Yes maybe… hummmm…. I wonder….

A. The people lost faith and interest in the system, which then started it sliding… etc… compounding on itself…

OR

B: There is a fundamental flaw in the system design which then started it to slide upon which people started loosing interest and faith, etc…

If it is “A”, then all that is required is for people to start taking an interest again and yelling louder and all will eventually be well, more or less…

However, if it is “B”….

…..Bill

Your husband’s concern applies to any and all legislation. Any legislation can always be reversed. That is precisely why Waxman Markey is such a long term disaster. When the huge costs to the economy embedded in poorly crafted micromanagement of the economy become clear and the environmental results prove meaningless, the political backlash will be fierce.

Easy expedience is neither good policy or good politics. Those who support such tactics, including the President should be called on it.

If we really want something to hope for, we need real change.

The first third would be a great letter to the editor at the NY Times re Friedman’s oversight of the Rep led bill – though I hate to give them credit

Let me know if you want to submit something. I can take a look at it for you first.

On another note, I think Friedman misses the point of organizing on FB. The best organizing on FB and other social networking sites provides a low cost and efficient means to get people out from behind their computer screens and into the streets.

There are many case studies demonstrating the effectiveness of using 2.0 strategies for achieving real world change, i.e. the role of Twitter in freedom protests around the world.

And on one more note, based on a conversation I had with my husband, could cap and trade (albeit one that lacks the shortcomings of MW) be more sustainable than a carbon tax since taxes can be removed more easily than a market?

At its best, NESEA has always been both brutally honest as well as very idealistic. My frustration with Congress is born from my fundamental deep belief in democracy and a knowledge that at least at many points in history, Congress has done far better.

We can and must demand more from them.

The attitude that “democracy has failed a long time ago…it is a well orchestrated illusion” is not helpful. That is part of the same cynical malaise that leads too many members of Congress to sell out as easily as they do.

Like Congress, we as advocates need to do much better. If we give up on democracy and the Constitution, what real hope can we hold for the country? At the same time we advocate for a better future, as NESEA members, we need to retain our commitment to the fundamental underpinnings of our society and demand Congress and the government do the same.

…”The giveaways and preferences in the bill will actually spur a new generation of nuclear and coal-fired power plants to the detriment of real energy solutions.”…

and there you have the real campaign promise being executed….
I don’t know why people are so hung up on thinking our current pres and company are renewable energy buffs…. anyone who can make the well publicized statement regarding coal, “we put a man on the moon……you can not tell me we can not figure out a way to burn coal cleanly, paraphrasing… blah..blah..”
Come on.. open your eyes..
The Democracy failed a long time ago… it is a well orchestrated illusion… There is free speech as long as YOU don’t make a difference. Start making a difference and “your world” as you know it will start to change… and I don’t mean in a positive way….
Its all about special interests.
At the local level it might be the biggest business in the area or the biggest bank account, if in fact the two are different, at the federal level its global interests… major energy companies, companies with military contracts, basic resource producing companies, etc…
In fact the system is so well entrenched that the curtains can even be pulled back on occasion and it doesn’t make any real difference! Just allot of smoke. No fire. Why? Because no ONE can do anything about it…
Good article though… you have to pay the mortgage so you might as well write about what you believe in…
No one wants to hear the truth especially if it is doom and gloom without the direct potential for profit… It doesn’t sell ad space…

…..Bill