Masses. His real genius has been his ability to
>>>> maintain his ties to Wall Street, while appearing to sympathize with
>>>> the working class.
>>>> Certainly the White Republican Congress did block him at every turn,
>>>> but
>>>>
>>>> on
>>>> the other hand Obama did not fight for much in the way of support
>>>> for the American Majority. The best he appears to have dumped on us
>>>> is Obamacare, which takes better care of the huge Health Cartel than
>>>> of the people.
>>>> Obama
>>>> may well have earned himself a place alongside Calvin Coolidge, as
>>>> one of the nation's most forgettable presidents. At best he might
>>>> rise to stand beside Jimmy Carter, but that will depend upon how
>>>> much of his "legacy"
>>>> remains after the new administration finishes with him.
>>>> Obama had his opportunities to stand tall, but he chose to play the
>>>> "good son" for his handlers, in the belief that his future is held
>>>> in their golden hands.
>>>> One thing Obama did accomplish, he helped me decide that I would no
>>>> longer call myself a Democrat.
>>>>
>>>> Carl Jarvis
>>>>
>>>> On 11/30/16, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@optonline.net> wrote:
>>>>> Obama Quietly Undercutting Climate Legacy With Foreign Fossil Fuel
>>>>> Investments: Investigation
>>>>> Published on
>>>>> Wednesday, November 30, 2016
>>>>> by
>>>>> Common Dreams
>>>>> Obama Quietly Undercutting Climate Legacy With Foreign Fossil Fuel
>>>>> Investments: Investigation
>>>>> Under Obama, Ex-Im Bank has gotten three times more financing than
>>>>> during George W. Bush's terms by Andrea Germanos, staff writer
>>>>>
>>>>> A coal-fired power plant near Becker, Minnesota. (Photo: Tony
>>>>> Webster/flickr/cc)
>>>>> President Barack Obama's climate credentials are being undermined
>>>>> by a federal agency in his administration that is putting billions
>>>>> of taxpayer dollars into foreign fossil fuel projects.
>>>>> So finds a Columbia School of Journalism and Guardian investigation
>>>>> published Wednesday which looks at the U.S. Export-Import Bank, or
>>>>> Ex-Im Bank, which is tasked with promoting U.S. exports.
>>>>> Based on documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act,
>>>>> their investigation found: "Since January 2009, the U.S.
>>>>> Export-Import Bank has signed almost $34bn worth of low-interest
>>>>> loans and guarantees to companies and foreign governments to build,
>>>>> expand, and promote fossil fuel projects abroad."
>>>>> That total is roughly "three times more financing than the
>>>>> taxpayer-backed bank provided during George W. Bush's two terms,
>>>>> and almost twice the amount financed with loans and guarantees
>>>>> under the administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and
>>>>> Bill Clinton-combined"
>>>>> The biggest investment was almost $5bn in 2012 to Dow Chemical and
>>>>> Saudi Aramco for a power boiler and heat exchange manufacturing for
>>>>> a new petrochemical plant in the kingdom.
>>>>> The financing hit a peak of $10bn in 2013. In that year, as climate
>>>>> advocacy group Friends of the Earth (FOE) has noted, Obama
>>>>> "announced an end to public financing for coal plants abroad,
>>>>> except in limited circumstances."
>>>>> The new reporting continues:
>>>>> Our investigation shows the president's domestic climate policies,
>>>>> including the 1.1bn ton carbon reduction promised with his new
>>>>> vehicle engine efficiency standards and the 2.5bn ton carbon
>>>>> savings the pending clean power plan is estimated to make, will
>>>>> largely be erased by the bank's overseas emissions.
>>>>> The climate impact of greenhouse gas emissions is the same, the
>>>>> reporting notes, whether they are spewed out from somewhere in the
>>>>> U.S. or elsewhere in the world. The investigation adds:
>>>>> Using information from the Energy Information Administration, if
>>>>> the Clean Power Plan were enacted this year, over the next 15 years
>>>>> it would reduce U.S. carbon emissions by about 2.5bn tons. That is
>>>>> nearly the same number that the Ex-Im Bank's overseas fossil fuel
>>>>> projects will produce over 15 years, assuming they were all running
>>>>> at full
>>>> capacity.
>>>>> It's not the first time the bank has come under fire for fueling
>>>>> climate change.
>>>>> Environment advocacy group Pacific Environment, for example, said
>>>>> in
>>>>> 2012 that "[t]he Obama Administration is supporting skyrocketing
>>>>> export subsidies for dirty fossil fuels" via the bank. "Ex-Im
>>>>> Bank's worsening fossil fuel binge makes a mockery out of the U.S.
>>>>> Government's stated efforts to curb climate change and President
>>>>> Obama's pledge to phase out fossil fuel subsidies," said Doug
>>>>> Norlen, the group's policy director, at the time.
>>>>> ThinkProgress also wrote last year that FOE has been fighting
>>>>> against Ex-Im's practices since 2002, when the group issued a
>>>>> lawsuit against the bank over its support of natural gas projects.
>>>>> The group has been trying to make sure the bank stops financing
>>>>> fossil fuel projects that can be harmful to the environment and
>>>>> local people, and instead finance renewable energy projects, such as
> solar and wind.
>>>>> FOE is also pushing for the Ex-Im Bank to have a high level of
>>>>> transparency with properly enforced regulations."
>>>>> The Ex-Im Bank's future, however, is uncertain. Politico writes
>>>>> that it "has been operating at less than full capacity for nearly a
>>>>> year and a half."
>>>>> The
>>>>> New York Times reports: "In December, the bank's bipartisan
>>>>> supporters in Congress secured the agency's reopening," but Senate
>>>>> Banking Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) "bottled up President
>>>>> Obama's nomination of a third member for the bank's five-person
>>>>> board. Only the board can approve transactions of more than $10
>>>>> million; without a quorum of three it cannot,"
>>>>> the Times wrote.
>>>>> For his part, President-elect Donald Trump said last year, "I'd be
>>>>> against it" and called the bank "a lot of excess baggage."
>>>>> This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share
>>>>> Alike 3.0 License Skip to main content // . DONATE . SIGN UP FOR
>>>>> NEWSLETTER
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Wednesday, November 30, 2016
>>>>> . Home
>>>>> . World
>>>>> . U.S.
>>>>> . Canada
>>>>> . Climate
>>>>> . War & Peace
>>>>> . Economy
>>>>> . Rights
>>>>> . Solutions
>>>>> . #NotNormal
>>>>> . #NoDAPL
>>>>> . Bernie Sanders
>>>>> Obama Quietly Undercutting Climate Legacy With Foreign Fossil Fuel
>>>>> Investments: Investigation
>>>>> Published on
>>>>> Wednesday, November 30, 2016
>>>>> by
>>>>> Common Dreams
>>>>> Obama Quietly Undercutting Climate Legacy With Foreign Fossil Fuel
>>>>> Investments: Investigation
>>>>> Under Obama, Ex-Im Bank has gotten three times more financing than
>>>>> during George W. Bush's terms by Andrea Germanos, staff writer . 9
>>>>> Comments .
>>>>> . A coal-fired power plant near Becker, Minnesota. (Photo: Tony
>>>>> Webster/flickr/cc)
>>>>> . President Barack Obama's climate credentials are being undermined
>>>>> by a federal agency in his administration that is putting billions
>>>>> of taxpayer dollars into foreign fossil fuel projects.
>>>>> . So finds a Columbia School of Journalism and Guardian
>>>>> investigation published Wednesday which looks at the U.S.
>>>>> Export-Import Bank, or Ex-Im Bank, which is tasked with promoting U.S.
> exports.
>>>>> . Based on documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act,
>>>>> their investigation found: "Since January 2009, the U.S.
>>>>> Export-Import Bank has signed almost $34bn worth of low-interest
>>>>> loans and guarantees to companies and foreign governments to build,
>>>>> expand, and promote fossil fuel projects abroad."
>>>>> . That total is roughly "three times more financing than the
>>>>> taxpayer-backed bank provided during George W. Bush's two terms,
>>>>> and almost twice the amount financed with loans and guarantees
>>>>> under the administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and
>>>>> Bill Clinton-combined"
>>>>> The biggest investment was almost $5bn in 2012 to Dow Chemical and
>>>>> Saudi Aramco for a power boiler and heat exchange manufacturing for
>>>>> a new petrochemical plant in the kingdom.
>>>>> The financing hit a peak of $10bn in 2013. In that year, as climate
>>>>> advocacy group Friends of the Earth (FOE) has noted, Obama
>>>>> "announced an end to public financing for coal plants abroad,
>>>>> except in limited circumstances."
>>>>> The new reporting continues:
>>>>> Our investigation shows the president's domestic climate policies,
>>>>> including the 1.1bn ton carbon reduction promised with his new
>>>>> vehicle engine efficiency standards and the 2.5bn ton carbon
>>>>> savings the pending clean power plan is estimated to make, will
>>>>> largely be erased by the bank's overseas emissions.
>>>>> The climate impact of greenhouse gas emissions is the same, the
>>>>> reporting notes, whether they are spewed out from somewhere in the
>>>>> U.S. or elsewhere in the world. The investigation adds:
>>>>> Using information from the Energy Information Administration, if
>>>>> the Clean Power Plan were enacted this year, over the next 15 years
>>>>> it would reduce U.S. carbon emissions by about 2.5bn tons. That is
>>>>> nearly the same number that the Ex-Im Bank's overseas fossil fuel
>>>>> projects will produce over 15 years, assuming they were all running
>>>>> at full
>>>> capacity.
>>>>> It's not the first time the bank has come under fire for fueling
>>>>> climate change.
>>>>> Environment advocacy group Pacific Environment, for example, said
>>>>> in
>>>>> 2012 that "[t]he Obama Administration is supporting skyrocketing
>>>>> export subsidies for dirty fossil fuels" via the bank. "Ex-Im
>>>>> Bank's worsening fossil fuel binge makes a mockery out of the U.S.
>>>>> Government's stated efforts to curb climate change and President
>>>>> Obama's pledge to phase out fossil fuel subsidies," said Doug
>>>>> Norlen, the group's policy director, at the time.
>>>>> ThinkProgress also wrote last year that FOE has been fighting
>>>>> against Ex-Im's practices since 2002, when the group issued a
>>>>> lawsuit against the bank over its support of natural gas projects.
>>>>> The group has been trying to make sure the bank stops financing
>>>>> fossil fuel projects that can be harmful to the environment and
>>>>> local people, and instead finance renewable energy projects, such as
> solar and wind.
>>>>> FOE is also pushing for the Ex-Im Bank to have a high level of
>>>>> transparency with properly enforced regulations."
>>>>> The Ex-Im Bank's future, however, is uncertain. Politico writes
>>>>> that it "has been operating at less than full capacity for nearly a
>>>>> year and a half."
>>>>> The
>>>>> New York Times reports: "In December, the bank's bipartisan
>>>>> supporters in Congress secured the agency's reopening," but Senate
>>>>> Banking Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) "bottled up President
>>>>> Obama's nomination of a third member for the bank's five-person
>>>>> board. Only the board can approve transactions of more than $10
>>>>> million; without a quorum of three it cannot,"
>>>>> the Times wrote.
>>>>> For his part, President-elect Donald Trump said last year, "I'd be
>>>>> against it" and called the bank "a lot of excess baggage."
>>>>> This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share
>>>>> Alike 3.0 License
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
>